Motley - both of your ideas were great - my users wanted a similar voted in type of forum at one point - so it is something that could be used by some.
Your calendar ideas are good as well - especially the 'day in history' and the ability for events to be listed in writing on the home page - this latter idea would look good and would enable users to see at a glance forthcoming events. Although you might want an option to hide birthday's from such a listing.
Keep your ideas coming
