Today I get to wear a new tie -- solid black! On this date in 1780, New England experienced its DARK DAY. After a normal Friday sunrise, the skies went black from Maine to New Jersey. "The Dark Day inspired terror, panic and puzzlement. Men prayed and women wept. Thousands left off work and took to taverns and churches for solace. Children were sent home from school. Bewildered chickens went to their roosts, frightened cattle returned to their stalls, the night birds whistled and frogs peeped as they did at midnight. . . . In Connecticut, members of the Legislature, called the State Council, feared the Dark Day signified the Day of Judgment. Some member clamored to adjourn the session. [Representative] Abraham Davenport earned lasting fame for his response: 'I am against adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.'"
The darkness dissipated the next morning. It had been caused by a combination of clouds, fog and smoke. In 2007, research results proved that the Dark Day in 1780 resulted from a massive forest fire in Canada. Today our meteorologists would be very excited to explain all the details of such an event -- helping to relieve any fear and anxiety, at the expense of denigrating the awesomeness and flabbergastedness that people enjoyed in 1780.
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