World-Changing Events

According to FactCheck.org,

On this day in 1848, James W. Marshall discovered gold near Coloma, California. The discovery was officially endorsed by President James Polk in December that year, launching the Gold Rush.

Interesting bit of family history tied to this one, but I don't really feel like writing it all up right now. Some other time.

Perhaps of even greater import, via Pygalgia,

Be sure to crack open a cold one on Jan. 24, the day canned beer celebrates its 75th birthday.

New Jersey's Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company churned out the world's first beer can in 1935, stocking select shelves in Richmond, Va., as a market test. The experiment took off and American drinkers haven't looked back since, nowadays choosing cans over bottles for the majority of the 22 gallons of beer they each drink per year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

So on the basis of these two anniversaries, I hereby declare January 24 international field geology day. Even if the weather in most places in the northern hemisphere is pretty crappy to actually do field geology, these are two crucial events in its history.