November 3
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Events on This Day
1892 - The first successful automatic telephone system was introduced in Laporte, IN. Almond Strowger, the inventor, came up with the idea because the non-automatic system made it possible for his customers calls to be intercepted by his competitor. Strowger ran a funeral parlor.1900 - The first National Automobile Show opened in Madison Square Garden in New York City. A total of 31 car makers put their autoware on display.
1903 - Panama declared its independence from Colombia on this day. The revolution had been encouraged by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, who had negotiated for a treaty to build a canal, only to see it held up in the Colombian Senate. The U.S. recognized Panama’s independence and sent a warship to prevent the Colombian military from quelling the revolt.
1914 - New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob patented the backless brassiere. She developed the device from two handkerchiefs, a strand of ribbon, and a length of cord.
1927 - A Connecticut Yankee opened on Broadway at the Vanderbilt Theatre. The musical closed on October 27, 1928, after running for 421 performances. Based on the novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain, the show featured music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, was directed by Alexander Leftwich, with dances by Busby Berkeley, and starred William Gaxton (Martin, the Yankee), Constance Carpenter (Alice Carter/The Demoiselle Alisande la Carteloise), and June Cochrane (Mistress Evelyn Al Belle-Ans).
1930 - The Bank of Italy became the Bank of America.
1930 - The Detroit-Windsor tunnel opened to traffic. It is “the only vehicular international sub aqueous border crossing in the world.” It is also the second busiest crossing between the United States and Canada.
1934 - The first race track in California opened under a new parimutuel betting law. Bay Meadows, located in San Mateo, closed in 2008, with its last official race occurring on August 17 of that year.
1941 - The classic Jerry Gray arrangement of A String of Pearls was recorded by the Glenn Miller Orchestra - on Bluebird 78s. The recording featured the trumpet of Bobby Hackett.
1946 - Emperor Hirohito proclaimed a new Japanese constitution.
1953 - The Rules Committee of organized baseball restored the sacrifice fly (credited to a batter who flies out to drive in a run). The rule had not been used since 1939.
1956 - The classic MGM film, The Wizard of Oz, was first seen on television. The film cost CBS $250,000 to show. The movie was shown 18 times between 1956 and 1976, and you can probably catch it again no matter what year it is.
1957 - Sam Phillips, owner of legendary Sun Records in Memphis, TN, released Great Balls of Fire, by Jerry Lee Lewis. Looking carefully at the original label, one will find credit to Lewis and “his pumping piano.”
1960 - The Unsinkable Molly Brown, opened on Broadway. The play would become an American theater standard and win a Tony Award for its star, Tammy Grimes.
1962 - Billboard magazine dropped the “Western” from its “Country and Western“ chart title. The list has been known as Hot Country Singles/Songs ever since.
1964 - For the first time, residents of the District of Columbia were permitted to vote in a presidential election. The ratification of the 23rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (in 1961) gave Washington, D.C. citizens the right to vote for President and Vice President of the United States (not for members of Congress, however). Before that (since 1936), D.C. residents had voted only for party officials and delegates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions.
1964 - And in those elections, President Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Republican challenger Barry Goldwater to win a White House term in his own right (Johnson had become president after the assignation of John F. Kennedy).
1964 - Still more election news: Robert F. Kennedy was elected U.S. Senator from New York.
1969 - U.S. President Richard Nixon elaborated on his Nixon Doctrine in a televised speech. He stated that the U.S. would expect its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This was the start of the ‘Vietnamization’ of the Vietnam War. The Doctrine proposed a pursuit of peace through partnerships with American allies.
1972 - Singers Carly Simon and James Taylor were married in Carly’s Manhattan apartment. At the time, the couple was said to be the highest-paid couple in the world -- next to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Carly and ‘Sweet Baby’ James would divorce in 1983.
1975 - Actor David Hartman became coanchor of ABC’s Good Morning America. Hartman’s co-host was actress Nancy Dussault.
1979 - The Eagles had the number-one album in the U.S. The Long Run started a nine-week run at the top these tracks to remember: The Long Run, I Can’t Tell You Why, In the City, The Disco Strangler, King Of Hollywood, Heartache Tonight, Those Shoes, Teenage Jail, The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks and The Sad Cafe.
1982 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 43.41 points, marking the greatest single day gain in the history of the New York Stock Exchange. (By today's standards, fluctuations of several hundred points are not uncommon.)
1983 - Jesse Jackson announced his candidacy for president of the U.S.
1984 - Some 4,000 Sikhs were massacred in India in three days (Oct 31-Nov 3) in the aftermath of the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
1986 - “The Fight for Fort Knox” was announced this day. ‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler and ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard agreed to duke it out in April, 1987. The two were guaranteed at least $23 million. (Leonard won in a 12-round split decision.)
