The Great Fire of Chicago was ignited on this date 143 years ago. Some accounts blame Mrs. Catherine O'Leary's cow for starting the fire when it overturned a lamp.

Even contemporary officials concluded that the cow wasn't guilty, and in 1997 Chicago formally forgave Mrs. O'Leary for a century of slander. So what really did cause the fire that burned 17,000 buildings and left a third of the city homeless? The world may never know.

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The Great Fire of Rome was ignited on this date, 1,950 years ago. Some accounts blame Emperor Nero for starting the fire, while others say he just took advantage of the aftermath to remake Rome to his liking.

History teaches that Nero was among the worst Roman emperors, both crazy and bloodthirsty. Some modern scholars debate the historical portrait, pointing to his popularity among the plebeians and his contribution to the arts. The only way to learn the truth would be to travel back in time. This sounds like a job for Superman!

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It was 20 years ago today that the most famous car chase in American history captivated our attention.

On June 17, 1994, the nation watched as the L.A.P.D. chased a white Ford Bronco along the Los Angeles freeways at a show-stopping 35 miles per hour. Of course, the driver of that Bronco was one Orenthal James "O.J." Simpson, a Hall of Fame football player suspected in the grisly murder of his ex-wife and her friend.

"The Chase" was a ratings bonanza, with an estimated 95 millions Americans glued to their televisions that Friday evening. How could another former football player with his own checkered history not want to get in on that kind of free publicity?

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Imagine yourself as one of thousands wading ashore in the pre-dawn twilight amid a barrage of opposition gunfire and explosions designed to ensure you never set foot on dry land again. Why would you do this? Only to ensure the future of the free world!

Seventy years ago today, men did just that when the Allies enacted Operation Overlord, better known as the D-Day invasion of Normandy in World War II. Those men didn't have impenetrable force fields, flight rings, or wrist lasers, just the iron determination to free Europe from Axis aggression. That's the making of true heroes.

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We all know the world's first space station was the original Justice League Satellite headquarters which began operation in 1970. This was followed by the Soviet Union's Salyut I in 1971 and eventually the United States' Skylab, which launched on this date in 1973.

Skylab was the first non-Justice League space station to successfully change crews, although the station was permanently abandoned by the end of 1974. For 5 years, the station floated unlocked about 270 miles above the Earth before finally falling into the Australian Outback in 1979. (For reference, the Justice League Satellite orbited at 23,300 miles, almost a tenth of the way to the moon!)

Of course, by the year 2442, space stations will be old news. The average citizen will be familiar with several alien species, have robot valets, and travel to school in flying school buses. To a man from the future, the launch of a liquid-fueled antique rocket might be a nostalgic tourist experience.

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