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Today in History: September 18
1793
George Washington lays the foundation stone for the U.S. Capitol.

1830
Tom Thumb, the first locomotive built in the United States, loses a nine-mile race in Maryland to a horse.

1850
Congress passes the second Fugitive Slave Bill into law (the first was enacted in 1793), requiring the return of escaped slaves to their owners.

1862
After waiting all day for a Union attack which never came at Antietam, Confederate General Robert E. Lee begins a retreat out of Maryland and back to Virginia.

1863
Union cavalry troops clash with a group of Confederates at Chickamauga Creek.

1973
East and West Germany and The Bahamas are admitted to United Nations.

1975
Patty Hearst, granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped by violent radical group SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army); she will later take part in some of the group's militant activities and will be captured by FBI agents.

1977
Voyager I takes first photo of Earth and the Moon together.

1998
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is formed to coordinate unique identifying addresses for Websites worldwide.

2009
The US television soap opera The Guiding Light broadcasts its final episode, ending a 72-year run that began on radio.

Born on September 18
1905
Greta Garbo, actress nominated for Oscars for her roles in Anna Christie and Ninotcha.

1926
Joe Kubert, comic book artist (Sgt. Rock, Hawkman), inducted into Harvey Awards' Jack Kirby Hall of Fame (1907) and Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame (1998); founder of The Kubert School.

1939
Frankie Avalon, singer ("Venus") , actor (The Alamo), playwright; teen idol of 1950s-60s.

1961
James Gandolfini, actor; won three Emmys, two Golden Globes and three Screen Actors Guild Awards (crime boss Tony Soprano in The Sopranos).

1971
Lance Armstrong (Lance Gunderson), cyclist; won record 7 Tour De France titles but was stripped of them and banned from competitive cycling for life after it was determined he had used performance-enhancing drugs.

JOTD
A kindergarten teacher one day is trying to explain to her class the definition of the word “definitely.” To make sure the students have a good understanding of the word, she asks them to use it in a sentence.

The first student raises his hand and says, “The sky is definitely blue.”

The teacher says, “Well, that isn’t entirely correct, because sometimes it’s gray and cloudy.”

Another student says, “Grass is definitely green.” The teacher again replies, “If grass doesn’t get enough water, it turns brown, so that isn’t really correct either.”

Another student raises his hand and asks the teacher, “Do farts have lumps?” The teacher looks at him and says, “No, but that isn’t really question you want to ask in class discussion.”

So the student replies, “Then I’ve definitely shite in my pants.”