A Brief History On August 13, 1779, a combined US Naval and ground expeditionary force was defeated after a 3 week campaign known as The Penobscot Expedition, the worst defeat in US Navy history until the surprise attack against Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Digging Deeper During the American Revolutionary War, the British had seized the mid-coastal region of Maine and declared it to be “New Ireland,” and the fledgling American government sought to reclaim this area from the British. A large expedition was assembled, including 19 warships, 25 smaller auxiliary craft, and 1000 ground troops, consisting of Colonial…
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 August 12, 1883, the last known living specimen of the Quagga died, and the species became extinct. This Zebra-like critter had only the front half of its head and body striped, and unfortunately, only 1 photo of a live Quagga is known to exist. Human encroachment on the habitat of the Quagga, including European colonization of Africa, farming and fencing, and hunting led to the extinction of this nifty looking beast. We previously listed “10 Animals Extinct or Endangered Because of Humans,” and today we list “10 More.” Digging Deeper 1. Woolly Rhinoceros. Did you know that…
A Brief History On August 10, 1977, David Berkowitz, known popularly as “Son of Sam,” a serial killer in New York, was arrested for murders in the New York area over the past year. It so happens that Berkowitz was a Postal worker, an occupation that has become synonymous in the United States with frustration and exploding rage. Here we list 5 Times People “Went Postal!” with those “people” being postal employees. (There have been at least 23 Postal and parcel service related shootings since 1975 in the US, not including Berkowitz.) Digging Deeper 1. David Berkowitz, 1977. This serial killer…
A Brief History On August 9, 1936, Clevelander and Ohio State University athlete James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens won his 4th Gold Medal at the 1936 Olympics, by anchoring the 4 X 100 m relay, winning in a world record time of 39.8 seconds. An international sensation, Owens was not even the first Olympic athlete to win 4 Gold Medals in an Olympics! Here we list 10 Greatest Olympic Athletes, or at least as we see it. (There is no special order to the list.) Digging Deeper 1. Jesse Owens, 1936. Not only a spectacular performance at the 1936 Olympics, but Owens…
A Brief History On August 8, 2017, we reflect on our screening of the upcoming (August 11, 2017) horror flick, Annabelle: Creation, a prequel to the Annabelle and Conjuring movie franchise. The quick and dirty on the movie is, the audience cheered and clapped at the end! We consider this reaction a sure sign of success. Digging Deeper An active audience participating in the film, laughing, gasping, and commenting, reminds us why we see movies in theaters instead of just on television at home. The attention of the audience was obviously held for the duration of the medium length 109 minute film. The movie builds the background of…