Sep 22 1327

The deposed King Edward II of England is murdered with a red-hot poker shoved up his rectum -- a gruesome punishment reserved strictly for homosexuals. Edward's wife Isabella had the King's lover, Hugh le Despenser Younger, executed the previous year.

Sep 22 1975

In front of the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore pulls out a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver and points it at Gerald Ford. Before she can assassinate the President, a bystander named Oliver "Bill" Sipple grabs Moore's arm. Sipple, a closeted gay man, is later outed by the press. The spotlight on his personal life causes him to complain: "My sexual orientation has nothing to do with saving the President's life."

Sep 22 1979

A two-to-three kiloton nuclear bomb explodes in the waters off remote Bouvet Island, near Antarctica. No government ever claims responsibility for the secret test.

Sep 22 1980

In a stunning blow to America's feminine hygiene, consumer products manufacturer Procter & Gamble initiates the largest tampon recall in history, pulling Rely Tampons from store shelves. The action results from the ongoing Toxic Shock Syndrome controversy.