2004, a hiking magazine apologized after it published a route plan that would have sent hikers striding into thin air off the north face of Scotland’s largest mountain, Ben Nevis. Anyone following the magazine’s directions would have plunged down a sheer cliff into nearby Gardyloo Gully. No one died.
1848, James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget at Sutter’s Mill in northern California, a discovery that led to the gold rush of ’49.
1955, Major-league baseball announced that during the new season the rule requiring a pitcher to deliver the ball within 20 seconds after he received it would be strictly enforced. It’s still the rule, but is never enforced.
1999, a British road safety official found an effective way to make motorists reduce their speed on the street past his house. He put up a large poster of Czech supermodel Eva Herzigova, taking off her shirt. Drivers slowed down immediately.
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