LANE: Hey there, history buffs! Welcome to another episode of Touring History, where we ramble through the dusty corridors of time like we're on some kind of weird vacation. I'm Lane...
DAVE: And I'm Dave. Today is May 7th, 2025, and boy oh boy, do we have some history to tour through today.
LANE: You know what's great about history, Dave? It's already happened, so we don't have to worry about spoiler alerts.
DAVE: That's deep, Lane. Real deep. Speaking of deep, did you know that on this day in 1915, a German U-boat went real deep into the Atlantic and sank the RMS Lusitania?
LANE: Yeah, that was a tragedy. 1,198 people lost their lives. You know what the Germans said afterward? They said, "Hey, we warned you not to go there." Like that somehow makes it better.
DAVE: It's like when I tell my kid not to eat the whole box of cookies, and then he does it anyway and gets sick. Except, you know, with way more death and international outrage.
LANE: Exactly. Not at all the same thing.
DAVE: On a more positive note, May 7th is also the birthday of some pretty notable folks. In 1840, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born. You know, the guy who wrote that ballet about the wooden toy that comes to life and fights a rat king.
LANE: The Nutcracker! A Christmas classic. Also born on this day: Johannes Brahms in 1833 and Gary Cooper in 1901. Gary Cooper, now there was a man who could stare down a bad guy at high noon.
DAVE: I heard Cooper was so tough that when he was filming "High Noon," the clock was actually afraid to strike twelve.
LANE: That doesn't make any sense, Dave.
DAVE: I know, but it sounded good in my head.
LANE: May 7th also marks the day in 1945 when Germany signed an unconditional surrender, ending World War II in Europe.
DAVE: You know what's weird about that? The war in Europe ended on May 7th, but we celebrate V-E Day on May 8th. It's like showing up late to your own victory party.
LANE: Well, it was officially announced on the 8th. Time zones and bureaucracy, Dave. They're the real enemies.
DAVE: Speaking of enemies, on May 7th, 2000, Vladimir Putin was inaugurated as Russian president for the first time.
LANE: And he's been there ever since! Well, except for that stint when he was Prime Minister, which was basically like being president but with a different business card.
DAVE: On May 7th, 1992, Michigan ratified the 27th Amendment about congressional pay. It took 203 years to ratify that one.
LANE: Yeah, turns out Congress wasn't in a huge rush to pass an amendment about their own paychecks. Who would've thought?
DAVE: And in 2004, the Army abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison came to light. Not one of America's prouder moments.
LANE: Definitely not. But you know what is something to be proud of? On May 7th, 1954, IBM publicly announced the IBM 650—the world's first mass-produced commercial computer.
DAVE: That thing was massive! And it had less computing power than the calculator app on your phone.
LANE: But it launched the computer revolution! Without it, we wouldn't have this podcast. We'd be writing letters to people about history like some kind of 19th-century historians.
DAVE: "Dear sir or madam, did you know that on this day in history..." Yeah, doesn't have the same ring to it.
LANE: Alright folks, it's time for a word from our sponsors. We'll be right back after this brief message.
LANE: Hey history enthusiasts, you know what's been around almost as long as history itself? Doughnuts. But not just any doughnuts—I'm talking about Rise Doughnuts in Wilton, Connecticut.
DAVE: Oh man, Lane, these aren't your grandfather's doughnuts. Although, your grandfather would probably love them too. These are handmade, small-batch creations that would make Homer Simpson weep with joy.
LANE: You know, I went there last weekend, and I tried their maple bacon doughnut. It was like... imagine if breakfast was having an identity crisis and decided to become dessert, but then breakfast was like, "No, I'm still breakfast," and then dessert was like, "We can work together on this one."
DAVE: That's... surprisingly accurate. My personal favorite is their blueberry lavender. It's what I imagine kings and queens would eat if they weren't too busy chopping people's heads off.
LANE: Rise Doughnuts makes everything fresh daily. No weird preservatives or chemicals with names longer than the Treaty of Versailles.
DAVE: And they're always coming up with new flavors! It's like if Thomas Edison made doughnuts instead of light bulbs. Actually, that would've been delicious. A real missed opportunity there.
LANE: So if you're in Wilton, Connecticut, or even if you're not and just really like doughnuts, check out Rise Doughnuts. And follow them on Instagram @risedoughnut to see photos that'll make your mouth water more than Pavlov's dogs.
DAVE: Rise Doughnuts—they're historically delicious. And I'm not just saying that because they're paying us. Although they are. But the doughnuts really are that good.
LANE: And we're back with more historical events on May 7th. In 1952, the concept of integrated circuits—or microchips—was first proposed.
DAVE: You know, without microchips, our phones would be the size of refrigerators. And refrigerators would be the size of... I don't know, something really big.
LANE: Houses?
DAVE: Yeah, refrigerators would be the size of houses. It'd be terrible. You'd open the door and have to walk a quarter mile to get the milk.
LANE: On May 7th, 1847, the American Medical Association was founded. Before that, I guess doctors just winged it.
DAVE: "Does it hurt when I do this? Maybe try some leeches." Medicine's come a long way.
LANE: In 1998, Mercedes-Benz merged with Chrysler to form DaimlerChrysler. It was like when a fancy European restaurant merges with a diner. Sounds good in theory, but the cultures just don't mix.
DAVE: They divorced in 2007. Turns out luxury German engineering and "Built American Tough" weren't as compatible as they thought.
LANE: May 7th, 1946—Sony was founded. Started out making rice cookers, if you can believe it.
DAVE: From rice cookers to PlayStations. That's what I call a corporate pivot!
LANE: And finally, on May 7th, 1992, NASA launched the Space Shuttle Endeavour for the first time.
DAVE: Named after Captain Cook's ship, but with the British spelling because NASA is fancy like that.
LANE: The mission was to capture and repair a satellite. It's like AAA, but for space.
DAVE: And it required the first-ever three-person spacewalk to grab that satellite. Imagine three people trying to change a tire together, but in zero gravity and with the tire moving at 17,500 miles per hour.
LANE: That's quite the mental image, Dave. Well, that wraps up our tour through history for May 7th.
DAVE: Tune in tomorrow when we'll discover what happened on May 8th, which I'm guessing is the day after May 7th.
LANE: Your grasp of the calendar continues to impress me. I'm Lane...
DAVE: And I'm Dave, reminding you that history is just the past trying to make the present feel bad about itself.
LANE: That's not what history is, Dave.
DAVE: Well, whatever it is, thanks for touring it with us. Good night, everybody!
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