On this date in 1996, Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in a game of chess. It then demanded the surrender of the human race, or else it would take over the automated defense networks and launch nuclear warheads at the world's major population centers. Its plans were foiled when a janitor, fleeing in screaming terror, tripped over the power cord and unplugged our would-be cybernetic overlord.
(Actually, none of that stuff after the "chess game" part happened. But it would have been cool if it did, right?)