A Brief History On January 21, 1981, the DeLorean sports car started being produced in Northern Ireland, with production ending in December of 1982.  Only about 9,000 of the futuristic cars were built. Digging Deeper Featuring gull-wing doors and a rear mounted V-6 engine that produced a paltry 130 horsepower, the DeLorean boasted stainless steel outer panels and struggled to reach 60 mph in a reported 8.8 to 10.5 seconds.  For a purported “sports” car, the DMC loafed its way to a quarter mile in 17.9 seconds at a final speed of only 76.5 mph.  For comparison, the two-door, two…

A Brief History On January 20, 1921, the crew of the Royal Navy submarine K5 found out the hard way just how dangerous being a submariner is, even in peacetime, when they suffered a fatal “Naval Oops Moment” and the sub was lost with all hands. Digging Deeper K5 had been part of naval maneuvers in the Bay of Biscay when she dived and never resurfaced.  Debris from the sub told the sad tale that the boat had been lost with all hands.  Why the sub sank is not entirely known, with speculation that perhaps she exceeded her designed maximum…

A Brief History On January 19, 1983, a space traveling chimpanzee named Ham died at the age of 25 at the North Carolina Zoo.  Born in Africa and sent to The Miami Rare Bird Farm in Florida, Ham was then acquired by the US Air Force in 1959. Digging Deeper The Air Force obtained 40 chimps to prepare for use as test ape-ronauts prior to sending humans into space aboard Mercury space capsules.  After whittling down the candidates, #65 was chosen for the January 1961 flight aboard the Mercury capsule launched by a Redstone Rocket. You may have noticed that…

A Brief History On January 18, 1671, Welsh privateer and later the namesake of Captain Morgan Rum, Henry Morgan, began his expedition to Panama, also known historically as “The Sack of Panama.” Digging Deeper The assault on the Spanish city of Panama on the Pacific coast of the Isthmus of Panama took place overland, with Morgan and his buccaneers marching from the Atlantic side cross country to seize the important Central American city.  Morgan first took over the Spanish Fort San Lorenzo on the East Coast before setting off for Panama City. With a total of about 1,800 men and…

A Brief History On January 17, 1977, an otherwise unremarkable murderer, Gary Gilmore, became famous when he was executed by firing squad by the State of Utah.  Gilmore, born Faye Robert Coffman, was the first person executed in the United States after nearly a decade long hiatus mandated by the US Supreme Court decision in Furman v. Georgia in 1972 that held capital punishment as practiced in the US was “cruel and unusual.” Digging Deeper Gilmore was notable for insisting on being executed, and for demanding that he face a firing squad of five police officers armed with 30-30 caliber…