The Magic of October 8th

When I woke up this morning, I realized it was October 8th. Today is unique because according to one source, every major event in the history of our great nation took place on October 8th. Columbus discovering America? October 8th. The start of the Revolutionary War and the day England surrendered? October 8th. Man landed on the moon on October 8th. And my personal favorite, America celebrated it's first 4th of July on October 8th. The source of all this profound wisdom is my favorite book on American History, Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History Of The United States. Dave Barry is a humor columnist that worked for many years for the Miami Herald. He's also written several books. Dave's theory was that history would be a lot easier to learn if all a student had to remember was the date October 8th. Dave picked that date because it was the day his son was born. The best thing about Dave Barry Slept Here is that there is enough fact in it that when I was a college sophomore, I passed an American History class using Dave as my primary means of study. If you have never read it, I recommend picking up a copy as soon as possible. If you want to check out Dave's columns, including his trip to the Beijing Olympics and his take on the election visit http://www.miamiherald.com/dave_barry/

Dave also runs for president every 4 years, and he currently has a forum where you can ask him questions, I've asked him 3 questions and he's answered all of them. It's a really funny read and a great way to waste time at work. Check out : http://www.mcclatchydc.com/qna/forum/dave_barry_for_president/index.html

Happy October 8th!