This Day in Pop Culture for March 3

1875: The First Indoor Hockey Game was a Hit

The Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, Quebec was built in 1862. The two-story building featured tall windows to let the light in during the day and 500 gas-jet lighting fixtures to light up the place by night. On this day in 1875, the first indoor hockey game took place there. It was organized by a figure skating judge and member of the Victoria Skating Club. The game was adapted from the outdoor version, but instead of playing with a lacrosse ball, this indoor game was played with a flat round disk of wood. This was decided to keep those watching the game safe from flying balls leaving the ice. And a fight did break out on that day too, but not during the game. The fight was between the players and spectators and members of the Skating Club who were angry that the rink was being used for the sport of hockey taking away hours of skating time and the fact that it damaged the ice. (Image: Wikipedia)

1932: Time is Published for the First Time

It was on this day in 1923 that the weekly news magazine, Time, published its first issue. It was the first of its kind and still the strongest. Today, it has the largest circulation of any weekly news magazine in the world. Total readership sits at 25 million with 20 million of them coming from the U.S. Initially, the magazine was to be called Facts emphasizing brief articles so that busy men could it the publication in an hour. It was changed to Time with the slogan, “Take Time – It’s Brief.” For decades, the cover featured a single person. The first was Joseph G. Cannon, the retired Speaker of the House of Representatives. The cover price was just .15 cents.

1931: Star Spangled Banner Becomes National Anthem

Though written on September 14, 1814 by Francis Scott Key, the “Star-Spangled Banner” didn’t become the official national anthem until this day in 1931 when President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional act. It is said that Key wrote the lyrics after actually witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Maryland during the 1812 war. He was in awe that the fort’s flag still stood after a 1,800 bomb assault. The lyrics were set to the tune of “To Anacreon in Heaven,” a popular English song.