TODAY IN HISTORY: Rock makes pedal drop

In 1812, British military commander Isaac Brock asked Upper Canada to impose martial law because of the threat of a U.S. invasion. The legislature refused, not taking the threat seriously.

In 1958, Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg. Fox was diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 18 and had his right leg amputated. He began a run across Canada in 1980 to raise money for cancer research, travelling about a marathon a day. On Sept. 1, he was forced to stop when cancer appeared in his lungs. He died June 28, 1981. His “Marathon of Hope” has continued as a run every year, raising more than $500 million.

Also in 1958, Esso published a report claiming that listening to rock ‘n’ roll while driving could cost a motorist money. The oil company’s research centre said the rhythm could cause the driver to unconsiously jiggle the gas pedal, thus wasting fuel.

In 1992, the Barenaked Ladies debut album, “Gordon” was released. A month later, it occupied the top spot on the Canadian Billboard album chart, a position it would hold for eight consecutive weeks. Fuelled by a series of pervasive singles including “Brian Wilson,” “If I Had $1,000,000” and “Be My Yoko Ono,” the album has since reached that rarefied air of selling one million copies in Canada.

In 1994, 35,000 people jammed into Molson Park in Barrie for the “Lollapalooza” festival, headlined by the Smashing Pumpkins, the Beastie Boys and George Clinton. Huge traffic jams caused many people to abandon their cars and walk several kilometres to the festival site. And that wasn’t the end of the problems — hours of rain turned the park into a sea of mud.