A Brief History On September 13, 1977, American automotive giant General Motors made one of the epic blunders of its long business history when it introduced the Oldsmobile Diesel engine, a lame attempt to quickly gain an advantage in the race to improve the miles per gallon performance of its cars in order to compete with more fuel-efficient foreign cars. Digging Deeper Produced from 1978 to 1985, the General Motors automotive diesel engine was not a true diesel built from the ground up as a rugged and reliable oil burner, but hastily adapted 6 and 8 cylinder gasoline engines made…
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 September 12, 2013, the American space agency, NASA, reported that its spacecraft, Voyager 1, had become the first ever man-made object to leave our solar system. Digging Deeper Known as “interstellar space,” the space beyond our own solar system is also described as the “Heliopause,” a region beyond the reach of the “solar wind” effects of our sun. Interstellar space is also roughly described as space beyond any of the orbiting planets, planetoids, and other space objects that go around our sun. In numbers you may be able to relate to, interstellar space begins about 11…
A Brief History On September 11, 2015, the city of Mecca, the holiest city within the religion of Islam, was the scene of a horrific accident when a crane collapsed at the Masjid al-Haram, also known as The Great Mosque, killing 111 and injuring another 394 people. Digging Deeper The deadliest crane collapse in history, the deceased victims included believers from 12 different nations, as devout Muslims were preparing for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. We have previously discussed notable disasters that struck religious gatherings or places of worship, and again we ask you, “What do these disasters mean?” Do you…
A Brief History On September 10, 1960, Abebe Bikila, representing Ethiopia, became the first ever Sub-Saharan Black African to win an Olympic Gold Medal by taking first place in the ultimate event of the Summer Olympics, the Marathon race. Digging Deeper The 26.2-mile-long Marathon is a grueling race and is possibly the premier event of the Summer Olympics, but the fact that Bikila won the race while barefoot gives this story an entirely different angle! Bikila was a last minute substitute runner and no shoes that fit were available for him, leading to his running barefoot. Nearly as incredible as…
A Brief History On September 10, 2022, we have the pleasure of reviewing a new History oriented board game for you! Called Trekking Through History, this game is different than most others and provides a unique board game playing experience for those weary of electronic video games. NOTE: Dr. Zar, the owner of this site, received a free review copy of this game for the purpose of reviewing it on his site. Dr. Zar’s father, Major Dan, is the author of this review. Digging Deeper One of the key features of the game is its “game cards,” with each card…