• On July 21, 1989, the worst domino-related incident on record occurred at Union Station in Kansas City, MO. Over 846,000 dominoes experienced an “unplanned collapse event” (UCE), tumbling haphazardly after a passer-by slipped on the freshly mopped floor. Domino wranglers on hand were powerless to stop the event once it began. When the dust settled, only 14 of the dominoes remained upright. The display — a work titled “You Knock Us Over” which was arranged as a tribute to America’s pecan growers — was canceled due to the severity of the incident. Ian Tremont, then-president of the International Association of Domino Wranglers, summed up the feelings of the entire domino community: “Man, it is seriously going to take a long time to stand those back up again.”
• On July 23, 1994, a ninja infiltrated the White House, evading detection by the Secret Service for ten hours before scaling the outside of the building and escaping. What, like you can prove me wrong?
• On July 24, 1910, Cardinals pitcher Reginald “Pants” Dixon began a new exercise regimen, wearing ice skates whenever he wasn’t at the ballpark. The move was supposedly to improve his “balance, agileness, and other such machinations,” and Dixon reaped immediate benefits, winning his next 3 starts while giving up only 4 runs over 22 innings. He abandoned the ice skate routine after accidentally beheading his cat, Chumpers. He sank immediately into a slump, losing his next 7 starts.
I have to say, I have missed reading the misadventures of Reginald “Pants” Dixon. I guess I need to read Analog Nation a little more often.
Ol’ Pants never truly left us, he was merely sent down to the minors so he could work on new and interesting ways to fail.