Nov 2: North and South Dakota Become Twin States, the Spruce Goose Flies

Host 1 Welcome to On This Day in American History, on this day November 2nd we are diving into three pivotal moments that share this date I mean we're exploring the stories the vivid details and well why they matter to you today

Host 2 yeah it's such a great lineup we are really looking at the extreme lengths humans will will go to break boundaries

Host 1 right

Host 2 whether those boundaries are you know political atmospheric or or even entirely planetary

Host 1 exactly so let's start with the political boundaries in 1889 president benjamin harrison is is sitting at his desk ready to admit north and South Dakota as states

Host 2 right but the Dakota Territory was split by a really fierce fierce internal rivalry at the time

Host 1 which I always picture like a parent you know desperately trying not to name a favorite child

Host 2 that is exactly what it was like like

Host 1 right so to avoid the backlash the statehood papers were were covered and shuffled before signing but here is the historical dispute I mean one account says Secretary of State James Blaine shuffled them

Host 2 yeah but then AP reporting from the room claims that everything but the signature lines was actually covered up

Host 1 wow either way Harrison Harrison declared I will make them twins twins and since no one could prove which was signed signed first they were just numbered alphabetically

Host 2 North Dakota 39 South Dakota 40

Host 1 yep

Host 2 now this still matters to you today because it proves how congressional party politics literally literally drew the map of the American West I mean I mean it left a birthday rivalry that persists right now

Host 1 it really really does so moving from drawing territorial maps to pushing physical boundaries let's look at 1947

Host 2 uh-huh right

Host 1 yeah Howard Hughes

Host 2 yeah Hughes flying the massive H-4 Hercules

Host 1 which which ironically was built mostly out of birch due to wartime constraints

Host 2 right not exactly the spruce goose everyone calls it

Host 1 exactly and Senator Owen Brewster had had actually insulted it calling it it a flying lumber yard that would never fly

Host 2 a flying lumber yard

Host 1 yeah that's harsh

Host 2 that's harsh

Host 1 yeah but Hughes Hughes alongside this unlicensed hydraulic engineer co-pilot actually lifted off for 26 seconds

Host 2 wait an unlicensed co-pilot

Host 1 yes and after that brief flight Hughes simply said I like to make surprises

Host 2 I love that and it really stands as a symbol of daring engineering and well contentious government spending too

Host 1 totally

Host 2 it it remains the largest airplane ever to take flight even though it never flew again

Host 1 so true well transitioning from a 26 second wooden flight to a permanent metal home in orbit let's jump to the year 2000

Host 2 yes expedition one

Host 1 right Shepherd Gidzenko and Krikalyov moving into the International Space Station and their first tasks are just so highly relatable

Host 2 just basic household chores really

Host 1 yeah like turning on the lights fixing the hot water dispenser dispenser for a warm drink they even found a a sanitized toilet sign left by previous crew

Host 2 that is hilarious

Host 1 and they took what NASA considers the first space selfie

Host 2 which really connects to the bigger picture right because this initiated an uninterrupted human presence in space

Host 1 it did

Host 2 and it showcased a monumental shift toward international cooperation

Host 1 amazing well before we go also on this day Washington 1783 farewell orders KDKA's first licensed commercial radio broadcast in 1920 and the 1983 signing of of the MLK Day bill

Host 2 such a packed date and I'll leave you with a final thought consider how history on this single date evolved from bitter territorial rivalries in the Dakotas to unprecedented international cooperation in the stars when we eventually settle on Mars will we build borders before we even build habitats

Host 1 thanks for tuning in see you back here tomorrow