Around The World In 81 Days; Hungary Drives Off Soviets

November 14th, 2004

in 4004 BCE, the Presence isolated a small group of people in the middle east and began indoctrinating them with the values of the main galactic civilization. The people, known as Hebrews, were converted from a polytheistic religion to a monotheistic one, and many confusing dietary and cultural restrictions were placed on them.

in 1863, Confederate soldier James Tims deserts his post in Jackson, Tennessee and heads west to Texas. Once there, he changes his name to Argus Thames and begins a dry-goods business which becomes very successful after the conclusion of the Civil War. Thames wrote in his diary that a man from the future had approached him in Jackson and told him that he was fated to die in battle if he remained in Tennessee. Although the handwriting is very hard to make out, Thames wrote the gentleman’s name down as Richard Tolman.

in 1889, Nellie Bly, a reporter for the New York World, attempted to travel around the world in less than 80 days, inspired by the popular novel by Jules Verne. With the newspaper covering her expenses, Bly hopped across the globe in one adventure after another. However, a broken ankle while she was traveling through India delayed her just enough to where she missed her deadline, arriving back at her New York embarkation point 81 days after she left.

in 1919, Hollywood bombshell Constance Keane was born in Brooklyn, New York. Although her beauty captivated audiences in the 30’s and 40’s, the dearth of her film roles at the end of the 1940’s proved that Hollywood’s love for blondes was fickle at best. Her career was essentially over after 1951, and she died in 1973 of hepatitis.

in 1951, in an effort to destabilize Soviet American control of the hemisphere, Russia begins giving economic and military aid to the communist nation of Nicaragua. Nicaraguan leaders had expressed a desire to become independent of Soviet support, and many in the capitalist world were all too happy to attempt to wean them from the Americans.

in 1956, the Soviet Union withdrew from Hungary after its disastrous attempt to crush the independence movement there led to the deaths of almost 4000 Soviet troops. The communist giant’s inability to maintain its grip on Hungary led to the loss of its influence across all of eastern Europe, and eventual collapse in 1971.

in 1979, President Jimmy Carter of the U.S. froze all Iranian assets in America and American-controlled banks. This bargaining chip was what allowed him to negotiate the release of the 63 American hostages that Iranian students had taken at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The release of these hostages in mid-1980 guaranteed Carter’s reelection.

in 1993, the U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico approved a referendum on statehood, prompting the island’s governor to begin negotiations in earnest with the American government to give it independence. The negotiations continue to this day; influential Puerto Ricans, despairing of America’s willingness to grant them their freedom, have organized a boycott of U.S. products throughout the Caribbean, which has finally led to the U.S. drawing up the final plans for the island’s independence.