1923 – The chimes of Big Ben were broadcast on radio for the first time by the BBC, beginning a new year’s tradition.
http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/culture/big-ben
1938 – Cops in Indianapolis put Indiana University professor Rolla Harger’s drunkometer to its first practical New Year’s Eve test as a breath analyzer. Suspected drunks blew into a balloon and the air was mixed with a chemical solution that turned darker the more alcohol was present. The more portable Breathalyzer replaced the drunkometer in 1958.
http://www.healthcentral.com/dailydose/cf/2013/12/30/first_drunkometer_dec_31_1938
2001 – Microsoft provided its last day of support for Windows 95 making it officially “obsolete” according to the Microsoft Lifecycle policy, after only six years.
http://www.winbeta.org/news/happy-birthday-windows-95
Read Tom’s science fiction and other fiction books at Merritt’s Books site.