What Happened on November 6?

  • The United Nations officially condemned Apartheid. (1962) The UN condemned the 45-year-long racist practices of South Africa and requested that all countries in the UN cease military and economic ties with the country. The Apartheid policies wouldn't fully come to an end for 32 more years.

  • Plutonium was first made. (1944) The chemical element later used to make atomic bombs was created in a laboratory at the US government's Hanford Atomic Facility in the state of Washington.

  • US President Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican to be elected President. (1860) He beat out three other candidates and won 40 percent of the popular vote. By the time he was inaugurated in March of 1861, however, seven states had seceded from the Union and had elected Jefferson Davis as their president. The American Civil War began about a month later.

  • The inventor of the game of basketball was born. (1861) James Naismith, a Canadian, not only invented the sport, but also wrote the official rule book and started the basketball program at the University of Kansas — he is the only coach in the history of the KU program with a losing record. Naismith may also have been responsible for the introduction of the first football helmet.

  • The US tested its largest underground hydrogen bomb in its history. (1971) The bomb, called Cannikin, was detonated by the US Atomic Energy Commission on a volcanic island called Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands. The blast raised the ground 20 feet (about 6 meters) and was estimated to be about 400 times more powerful than the bomb the US dropped on Hiroshima.

  • The longest-running TV program in US history, Meet the Press debuted. (1947) The show initially began in 1945 as a radio show. It features interviews and news, often involving American and world politics.

  • The last combat unit of the Confederate Army surrendered during the American Civil War. (1865) The Confederate States Navy ship CSS Shenandoah surrendered after having spent a year sailing around the world, during which time the crew captured or sank 38 vessels. The ship also is historically noted for having fired the last shot during the American Civil War.

  • The first official college football game was played. (1869) Princeton University — then known as the College of New Jersey — was defeated by Rutgers College 6-4.

  • The patents that led to the game Monopoly were purchased by Parker Brothers. (1935) The precursor to Monopoly was a game called The Landlord's Game, which was invented by a Quaker woman named Elizabeth Magie. Game developers played with her idea, making changes, and eventually Charles Darrow developed and sold the game as Monopoly. He sold his version of the game to Parker Brothers on this day.

  • Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin addressed his country ensuring a World War II victory. (1941) This was only the second time in the 20 years since he'd assumed power that he addressed the people of his nation. He insisted that though the Soviet Union had lost 350,000 soldiers in the war so far, Germany had lost more than four million. By the end of the war, more than 26 million Soviets had been killed — nearly half of the 60 million total casualties in the war worldwide and far more than any other country.

Discussion Comments

Viranty

@Hazali - You make a very good point in saying that some shows might be more successful if they don't follow a kind of "formula" so to speak. Have you ever watched a TV show (whether it's live action or reality) that you became bored with because you could always predict what would happen next?

Also, don't forget that since Meet the Press covers news and world politics, it's not something that people can ever grow tired of, so to speak. I mean, do people ever tired of watching or reading the news? Of course not.

Every day, there's always something always happening in our world, and it's important that we keep up on current events.

On a final note, speaking of long running TV shows, one that immediately comes to mind for me is Sesame Street. While it didn't run as long as meet the press, it can be used as a good example of long running shows that were successful.

Not only is Sesame Street non-episodic, but one reason why there are so many episodes is because it can appeal to any generation. For example, while it's obvious that people who grew up in the 1990's have moved on from Sesame Street, there are kids in this day and age who adore it.

Hazali

Even though I have never watched Meet the Press, in relation to the article, one thing I've always wondered about long running programs is how they're able to keep them going for so long without losing viewers. While many people do enjoy watching TV (especially in the 1940's when it was a newer thing), wouldn't they begin to lose interest if a program went on for a long time?

For example, I have know many long running TV shows that were a big craze when they first debuted. However, over time, people simply became bored with it, and moved on to bigger and better things. Overall though, I believe one thing that might make a TV program so successful is if it has no set format. Every week, the shows leaves the viewers wondering what will happen next.

Chmander

In relation to the fifth bullet point, I'm actually surprised that the bomb was so powerful. This is especially considering how back in the 1970's, technology wasn't as advanced as it is now. However, on the other hand, I think we can all agree that it really shows just how far technology had come, and that it was a step in the right direction.

When the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima, that was years before the 1970's, and then fast forwarding many years later (to 1971), they were able to make a bomb that was 400 times more powerful than what was previously explored. If that's the case, then I can't even imagine how powerful some of the (unused) bombs are in this day and age. Perhaps they could be tested out when the time is right, but for the most part, there might be enough firepower to wipe out entire cities.

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