It is August fourth, and, according to tradition, on this date in 1693 a French Benedictine monk named Dom Perignon invented the sparkling wine that today we call champagne,. The surprising history of sparkling wine deserves to be remembered.
There is legitimate controversy over which ship was America’s first true battleship. But the Navy answers that question relatively clearly- USS Indiana was, from the outset, called "Battleship Number One."