Moments in Time: World's First Cloned Cat
The History Channel
On Dec. 22, 2001, the world's first cloned cat, appropriately named CC, or Copy Cat, made her debut in a Texas biomedical lab. She lived for 18 years, possessed all the attributes of a normal cat, and her birth jumpstarted a pet-cloning industry around the world.
On Dec. 23, 1982, the Missouri Department of Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control told residents of Times Beach, Missouri, that their town was contaminated by the chemical dioxin sprayed on its unpaved roads, with the unfortunate result that the town would have to be demolished. By February, the federal and state governments had spent $36 million to buy all the town's houses, with the exception of one that the owners refused to sell, and the city was officially disincorporated.
On Dec. 24, 1801, British inventor Richard Trevithick took seven of his friends for a test ride in his "Puffing Devil," aka "Puffer," the first steam-powered passenger vehicle.
On Dec. 25, 1971, Garo Yepremian punted a 37-yard field goal in the second overtime of an AFC playoff game, giving the Miami Dolphins a 27-24 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the longest game in NFL history: 82 minutes and 40 seconds.
On Dec. 26, 1946, mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel opened the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Singer/comedian Jimmy Durante headlined the entertainment, with music by band leader Xavier Cugat. The opening flopped, however, due to bad weather that kept away many Hollywood guests, and as gamblers didn't have rooms at the hotel, they took their winnings and gambled elsewhere. The casino lost $300,000 in its first week.
On Dec. 27, 1935, Regina Jonas became the first woman ordained as a rabbi. After many male rabbis fled Germany during World War II, she stepped into the void, though synagogues, at least, would not welcome her. She died in Auschwitz.
On Dec. 28, 1917, writer/satirist H.L. Mencken published a history of the bathtub, including a claim that bathing was unlawful in Boston between 1845 and 1862. The story, which was a spoof designed to test reader gullibility, was widely shared by newspapers and historians.
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