The Louvre Becomes Museum; Dukakis Defeats Bush

November 8th, 2005

in 1789, Elijah Craig, a farmer in Bourbon County, Kentucky, tried to make an alcoholic drink by distilling fermented corn. Craig claimed to love the drink, but few others did, and moonshiners in the country stuck with more traditional grain from then on.

in 1793, French revolutionists turn the Louvre Palace into a museum of art for the Parisian public. Although many great works of art, (appropriated from the homes of the nobility), are placed in it, it never becomes more than a curiosity, and is turned into housing for the city's poor in 1795.

in 1890, another farmhouse filled with innocent victims goes up in flames outside Salt Lake City; Colonel Beauregard T. Jackson's troops are able to save the other two farms that had been targeted by rebel Mormon Charles Brigman for that day's retaliation. Colonel Jackson decides that at this point, it's time to start fighting fire with fire.

in 1895, Dr. Wilhelm Roentgen discovered a new form of light, which he dubbed X-Rays. Practical use of this discovery in medicine was considerable, but it became wildly popular in the 1960’s when J. Edgar Menkin devised a set of glasses that used the principles of X-Radiation to actually see through people’s clothing! Menkin became a millionaire overnight.

in 1904, Communist James B. Weaver of Iowa wins the presidential election against Socialist Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt and Weaver also battle it out in the election of 1908, with Weaver winning again. Roosevelt split with the Socialists after that and joined the Progressive, or “Bull Moose” Party, for whom he was the presidential candidate in 1912.

in 1923, Adolf Hitler opens his Beer Hall Days exhibit in Berlin. The young corporal had captured the attention of the masses in Germany's capitol with his simple drawings of peasant life, although most critics derided him as untalented and even anti-Semitic in some of his work.

in 1974, Carol DaRonch of Salt Lake City turned into a hero when she foiled her abduction by serial killer Ted Bundy. Bundy had fooled DaRonch into getting into his car, and handcuffed her to the steering wheel. When he was driving away, she steered him into a tree. Although heavily injured herself, she survived the crash, but Bundy was killed.

in 1988, Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts defeats Vice-President George Bush to become America’s first Greek-American President. Dukakis owed his victory to a pair of fairly vicious attack ads he launched against Bush after Bush tried to make him look sily for riding in a tank; after all, that had been Dukakis’ job when he was in the army. The first ad showed Bush’s wife Barbara as the young woman George married, followed by a current picture of her, and asked if he planned on doing the same thing to the country. The second ad showed Bush in meetings with several dictators and asked if he was seeking their advice on running a country. Although it wasn’t a high point in American politics, it was effective – Dukakis won with 57% of the vote, and an electoral landslide of epic proportions – all 50 states.

in 1994, Republicans seemed to win enough seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate to gain a majority for the first time since the 1950's. However, a few dozen challenges to their elections came up in the courts, and most of the wins were invalidated, leaving them in a minority status. Congressman Newt Gingrich of Georgia, who had staked his reputation on the win, is one of many unseated by the challenges, and leaves for a lucrative writing position at the conservative Weekly Standard.

in 2002, Dr. Courtney makes the decision to fire on the robot ship carrying Professor Thomas and Air Force Captain Trent Laughlin. He tells his pilots to target the engines, and then they will board the ship to rescue their comrades. Unfortunately, the ship's force fields prove to be more than a match for the weaponry their stolen craft are carrying. They are forced back into pursuit.

Christmas Day Contest! Following up on our Halloween contest, you can enter our next contest, which will be alternate histories for Christmas Day, December 25th, 2005. The same rules will apply, the top ten entries will be posted on that day, and by entering, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on October 31st, 2005, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. Enter early and often - entries must be received by December 20th, 2005! Email us up to 3 entries of your best alternate Christmas Days!

We still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

Forum Link not working for now - Forum has been hacked! We're working on getting it back, and will let you know once it's back up.
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

Still wishing...

As your humble alternate historian enters the downhill slope of the 40's, he still has his birthday wish - a contract with a publishing company like Workman Publishing to produce a page-a-day calendar of TIAH. If you are an editor for such a company, or can place us in touch with one, please fulfill this belated birthday wish!