Welcome home, Mona Lisa - January 1, 1914

In case you've been living under a rock since 1911, the Mona Lisa has been stolen! Just over two years ago, on August 21, 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia, a former employee of the Louvre who also fancied himself an Italian patriot, "rescued" the Mona Lisa from her French captors. In classic caper tradition, he had hid out in a broom closet, swiped the fair maiden with the help of janitorially costumed accomplices, and sidled off with her under his coat after hours.

But Vincenzo was not a patient (or particularly noble) man and, after two years of waiting for the right moment, he tried to hock ML to the Uffizi. For his trouble, he was arrested in flagrante dilecto with the masterpiece in his hotel room, got six months in jail, and, in classic Italian tradition, was hailed as a national hero. Today, January 1, 1914, all of France rejoices as La Jaconde is restored to her familiar roost in the Louvre (by way of a brief tour of Italy).

In news stateside,

• The cost of a dozen eggs is expected to go up to $1 ($23 in 2012 dollars), as supply is not keeping up with demand.
• The Detroit police commissioner resolves to reduce reckless driving and put an end to the social custom of the exchange of pleasantries, small talk, and cards between police officers and motorists involved in accidents.
• To add salt to the wound of the the Michigan labor movement, the Calumet coroner absolves opponents of the copper miners' strike (accused of falsely shouting "Fire" in a hall hosting a Christmas Eve dinner for the strikers and their families) of causing the panicked stampede deaths of 74, including many children.