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Today in History: March 31

1282 The great massacre of the French in Sicily The Sicilian Vespers comes to an end.

1776 Abigail Adams writes to husband John that women are "determined to foment a rebellion" if the new Declaration of Independence fails to guarantee their rights.

1836 The first monthly installment of The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens is published in London.

1880 The first electric street lights ever installed by a municipality are turned on in Wabash, Indiana.

1889 The Eiffel Tower in Paris officially opens on the Left Bank as part of the Exhibition of 1889.

1916 General John Pershing and his army rout Pancho Villa's army in Mexico.

1917 The United States purchases the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million.

1918 Daylight Savings Time goes into effect throughout the United States for the first time.

1949 Winston Churchill declares that the A-bomb was the only thing that kept the Soviet Union from taking over Europe.

Born on March 31

1596 René Descartes, French philosopher and scientist.

1854 Sir Dugald Clerk, inventor of the two-stroke motorcycle engine.

1948 Al Gore, Vice President to President William J. Clinton (1993-2001).

JOTD
A young teenage girl was making a living as a prostitute

and for obvious reasons she kept it a secret from her grandma. One day, the police raided a brothel and arrested a group of prostitutes, including the young girl. The prostitutes were instructed to line up in a straight line on the sidewalk. Well, who should be walking in the neighborhood, but little old Grandma. The young girl was frantic.
Sure enough, Grandma noticed her young granddaughter and asked curiously, "What are you lining up for, dear?" Not willing to let grandma in on her little secret, the young girl told her that some people were passing out free oranges and that she was lining up for some.
"Mmm, sounds lovely," said Grandma. "I think I'll have some myself," she continued as she made her way to the back of the line. A police officer made his way down the line, questioning all of the prostitutes. When he got to Grandma, at the end of the line, he was bewildered. "But you're so old... how do you do it?"
Grandma replied, "Oh, it's quite easy, sonny... I just remove my dentures and suck em dry!"