What did you do for a headache before 1899?

Month at a glance

Our customary first-of-the-monthly dispatch from The Stillwater Scouter: “March is Mad for Plaid Month.

“National Procrastination Week takes place March 4 through March 10.

 

“March 1, 1692, saw Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba (a slave) charged with witchcraft in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

“Baseball’s batter’s box was officially adopted on March 2, 1874.

“On March 3, 1634, Samuel Cole opened the first tavern in Boston, Massachusetts. Also on this day, but in 1873, Congress banned the sending of obscene materials through the mail.

“Nine senators and 13 representatives met on March 4, 1789, to have the U.S. Congress declare the Constitution in effect.

“On March 5, 1623, Virginia enacted the first American temperance law.

“Friedrich Bayer & Co. patented aspirin on March 6, 1899.

“March 7 is Cereal Day.

“The state of New York enacted the nation’s first dog-licensing law on March 8, 1894.

“Kissing in public was banned in Naples (punishable by death) on March 9, 1562.

“England declared war on Spain on March 10, 1624.

“On March 11, 1708, Queen Anne withheld Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill. This was the last time a British monarch vetoed legislation.

“On March 13, 1677, Massachusetts acquired title to Maine for $6,000. Also: March 13 is Earmuffs Day. Chester Greenwood invented the thermal earmuff in 1873.

“The first national bird reservation was established in Sebastian, Florida, on March 14, 1903.

“Finland was the first European country to give women the right to vote. This happened March 15, 1907.

“On March 18, 1834, in Pennsylvania, the first railroad tunnel in the U.S. was completed.

“On March 19, 1644, two hundred members of the Peking imperial family/court committed suicide.

“March 21, 1857, was the day about 107,000 people died in Tokyo from an earthquake.

“The first printed book, the Gutenberg Bible, appeared on March 22, 1457.

“March 23 is National Puppy Day.

“Pilot Henri Fabre flew the first seaplane off water at Martinques, France, on March 28, 1910.

“The U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million on March 30, 1867.*

“* The Stillwater Scouter thinks that was a good deal.”