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Today in History: April 19

1764 The English Parliament bans the American colonies from printing paper money.

1770 British explorer Captain James Cook first sights Australia. Writes in his log book that “what we have as yet seen of this land appears rather low, and not very hilly, the face of the Country green and Woody, but the Sea shore is all a white Sand.”

1775 The American Revolution begins as fighting breaks out at Lexington, Massachusetts. The Shot Heard Round the World

1802 The Spanish reopen New Orleans port to American merchants.

1934 Shirley Temple appears in her first movie.

1977 Alex Haley receives a special Pulitzer Prize for his book Roots.

1989 The battleship USS Iowa's number 2 turret explodes, killing sailors.

1993 The FBI ends a 51-day siege by storming the Branch Davidian religious cult headquarters in Waco, Texas.

1995 A truck bomb explodes in front of the federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people.

2020 UK COVID-19 death toll reaches 16,060 (hospitals only), as "The Sunday Times" criticizes Boris Johnson's government's response, saying they "sleepwalked into disaster"

2022 US Biden administration restores climate impacts and community say to the National Environmental Policy Act, previously removed by Donald Trump

2022 US inflation hits 8.5%, the highest since 1981, driven by a rise in gas prices, rent and food

Born on April 19

1877 Ole Evinrude, inventor of the first successful outboard motor.

1903 Eliot Ness, Treasury agent during Prohibition.

JOTD
Einstein sits next to a man on a long flight.

Einstein says,"Let's play a game. I will ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you will pay me only $5; but if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500". The man agrees and the game proceeds.
Einstein asks the first question, “What is the distance between the Earth and the Moon?”
The man doesn't say a word. He reaches into his pocket, and pulls out $5. He then asks Einstein, “What goes up a hill with 3 legs, but comes down on 4?”
Einstein thinks about it for a long time, but fails to answer the question. After almost an hour, he gives the man $500.
An irritated Einstein then asks, “Well, so what goes up a hill on 3 legs and comes down on 4?”.
The man reaches into his pocket and gives Einstein $5.