On this day: March 4

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1966 • neutral • 5 views

First widely publicized UFO abduction claim captures national attention

1950s–1960s small-town roadway at dusk with a parked car under a low sky; empty streetlights and a distant low-flying silvery object implied by glow in sky.

On March 4, 1966, a reported close encounter and alleged abduction in the United States drew national media coverage, marking one of the first times an individual’s claim of extraterrestrial abduction entered mainstream public discourse.

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1919 • neutral • 4 views

1919: First recorded U.S. outbreak of foodborne botulism from improperly canned ham

Early 20th-century kitchen scene with glass canning jars and a boiled ham on a table, simple wood stove and period utensils, showing a home food-preservation setting typical of 1910s America.

On March 4, 1919, physicians in the United States identified the first documented outbreak of foodborne botulism linked to home-canned ham, marking an early recognition of Clostridium botulinum’s role in paralytic food poisoning.

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