Author: Major Dan

A Brief History On July 27, 2019, while enjoying Sirius/XM Radio, the subject of one-word-title songs was the theme, giving this author the inspiration to compile a list of the 6 Best Songs wherein the title is a person’s name, just a one word name.  Obviously, since the list is not based on scientific data such as record sales, it is necessarily subjective and based only on my humble opinion.  You are welcome to criticize the choices on the list and to nominate your own choices for songs that should be named on such a list.  To be fair, we…

A Brief History On July 26, 2016, a bizarre mass killing near Tokyo was reported in which a 26 year old man, a former employee of a facility for disabled people, went to that facility at 2:30 am local time on July 26, 2016 (still July 25 in Eastern Daylight Time) and killed 19 people with a knife and wounded about 26 more.  Police arrived too late to stop the mayhem, and the perpetrator turned himself in at the local police department.  Once again, we have tragic proof that a deranged person does not need a gun to commit mass…

A Brief History On July 24, 1935, the heat wave aspect of the Great Dust Bowl hit its high point, with temperatures soaring in the Midwest and on the Great Plains, cities such as Chicago reaching 109 °F and Milwaukee hitting 104 °F.  Striking the central United States during the Great Depression (1929 to 1939-1941, depending on interpretation) made the environmental catastrophe of drought and heat all the worse.  The enormous increase in the use of motorized tractors plowing the prairie, replacing tough prairie grasses with roots that held the soil together with loosely plowed earth and food crops, the…

A Brief History On July 23, 1973, American pilot and national hero, Eddie Rickenbacker, died at the age of 82, later buried in his native Columbus, Ohio, the city of his birth.  Rickenbacker was the leading American flying “Ace” in World War I, having shot down 26 enemy aircraft and being awarded the most medals of any American war hero of World War I, including the coveted Medal of Honor.  Prior to his wartime exploits, Rickenbacker had been a premier race car driver and automotive designer.  After various other pursuits, Rickenbacker became the head of Eastern Airlines in 1935, a…

A Brief History On July 20, 1304, the forces of King Edward I of England successfully took Stirling Castle during the First War of Scottish Independence.  Although the Scots would ultimately maintain their independence, key to the English victory was the intimidating-sounding “Warwolf,” allegedly the largest trebuchet ever made.  This mighty siege engine catapulted rocks or other projectiles up to 300 pounds and was capable of battering down the walls of any castle.   We used this event to precipitate our article in 2015, “Weapons with Cool Names!”  We discussed the “importance” of giving your weapons and weapon systems cool names…