A Brief History On October 12, 1810, the Royal Family of Bavaria, in what is now Germany, for the occasion of the celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, invited all the citizens of Munich to join in the first ever Oktoberfest, a tradition that has become the largest “volksfest” in the world. Lasting from 16 to 18 days, the main attraction is the wonderful beer that Bavaria is known for, but of course there is also music, dancing, and other folk-type activities, similar to American annual county fairs. Digging Deeper While…
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 October 11, 2018, the United States of America stands united in celebrating National Sausage Pizza Day, one of this author’s favorite holidays! Although the origins of this “National Day” are unclear, what is clear is that Sausage Pizza is the single greatest way to enjoy our favorite Italian themed food. (You pepperoni people that are responsible for the vast majority of pizza sales are not necessarily wrong, just not completely right.) We have previously talked about pizza in depth (May 19, 2017: “Today is National Pizza Party Day”), but today we extol the virtues of the…
A Brief History On October 10, 2010, the group of islands known as the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist as a united country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Some of those islands became constituent countries by themselves within the Netherlands, while others changed their status to “Special Municipalities” within the Netherlands. Some minor islands became part of each of the 6 larger islands. Today we will discuss 10 places that formerly were recognized as countries, that are no longer independent nations. So many African countries, especially pre-colonial, existed that they would require an extensive list of their own. Europe…
A Brief History On October 9, 2006, the “Hermit Kingdom” of North Korea conducted its first test of a nuclear bomb, an event that has led to this rogue nation that is run by a blatantly deranged dictator to develop an arsenal of nuclear weapons. The finger pointing among American politicians and American political parties over exactly who “allowed” North Korea to gain nuclear weapon status has been going on ever since and continues today. Digging Deeper When World War II ended there was a land grab going on around the world, with some former colonies demanding independence, others being…
A Brief History On August 22, 2017, CNN reported on two recent studies that showed how a “bad work environment could be bad for your health.” Although common sense should tell anyone that it is uncomfortable and unhealthy to work anywhere where you have to put up with obnoxious, petty, bickering, and back stabbing employees, scientific studies are making that observation an academic fact. Does your boss pick on you? Are you constantly being threatened with being fired, demoted, or disciplined? Are you sexually harassed? Does there seem to be an atmosphere/culture of bias against your race/creed/national origin/gender/lifestyle? Are your co-workers unfriendly? …