1989 - East German Secretary General Egon Krenz delivered a nationally broadcast speech in which he promised sweeping economic and political reforms, and called on East Germans to stay in the country. His speech came just 6 days before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
1990 - Vanilla Ice was number one in the U.S. with the single Ice Ice Baby, from the album To the Extreme. “Ice Ice Baby Vanilla, Ice Ice Baby Vanilla...”
1992 - Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton (and running-mate Al Gore) easily defeated President George Bush and VP Dan Quayle to win the U.S. presidential election.
1995 - Super-typhoon Angela roared through the Philippines, killing 936 people.
1996 - George Foreman won a 12-round unanimous decision over Crawford Grimsley in Tokyo. The aging (actually the oldest heavyweight champ) collected a purse of about $5 million.
1998 - A big victory by former pro wrestler Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura in the Minnesota governor’s race marked a rare victory for third-party candidates. “We shocked the world,” Ventura told supporters at a victory celebration. Ventura, running on a Minnesota Reform Party ticket, defeated Democrat Hubert Humphrey III and Republican Norm Coleman. “Serving the people, not the parties,” read a slogan on Ventura’s campaign Internet site.
2000 - Movies making their first U.S. runs this day: Charlie’s Angels, with Camerin Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu (the angels), Bill Murray and Sam Rockwell ; and The Legend of Bagger Vance, starring Will Smith, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, J. Michael Moncrief and Bruce Mcgill.
2000 - Viacom entertainment company agreed to buy BET Holdings, the largest media and entertainment company geared to an African-American audience, for $3 billion in stock.
2001 - Arkansas beat Mississippi 58-56 in seven overtimes. It was the longest NCAA college football game in history, lasting four hours and 14 minutes.
2002 - Actor Jonathan Harris died in Encino, California. He was 87 years old. Harris is probably best known for his role as Dr. Zachary Smith in the 1960s TV series Lost in Space.
2002 - Glasgow-born musician Lonnie Donegan died at 71 years of age. Donegan, known as the ‘skiffle king’, is remembered for his two biggest hits: "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose its Flavor on the Bed Post Overnight" and "Rock Island Line".
2003 - A court settlement gave Linda Tripp $595,000 from the U.S. Defense Dept. to settle her claim that officials had leaked personal information. Tripp’s secret tapes of conversations with Lewinsky fueled the sex scandal that almost brought down former President Bill Clinton.
2003 - Russia’s richest man, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, already jailed on fraud and tax evasion charges, resigned as head of the Russian oil giant Yukos.
2004 - U.S. President George Bush (II) declared victory over Democratic Senator John Kerry and claimed a second term in the White House.
2004 - Republicans tightened their grip on the U.S. Senate adding four seats to hold 55. Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota lost to Republican John Thune.
2005 - The Measles Initiative announced that since 1999, more than 200 million children in Africa had been vaccinated against measles. The campaign was estimated to have reduced the infection rate by 60%, saving a million lives.
2006 - Films debuting in U.S. theatres: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, with Sacha Baron Cohen and Daniel Castro; Flushed Away aka Ratroprolis, featuring the voices of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Bill Nighy, Shane Richie, Geoffrey Palmer, Simon Callow and Jean Reno; and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, starring Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Ann-Margret, Eric Lloyd, Spencer Breslin, Liliana Mumy, Alan Arkin and Martin Short.
2006 - An international group of ecologists warned that the world’s fish and seafood could disappear by 2048 as overfishing and pollution destroy ocean ecosystems at an accelerating pace.
2007 - Spacewalkers Scott Parazynski and Doug Wheelock repaired a torn solar energy panel on the international space station. The difficult and dangerous emergency procedure allowed the crew to extend the panel to its full length.
2007 - Eighteen big rigs were involved in a massive pileup just south of Fresno, CA. Patches of dense fog had obscured visibility with more than 100 cars and trucks crashing, killing at least two people and injuring many more.
2008 - Chen Yunlin, the most senior Chinese official to visit Taiwan since the end of civil war in 1949, arrived in Taipei on a charter flight from Beijing -- on a mission to begin strengthening economic ties.
2009 - Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bought Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. [BNSF Railway]. Total value of the deal, including Burlington debt, was $44 billion.
2009 - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a package of measures designed to help businesses and non-governmental groups around the Muslim world. Clinton made the announcement at the sixth Forum for the Future conference in Marrakech, Morocco.
2010 - Cuban President Raul Castro joined Catholic leaders to open a national seminary on the outskirts Havana. It was the first religious construction project on the communist-run island in more than a half century.
