Fun with the 26th of December

TFD Supplies sells earbuds and headphones. The enterprise is trying to appeal to the educational market, promising products for libraries and discounts for teachers.

Part of that outreach appears to be its “Today in History” blog, including this post, headlined “Five Fun Facts about December 26 in Massachusetts History.”

Those five facts are:

1. The Boston Tea Party Occurred on December 26, 1773:…

Actually, as we’ve just commemorated, the destruction of the tea happened on 16 December.

2. The Pilgrims Celebrated the First Boxing Day in Plymouth, 1620:…

The term “Boxing Day” doesn’t appear in British sources until the mid-1700s. The Pilgrims didn’t recognize the traditional Christmas holiday since it has no Biblical support, and therefore saw nothing special about the day after 25 December, either.

3. The Salem Witchcraft Trials Continued: Many of the accused witches in the infamous Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692-93 were still being held in prison on December 26, as the trials dragged on for months. The trials resulted in the execution of 20 people and the imprisonment of dozens more.

The Salem witchcraft crisis did begin in January 1692, and the last trials were held in January 1693, with Gov. Sir William Phips halting the process at the end of that month. Of course, that doesn’t make 26 December any more special than any other date in the year.

Nineteen people were executed, one was killed by torture, and at least five died in jail.

4. John Adams Married Abigail Smith, 1764: Future U.S. President John Adams married Abigail Smith on December 26, 1764,…

The Adamses married on 25 October.

5. The Boston Bruins Played Their First Game, 1924: Hockey fans in Massachusetts may be interested to know that the Boston Bruins played their first official game on December 26, 1924, against the Montreal Maroons. The Bruins lost 2-1, but went on to become one of the NHL's most successful franchises.

The Bruins played their first game on 1 Dec 1924. They beat the Montreal Maroons, 2–1.

It looks like someone used an A.I. program to compose lots of “Today in History” blog posts for different states. The software obliged with what looks very much like information but is just a mélange of common phrases not necessarily connected to facts.

The result doesn’t make me trust the earbuds and headphones.