On this day, in 1919

"National Delusion Day of Note: On this date in 1919 the eighteenth amendment to the constitution authorizing prohibition of 'intoxicating liquors' took effect. Wishing to build on Prohibition's success Will Rogers made a corollary policy recommendation for higher education: 'Instead of giving money to found colleges to promote learning, why don't they pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything? If it works as good as the Prohibition one did, why, in five years we would have the smartest race of people on earth.'" --From Sarah Vowell, writer, humorist