Great moments in history and popular culture happen every day, and ON THIS DAY will share a few of them with you. We’ll also point you to related resources in our collection, helping you to discover classic films, musical favorites, and historical tidbits. The primary focus will be on our e-material – e-books, e-audio, and downloadable and streamable music and film – but physical books and DVDs will also be part of the fun.

	On this day in 1776, Thomas Paine's 48-page pamphlet Common Sense was published. It laid out the reasons for the American colonies to declare independence from England, and it was enormously popular. George Washington had it read to his troops, and many towns had public meetings where it was read aloud for the benefit of those who were unable to read. Paine published Common Sense anonymously -- the secret of his authorship lasted for only about three months -- and donated his royalties to Washington's Continental Army. Common Sense is available as an e-book from OverDrive, as an audiobook, or in print.
	On this day in 1927, Fritz Lang's film Metropolis premiered in Berlin. The silent science fiction epic tells the story of a wealthy young man and a poor working girl trying to bridge the class differences between them in a futuristic dystopia. Metropolis was about 150 minutes long in its original version; German censors required significant cuts after the premiere, and large parts of the movie were believed to have been lost. Much of the missing footage has been found over the years, and the most recent restorations are believed to be about 95% complete. Metropolis is available for streaming, with the original orchestral score by Gottfried Huppertz, at Hoopla.
	And on this day in 1961, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg was born. The violinist is noted for her virtuosic technique and deeply emotional playing. Salerno-Sonnenberg is particularly praised for her performances of Romantic-era concertos, but has also occasionally ventured into newer music. She has also begun to work as a conductor. Several of Salerno-Sonnenberg's recordings are available for streaming at Hoopla.