The so-called “storm of the century” hit the eastern part of the
United States, killing hundreds and causing millions of dollars
in damages, on November 25, 1950.

Also known as the “Appalachian Storm,” it dumped record
amounts of snow in parts of the Appalachian Mountains.

Forming over North Carolina just before Thanksgiving, the
storm quickly moved north, striking western Pennsylvania,
eastern Ohio and West Virginia.

Left: The crew of Apollo 12 – Charles “Pete” Conrad,
left, Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean. Right:

Apollo 12, the second manned mission to the surface of
the moon,was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida,
with astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr.; Richard F. Gordon,
Jr.; and Alan L. Bean aboard.

President Richard Nixon viewed the liftoff from Pad A at
Cape Canaveral. He was the first president to attend the
liftoff of a manned space flight.

Thirty-six seconds after takeoff, lightning struck the
ascending Saturn 5 launch rocket (below )which tripped
the circuit breakers in the command module and caused
a power failure.

Fortunately, the launching rocket continued up normally,
and within a few minutes power was restored in the
spacecraft.

President Richard Nixon (white coat) viewing the liftoff of
Apollo 12.

Original vintage magazine ad for Coca Cola in 1907.

On May 11, 1934, a massive storm sent millions of tons of topsoil
flying from across the parched Great Plains region of the United
States as far east as New York, Boston and Atlanta.

At the time the Great Plains were settled in the mid-1800s, the
land was covered by prairie grass, which held moisture in the
earth and kept most of the soil from blowing away even during
dry spells.

By the early 20th century, however, farmers had plowed under
much of the grass to create fields. The U.S. entry into World War
I in 1917 caused a great need for wheat, and farms began to push
their fields to the limit, plowing under more and more grassland
with the newly invented tractor.

In what came to be known as “Black Sunday,” one of the
most devastating storms of the 1930s Dust Bowl era
swiped across the region on April 14, 1935.