THIS DAY: On Dec. 18, 1787, New Jersey ratified the Constitution by unanimous vote, the third state to do so.
The second, Pennsylvania, ratified the Constitution on Dec. 12, 1787, in a 46-to-23 vote.
The first, Delaware, ratified it unanimously on Dec. 7.
These facts, courtesy of “The Bicentennial Almanac: 200 Years of America,” belong to longtime RTS fan Clayton Vecellio of Lewis Run. It is a fascinating look at American history.
According to History.com, Pennsylvania was the first large state to ratify the Constitution, “as well as the first to endure a serious Anti-Federalist challenge to ratification.
“Pennsylvania was the most ethnically and religiously diverse state in the new nation,” the website read. “One-third of Pennsylvania’s population was German-speaking, and the Constitution was printed in German for the purposes of involving that population in the debate.”
Interestingly, “The leader of the Anti-Federalist opposition was the Scots-Irishman Thomas McKean.”
That’s a name we recognize, of course, here in McKean County.
Here’s another milestone to mark today: On this day in 1966, Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” aired for the first time on CBS.
The show was adapted from the children’s book by legendary animator Chuck Jones, who had worked with Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel before — in the U.S. Army Air Forces. Geisel had served as commander of the Animation Department for the First Motion Picture Unit, which created training videos and propaganda films, according to the website Mental Floss.
Those wonderful, bizarre and in some cases, mean songs were written by Geisel, too.
The song “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” was sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, best known as the voice of Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger — and not by the narrator of the show, Boris Karloff.
And that color of green for which the Grinch is famous? It didn’t come from the book, which was black and white with hints of pink and red. The color came from Jones. Legend has it that the color is based on a car Jones rented which was an ugly shade of green.
