A Brief History On June 30, 1908, the Tunguska region of Siberia, Russia was rocked by an incredible explosion that stunned people hundreds of miles away. Perhaps 80 million trees in the Taiga Forest were flattened, and as many as three people died. Luckily, the event occurred in an unpopulated area. Digging Deeper Covering an area of 830 square miles, the event was caused by an above ground explosion, three to six miles high, of an asteroid, probably 160 to 200 feet in diameter. The airburst left no crater on the ground and initially puzzled investigators. The asteroid is believed…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Daniel Zar is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
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A Brief History On June 29, 1971, the first human space travelers to die while in space perished when their Soyuz 11 space capsule depressurized after leaving the Soviet space station, Salyut 1. Digging Deeper Salyut 1 was the first space station launched into orbit around the Earth in April of 1971, and despite its then groundbreaking technology, only lasted less than 6 months, of which humans occupied it for a total of 24 days. Soviet cosmonauts Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev had become the first ever spacemen to occupy a space station, from June 7th to June…
A Brief History On June 28, 1776, an incident that may have escaped your elementary school education occurred when one of General George Washington’s elite bodyguards was hanged for “mutiny, sedition, and treachery.” Digging Deeper Irish born Thomas Hickey, of unknown age, had immigrated to North America and served in the British Army during the French and Indian War, as an attendant to Major General William Johnson. When the Americans declared Independence in 1776, Hickey joined the revolution as a private in the Continental Army, serving in George Washington’s personal bodyguard corps called the “Life Guard.” Hickey found himself in…
A Brief History On June 27, 2017, a massive cyber attack began on Europe, the USA, and Australia, with Ukraine being the main target. Businesses, government offices, utilities, banks, and other targets were hit, 80% of which were in Ukraine. Digging Deeper Although disguised to appear as ransomware, the 2 day attacks were found out by Ukrainian investigators to have been perpetrated by Russian agents within Ukrainian territory. The hackers’ equipment was seized, and it was also discovered this same group was responsible for a 2016 attack against Ukrainian financial institutions and utilities. After the 2014 seizure of the Crimea…
A Brief History On June 26, 1997, the first of the Harry Potter series of novels by JK Rowling was published in Britain. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was the first of what have been seven novels so far, featuring the young title wizard and his friends in their schooling and other adventures. Digging Deeper Not only have the books sold over 600 million copies, eight feature films starring the characters have also been made, pulling in a staggering $7.7 billion at the box office. Obviously, Ms. Rowling has profited greatly from the success of her iconic creation, and…