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Today in History: November 3

644
Umar ibn al-Khattab, second Muslim caliph, is killed in Medina by Lu'lu, an enslaved Persian captive

1493
Christopher Columbus arrives at the Caribbee Isles (Dominica) during his second expedition.

1507
Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint Lisa Gherardini ("Mona Lisa").

1868
Ulysses S. Grant elected the 18th president of the United States.

1883
The U.S. Supreme Court declares American Indians to be "dependent aliens."

1896
William McKinley is elected 25th president of the United States.

1906
International Radiotelegraph Conference in Berlin selects "SOS" (· · · – – – · · ·) distress signal as the worldwide standard for help

1918
The German fleet at Kiel mutinies. This is the first act leading to Germany's capitulation in World War I.

1921
Milk drivers on strike dump thousands of gallons of milk onto New York City's streets to protest the drink's varying prices on the market.

1956
Gary Ross, film director, screenwriter (The Hunger Games, Seabiscuit).

1957
Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2 with space dog Laika aboard, a mostly Siberian Husky, the first animal in space

1964
Robert F. Kennedy, brother of the slain president John F. Kennedy, is elected as a senator from New York.

1964
For the first time, residents of Washington, D.C., are allowed to vote in the U.S. presidential election.

1964
Lyndon B. Johnson is elected the 36th president of the United States.

1969
U.S. President Richard Nixon, speaking on TV and radio, asks the "silent majority" of the American people to support his policies and the continuing war effort in Vietnam.

1992
Arkansas Governor Bill (William Jefferson) Clinton is elected 42nd president of the United States.

2014
New York's 104-storey One World Trade Center officially opens 13 years after the September 11 attacks

2020
Donald John Trump (b. June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York) is the 45th and current president of the United States. Was re-elected today.

2021
US begins vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 years with a lower dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

2023
5.6 magnitude earthquake centered around Jajarkot, northwest Nepal, kills 157 people and leaves thousands homeless

Today in History: Born on November 3

1918
Russell Long, U.S. senator from Louisiana from 1951 to 1968 and son of Huey P. Long.

1933
Amartya Sen, Indian economist, winner of Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1998) for his work on economic theories of famines and social justice and indexes for measuring the well-being of citizens in developing countries.

1933
Michael Dukakis, politician; the longest-serving governor in the history of the state of Massachusetts (1975-79, 1983-91); unsuccessful Democratic candidate for US presidency (1988).

1949
Larry Holmes, professional boxer known as "The Easton Assassin"; his 20 successful defenses of his heavyweight title is second only to Joe Louis' record of 25.

1952
Roseanne Barr, comedian, actress, producer; best known for her starring role in the TV series Roseanne, for which she won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

JOTD
There is a factory that makes the Tickle Me Elmo toys. The toy laughs when you tickle it under the arms.

Well, Lena is hired at The Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for her first day promptly at 8:00 am.

The next day at 8:45 am there is a knock at the Personnel Manager’s door. The Foreman throws open the door and begins to rant about the new Employee.

He complains that she is incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up, putting the entire production line behind schedule.

The Personnel Manager decides he should see this for himself, so the 2 men march down to the factory floor. When they get there the line is so backed up that there are Tickle Me Elmo’s all over the factory floor and they’re really beginning to pile up.

At the end of the line stands Lena surrounded by mountains of Tickle Me Elmo’s. She has a roll of plush Red fabric and a huge bag of small marbles.

The 2 men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to carefully sew the little package between Elmo’s legs.

The Personnel Manager bursts into laughter. After several minutes of hysterics he pulls himself together and approaches Lena .

“I’m sorry,” he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face, “but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday.”

“Your job is to give Elmo two test tickles.”