On this day in 1969, in Zap, North Dakota — population of just over 200 people — located in the Knife River valley, on land long inhabited by Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara people, 2–3000 college students — on spring break — converge. They are responding to a joke promotion that had gotten caught up in a whirlwind of national news. The students overwhelm both bars in town, drink all of the beer, and wander the streets wasted, as temperatures drop below freezing. They remove the wood from an abandoned building and start a bonfire in the center of town. The townspeople demand the students leave, and some students riot. The cafe and one of the bars are destroyed. 500 National Guard arrive at 6:30am, and, by bayonet, press the rioters 15 miles east, all in front of national media outlets.