2011 - Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked a $60 billion measure for building and repairing infrastructure like roads and rail lines, handing President Barack Obama the third in a string of defeats on his stimulus-style jobs agenda.
2011 - The U.S. Deptartent of Energy reported that the world had pumped some 564 million tons more of carbon into the air in 2010 than it did in 2009. The 6% increase was the largest on record, a sign of how feeble the world’s efforts have been at slowing man-made global warming.
2012 - A land mine left over from the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s exploded during a minesweeping operation near the town of Marivan. Six people were killed.
2013 - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Egypt on his first visit since the army removed president Mohamed Mursi in July 2013. Kerry expressed guarded optimism about a return to democracy in that country. The visit kicked off a tour that would take him around the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, partly aimed at easing tensions with major Arab powers.
2014 - Tom Magliozzi, the elder brother of NPR’s Car Talk brothers, died in Boston at 77 years of age. Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers (Tom and Ray Magliozzi), began their radio show on WBUR, Boston’s NPR affiliate, in 1977. The show went national on NPR stations in 1987. The brothers stopped producing new episodes in September 2012.
2014 - The 1,776-foot One World Trade Center opened for business on the site where the WTC twin towers were destroyed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001.
2015 - A British judge ordered a £15 million payment (plus the deeds to two plush London flats, thought to be worth £5 million each) for Palestinian-born Janan Harb (68). Harb claimed she was the secret wife of the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and told the court she secretly married the king in 1968 when he was still a prince.
2015 - U.S. auto safety regulators fined Japan’s Takata Corporation $70 million for concealing evidence for years that its air bags were likely to explode with grisly consequences. The defect was linked to 8 deaths and over 100 injuries worldwide (at that time).
2016 - Toxicology tests confirmed that two 13-year-old boys in Park City, Utah overdosed on a synthetic drug that was available online and also found at the estate of entertainer Prince after he died. Ryan Ainsworth and Grant Seaver died of acute intoxication of a drug called U-47700, sometimes known as ‘pink’ or ‘pinky’, Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter reported.
2017 - Movies opening in U.S. theatres on this day included: LBJ, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Woody Harrelson, and C. Thomas Howell; Thor: Ragnarok, starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Cate Blanchett; Battlecreek, with Bill Skarsgård, Paula Malcomson and Claire van der Boom; ITTEFAQ, with Sidharth Malhotra, Sonakshi Sinha and Akshaye Khanna; Last Flag Flying, starring Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne and Steve Carell; and Most Beautiful Island, with Ana Asensio, Natasha Romanova and David Little.
2017 - The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said she was seeking an investigation of alleged war crimes committed in the war in Afghanistan. The unprecedented probe was expected to examine the actions of the Taliban, the Afghan government and U.S. troops since May 2003.
2018 - A United Nations aid convoy reached the Rukban refugee camp in Syria. Thousands of people were stranded there in the desert, close to the border with Jordan. Rukban was home to more than 50,000 people whose last U.N. aid convoy arrived the previous January.
2018 - Thousands of Central American migrants traveling in a caravan in southern Mexico resumed their journey toward the U.S. by hitchhiking and walking along highways. This, after a governor reneged on a brief offer to provide dozens of buses to take them to Mexico City more quickly.
2019 - The U.S. official whose whistleblower complaint led to the impeachment inquiry against POTUS Donald Trump offered to communicate directly with Republicans on the intelligence committee leading the inquiry. The action was in response to Republican efforts, led by Trump, to unmask the whistleblower, a member of the U.S. intelligence community whose identity has not been released.
2019 - India’s main opposition Congress party said that its general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, had been informed by messaging service WhatsApp that her phone had been hacked during the recent election campaign by malware from Israeli surveillance firm NSO.
2020 - U.S. presidential election: A record number of ballots were cast early and by mail due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of that large number, some swing states saw delays in vote counting and reporting; this led to major news outlets delaying their projection of Biden and Harris as the president-elect and vice president-elect until the morning of November 7, three and a half days after the election. (Before, during, and after Election Day, Donald Trump and numerous Republicans attempted to overturn the results -- falsely alleging widespread voter fraud.)
2020 - The number of coronavirus patients in U.S. hospitals passed 50,000 as a surge in infections pushed the U.S. health care system to the edge of capacity. Texas reported the highest number of hospitalized patients (5,936).
2021 - The FBI released hundreds of pages of newly declassified documents about its long effort to explore connections between the Saudi government and the Sep 11 attacks. It turned out to be a strenuous but ultimately fruitless investigation.
