From Vanity Fair writer Bruce Handy comes this convenient list of the major anniversaries of 2007, each of which is accompanied by a brief note explaining its contemporary significance. My favorite:

50th anniversary of the launching of the first artificial satellite, the Soviet Union’s Sputnik, marking the dawn of the space age and prompting a huge investment in science education in this country (Oct. 4, 1957).

Today’s perspective: Public increasingly disenchanted with NASA because of fears that space shuttle launchings may scare angels or punch holes in heaven.

Valid fears, both of them.