On this day: February 20
The Post Office is born, World War II gets its first flying ace, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, and a fire at a Great White concert leaves 100 dead, all on this day.
1971: The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert after the wrong tape is played during a test of the system, ordering television stations to cease regular programming and broadcast the alert of a national emergency. Numerous investigations were launched, and several changes were made to the EBS as a result.
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