2021 - Beijing shoppers stocked up on cabbage, rice and flour for the winter, after the government urged people to keep stores of basic goods in case of emergencies. The advice started a semi-panic.
2022 - Oregon approved a drug-policy reform ballot legalizing psilocybin (magic) mushrooms for use in therapy, along with decriminalizing possession of small amounts of drugs.
2022 - The Brooklyn Nets suspended guard Kyrie Irving for a least five games without pay, saying he was “currently unfit to be associated” with the team. The suspension came after Irving repeatedly refused to apologize for posting about an antisemitic movie. His refusal to “disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity” was “deeply disturbing” and constituted “conduct detrimental to the team,” the Nets said. Irving later posted an apology on Instagram.
2023 - Priscilla was set to open in U.S. theatres. The biographical drama stars Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla Presley, Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley and Dagmara Domińczyk as Ann Beaulieu, Priscilla’s mother.
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Birthdays on This Day November 3
1793 - Stephen Austin
principal founder of Texas’ capital city, Austin, named after him; Texas Secretary of State; died Dec 27, 18361794 - William Cullen Bryant
poet: Thanatopsis, To a Waterfowl, A Forest Hymn, The Prairies; editor: NY Evening Post; died June 12, 18781908 - Bronko (Bronislaw) Nagurski
Pro Football Hall of Famer: charter member: Chicago Bears: rushed for over 4,000 yards; world champion wrestler [1938]; College Football Hall of Famer: University of Minnesota; died Jan 7, 19901909 - James Reston
journalist, columnist: The New York Times; died Dec 6, 19951910 - Richard Hurndall
actor: Doctor Who: The Five Doctors, Love in a Cold Climate, Philby, Burgess and Maclean, Franklyn and Johnnie, Gawain and the Green Knight; died Apr 13, 19841918 - Bob (Robert William) Feller
‘Rapid Robert’: Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher: Cleveland Indians [all-star: 1938-1941, 1946-1948, 1950/World Series: 1948]; won 266 games in 18 seasons: 3 no-hitters, 12 1-hitters; died Dec 15, 20101921 - Charles Bronson (Buchinsky)
actor: Death Wish series, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Valachi Papers, Sandpiper, Raid on Entebbe, Miss Sadie Thompson, Battle of the Bulge, House of Wax, You’re in the Army Now; husband of actress Jill Ireland; died Aug 30, 20031923 - Leonard Stone
actor: Broadway: South Pacific, Redhead, Look Homeward, Angel; films/TV: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, The Outer Limits, Lost in Space, M*A*S*H, The Donna Reed Show, The Real McCoys, Perry Mason, L.A. Law; had supporting roles in over 120 TV shows and 35 films; died Nov 2, 20111928 - (Dixie) Wanda Hendrix
actress: My Outlaw Brother, The Admiral Was a Lady, Welcome Stranger; died Feb 1, 19811930 - Peggy McCay
actress: A Death of Innocence, Eleanor and Franklin, Bustin' Loose, Amityville: The Evil Escapes; TV panelist: Who’s the Boss?; died Oct 7, 20181930 - Lois Smith
actress: Broadway: Buried Child, The Grapes of Wrath, The Trip to Bountiful; films, TV: East of Eden, Five Easy Pieces, Resurrection, Fatal Attraction, Fried Green Tomatoes, Dead Man Walking, Tumbleweeds, Please Give, True Blood, Desperate Housewives1931 - Monica Vitti (Maria Louisa Ceciarelli)
actress: Immortal Bachelor, Tigers in Lipstick, An Almost Perfect Affair, Blonde in Black Leather, The Red Desert; died Feb 2, 20221933 - John Barry
Academy Award-winning composer: soundtracks: Born Free [1966], The Lion in Winter [1968], Out of Africa [1985], Dances with Wolves [1990]; The Cotton Club, The Day of the Locust, Eleanor & Franklin, Indecent Proposal, Midnight Cowboy, Peggy Sue Got Married, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Shampoo, Somewhere in Time, James Bond movies, The Persuaders theme; died Jan 20, 2011; more1933 - Ken Berry
actor: Mayberry RFD, F Troop, Mama’s Family, The Ken Berry “Wow” Show, The Bob Newhart Show, The Ann Sothern Show, The Cat from Outer Space, Mountain Man, Herbie Rides Again; singer, dancer; died Dec 1, 20181933 - Michael Dukakis
: career: 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam men’s doubles titles
politician: Governor of Massachusetts [1974-1978, 1982-1990]; U.S. Presidential nominee [1988]1948 - Lulu (Marie Lawrie)
