A Brief History On September 29, 2024, we celebrate another National Coffee Day, reveling in our appreciation for that “Cup of Joe,” “Shot of Caffeine,” “Java,” “Go Juice,” or whatever you want to call it. Hot or cold, coffee keeps America going to the tune of 400 million cups a day! Digging Deeper Nearly half of all Americans drink coffee, and the US is the largest consumer of coffee among all countries. On the other hand, per capita coffee consumption leaves the US back at #25, while Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden lead the per capita race,…
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 28, 1941, Ted Williams, the “Splendid Splinter” of the Boston Red Sox, managed the feat of batting .406 for the season, the last time any major league hitter has batted over .400 for a season. Digging Deeper As incredibly hard as it may be to bat with such a high average, in the years since Williams’ feat, a few batters have come close. In 1994, Tony Gwynn posted a .394 average, and in 1980, George Brett managed a sterling .390. The only other batters to come even close were Williams himself in 1957 and Rod…
A Brief History On September 27, 1941, the first of 2,710 “Liberty” ships rolled off the assembly line, the SS Patrick Henry, built in Baltimore. While it may be naïve to think a single weapon or machine of war can be said to have “won the war,” items such as the Liberty and Victory ships made huge contributions to victory without being weapons. Digging Deeper Liberty ships were mass produced cargo vessels uniquely suited to moving many tons of war materiel across the oceans, especially the Atlantic, to keep Russia and the UK in the war, while also moving American…
A Brief History On September 26, 2008, Yves Rossy, a Swiss former military pilot and aviation inventor, completed an aviation first by flying a jet powered wing across the English Channel. Digging Deeper A fighter pilot for the Swiss Air Force and then an airliner pilot of 747 Jumbo Jets, Rossy later invented and experimented with a variety of man portable flying machines, basically jet pack type rigs and developing carbon fiber wings mounted on his own body. Rossy’s “jet wingpack” consists of a special suit that incorporates a carbon wing of 7.9 feet and four tiny jet engines for…
A Brief History On September 25, 1066, Harald III of Norway, aka Harald Hardrada, aka the “Thunderbolt of the North,” died a Viking’s death in battle at the Stamford Bridge in England, at the hands of the last Anglo-Saxon crowned King of England, Harold Godwinson. Digging Deeper As depicted in the semi-historical cable show, Vikings: Valhalla, the game of thrones played by the Vikings in Scandinavia, all around Europe, Britain, and as far as the Byzantine Empire was a violent exercise in subterfuge and betrayal, often resulting in violent death for those players who aspired after the various thrones. Harald…