It's Mole Day!

Today between 6:02 a.m. and 6:02 p.m. it is Mole Day! What is mole day, you didn't ask?

Mole Day commemorates Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 10^23), which is a basic measuring unit in chemistry.

How fucking exciting!

The other anniversaries for the day are a mixed bag of interesting things. For example, in 1944 the Battle of Leyte Gulf started. It was the largest naval battle in modern history and resulted in a glorious, decisive allied victory. The Japanese engaged 17 US carriers and nearly 200 other ships with 4 carriers and about 50 other ships. They lost 4 carriers, 3 battleships and 8 cruisers by the end. Ouch.

Also, the first meeting of the U.N. General Assembly was held on this day. Oh boy.

Finally, in the fully negative category, today marks the 24th anniversary of the Beirut truck bombing that killed 241 U.S. Marines. In what I consider the biggest mistake of his Presidency, Ronald Reagan withdrew our forces shortly thereafter giving the terrorists a huge propaganda victory and abandoning Lebanon to decades of chaos and destruction. Also, this was another major capitulation to radical Islam and would lead to a greater sense by our enemies that we had no will to fight.

In the Navy

As of this day in 1775, the United States of America had a navy:

A plan was drawn up to intercept the ships, however the armed vessels to be used were owned not by Congress, but by individual colonies. Of greater significance, then, was an additional plan to equip two ships that would operate under the direct authority of Congress to capture British supply transports. This was not carried out until October 13, 1775, when George Washington announced that he had taken command of three armed schooners under Continental authority to intercept any British supply ships near Massachusetts. With the revelation that vessels were already sailing under Continental control, the decision to add two more was made easier; the resolution was adopted and October 13 would later become known as the United States Navy's official birthday.

The first ship was the U.S.S. Hannah. After capturing one ship it was run aground evading British guns.

A lot has happened in 232 years. We've gone from this:

USS Wasp
To this:

Non Sibi Sed Patriae!

Foreshadowing

On this day in 2000, yet another major Al Qaeda terrorist attack was ignored by Bill Clinton when the U.S.S. Cole was bombed in the Port of Aden:

On 12 October 2000, while under the command of Commander Kirk Lippold, the Cole was attacked from a small boat by Al-Qaida suicide bombers, while she was harbored in the Yemeni port of Aden. Seventeen sailors were killed and 39 were injured. The U.S. government offered a reward of up to US $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of those persons who committed or aided in the attack on Cole.

Yeah, the law enforcement tactics like offering rewards have always been so effective.

Five years later a nightclub was bombed in Bali killing hundreds.