singer: To Sir with Love, Boom Bang-A-Bang, Oh Me Oh My [I’m a Fool for You Baby], I Could Never Miss You1949 - Mike Evans (Jonas)
actor: The Jeffersons, All in the Family, The Practice, The House on Skull Mountain, The Voyage of the Yes, Rich Man, Poor Man-Book 1; died Dec 14, 20061949 - Howard Fineman
journalist: Editorial Director of the AOL Huffington Post Media Group; TV political analyst1949 - Larry Holmes
boxer: heavyweight: WBC Champ [1978-1985]1952 - Roseanne (Roseanne Cherrie Barr)
Emmy Award-winning actress: Roseanne [1992-1993]; Funny, She-Devil; coproducer: The Jackie Thomas Show; author: My Life as a Woman, My Lives1953 - Kate Capshaw
actress: How to Make an American Quilt, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, Private Affairs, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Best Defense, A Little Sex, Duke of Groove, Black Tie Affair1953 - Dennis Miller
Emmy Award-winning writer: Dennis Miller Live [1993-1994, 1995-1996]; producer-writer: HBO: Dennis Miller: Citizen Arcane [1995-1996]; actor: The Dennis Miller Show, Saturday Night Live, The Net, Disclosure, Madhouse; sports commentator: ABC: NFL Monday Night Football1954 - Adam Ant (Stuart Goddard)
singer: Goody Two Shoes, Prince Charming, Stand and Deliver, Apollo Nine1954 - Phil Simms
football: New York Giants quarterback: Super Bowl XXI; CBS TV NFL sports commentator; Showtime TV sports host: Inside the NFL1957 - Dolph Lundgren
actor: Johnny Mnemonic, The Shooter, Universal Soldier, Red Scorpion, A View to a Kill, Rocky 41958 - Ariana (Barbara Reilly)
actress [1992-2004] X-rated films: The Mobster’s Wife, A Case of Submission, The Devil in Miss Jones 5: The Inferno, Coming Attractions, More Than a Handful 5: California or Bust, Reckless Passion, Titanic Orgy1961 - Lee Montgomery
actor: Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Pete and Tillie, Ben1963 - Fred Fairbrass
lead vocalist: group: Right Said Fred: I’m Too Sexy, Wonderman, Don’t Talk Just Kiss, Deeply Dippy, Those Simple Things, Daydream, Stick It Out1967 - Mike O’Neill
hockey [goalie]: Winnipeg Jets, Anaheim Mighty Ducks1968 - Debbie Rochon
actress: Nothing Sacred, November Son, Hoodoo for Voodoo, All Wrapped Up, Vampyre Tales, The Bonesetter Returns, Nowhere Man1970 - Doug Zmolek
hockey: San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, LA Kings, Chicago Blackhawks1972 - Armando Benitez
baseball [pitcher]: Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Florida Marlins, San Francisco Giants1974 - Tariq Abdul-Wahad
basketball [forward, guard]: Univ of Michigan, San Jose State Univ; NBA: Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks1975 - Darren Sharper
football [safety]: Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings1977 - Damien Woody
football [center]: Boston College; NFL: Detroit Lions1982 - Evgeni Plushenko
Serbian-Russian figure skater: won Olympic gold medal [2006 Turin, Italy Olympics]1982 - John Shuster
curling: Olympic bronze medalist [2006]1984 - LaMarr Woodley
football: [linebacker]: Univ of Michigan; NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers: Super Bowls XLIII, XLV1986 - Jasmine Trias
singer: third place finalist on TV’s American Idol; LP: Jasmine Trias1987 - Colin Kaepernick
football [quarterback]: NFL: San Francisco 49ers [2011–2016]: 2013 Super Bowl XLVII; [In 2016 and forward, Kaepernick gained attention by not standing while the U.S. national anthem was being played before the start of games. His decision was motivated by what he viewed as the oppression of people of color in the U.S. His actions prompted a wide variety of responses, including additional athletes in the NFL and other American sports leagues protesting in various ways during the anthem.]1987 - Elizabeth Smart
Salt Lake City girl who was kidnapped at age 14 and rescued nine months later; contributor for ABC News; author: My Story1995 - Kendall Jenner
model, socialite: rose to fame in the reality TV show Keeping Up with the Kardashians1996 - Aria Wallace
actress: iCarly, The Bernie Mac Show, Charmed, That ’70s Show, Christmas in Paradise, Roxy Hunter film series
and still more...
Hit Music on This Day November 3
1944I’ll Walk Alone (facts) - Dinah Shore
Dance With a Dolly (With a Hole in Her Stocking) (facts) - The Russ Morgan Orchestra (vocal: Al Jennings)
1953
1962
1971
1980
1989
1998
2007
2016
and even more...
Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...
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