Because we missed it yesterday, here's what happened today in start-up history: Continental Airlines took flight for the first time in 1934. The company started out as Varney Speed Lines, operating out of El Paso and later expanding to Las Vegas, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe. While Continental has had a long and relatively good run as a major aircarrier (minus a couple bankruptcies back in the '80s and '90s), it, like most every other American airline carrier, is struggling in the face of rising fuel costs. Continental is reporting their second quarter earnings tomorrow—and it's not expected to be pretty. While the company has already made cuts this year, more layoffs, reductions in flights, and other generally bad new is expected.

Er, Happy Birthday, Continental?