– Funny or Die’s Winners of 2011 in categories such as: Most Women Forcibly Bedded By a Guy You Never Heard Of Before This Year, But Almost Became Our President.
As we reminisce and assess, we might recall that it was exactly 200 years ago– on this date in 1811– in the Mississippi River Valley near New Madrid, Missouri, that the largest series of earthquakes in U.S. history began; by the time it was complete, it had raised and lowered parts of the Mississippi Valley by as much as 15 feet and changed the course of the Mississippi River. The earthquakes– measuring as high as 8.6 magnitude on the Richter scale– were felt strongly over roughly 50,000 sq. mi., and moderately across nearly 1 million sq. mi. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake, by comparison, was felt moderately over roughly 6,200 sq. mi.
“The Great Earthquake at New Madrid.” a nineteenth-century woodcut from Devens’ Our First Century (1877) source
As the end of the decade approaches, “Best of” lists are sprouting like kudzu. Happily Jenni Leder and Kottke.org are compiling “The Noughties”
It’s basically a list of all the “best ofs” from the 2000s. It’s a work in progress so I would love to get your input on what should go on the list. I’ll also be doing a weekly post highlighting the best of the “best ofs” that are on the list, as well as keep you all updated on any new developments.
Currently, the count stands at 150, but readers should check back for the updates– the hits are bound to keep on coming…
As we prepare to usher out the old, we might tilt our necks and cast a commemorative glance into the skies, as it was on this date in 1903 that Orville and Wilbur Wright made their 12 second, 120 foot flight at Kitty Hawk, NC– the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight.
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