January 11 in History

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States was published on this date in 1964.

Studies had been conducted in an attempt to discern causal connections between smoking and negative health effects for a number of years. The report was not the first to find causal connections, but it may have been the one to have the largest effect: it is this report that ultimately led to the “Surgeon General’s Warning” affixed to every pack of cigarettes sold in America starting in the late 1960s, such as seen above.
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Marist and the Trump Inaugural Parade

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

Of course there are rival online petitions: there ought to be. In an ideal world, in a nation that celebrates free speech, there ought to be petitions to reflect each viewpoint.

Two petitions were started on Change.org recently in response to the news that my alma mater’s marching band accepted an invitation to march in the inaugural parade in Washington, DC, next week. It is always good to see one’s alma mater in the news, especially when one’s school is not a well-known one. A Marist College graduate (Class of 1990), I usually see my school’s red and white logo and motto (Orare et laborare: “to work is to pray”) only when I look for it online or whenever the alumnae fundraising committee finds my new mailing address. (Every time.)
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January 10 in History

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

The San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys 28–27 in the NFC Championship Game 35 years ago today, a game that was won by the 49ers with a fourteen-play drive and a third-and-three touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Montana to receiver Dwight Clark with 58 seconds remaining in the game.

When NFL fans refer to “The Catch,” this pass is the one that has carried that nickname for the 35 years since (video after the jump, Vin Scully broadcast):
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