On this day in 1572, Canada’s first business deal was recorded in Chateau Bay, Labrador. An anonymous Basque fisherman bought four scallops. Although few details are available from the usual historical sources, our own Hystery specialists have discovered all the facts under the Access to Useless Information Act. First of all, the reason the Basque fisherman wanted to remain anonymous was that he was cheating on his wife. He had gone out one night in Bilbao after telling his wife he was just going to the pub to enjoy a pint with his friends. After worrying about him for six years she found out he had lied about going to the pub and had actually gone fishing off the Grand Banks where he had hooked up with a serving wench from Labrador who believed that scallops were an aphrodisiac. This is what had sent our anonymous Basque fisherman out to his local fish shop to quickly secure four scallops, for which he paid six sticks and 25 leaves (it was the currency in Labrador in the 1500s). The fish dealer was deliriously happy because he had been giving the scallops away and now, suddenly, he was a ‘bidness’ man. Life in Canada has never been the same.
On this day in 1882, the battle of the Hadfields and the McCoys took place on the border of West Virginia and Kentucky. Over a hundred people were wounded or killed including serious injuries to 35 whisky stills, eleven banjos and 6 pairs of suspenders. The good news is that, despite the numerous head wounds, no brain cells were harmed during the conflict.
On this day in 1930, R.B. Bennett became the prime minister of Canada. Lucky guy! Getting to be PM of Canada during the Great Depression is about as useful as being Mel Gibson’s publicist.
On this day in 1961, USSR Premier Nikita Khrushchev predicted that the Soviet economy would surpass the United States economy. Turns out that was just the Smirnoff talking. Not long after that, he went to the United Nations where he was charged with trying to kill his shoe by beating it on a desk. He said he did it because he was getting phone calls from Maxwell Smart.
If your birthday is September 7th, you share it with rock singer Buddy Holly who was born on this day in 1936. Besides being a talented singer, Buddy also taught us a great lesson; never fly in a small plane with a rock ‘n roll band. If Buddy had only taken the 9:15 Greyhound from Mason City he’d still be singing “Peggy Sue” today.
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