A Brief History On January 6, 1930, a milestone in automobile engine history occurred when the first diesel powered automobile trip was taken from Indianapolis, Indiana to New York, New York. Clessie Cummins of Cummins Engine Company (1919) had installed one of his Diesel engines in a used Packard limousine and took the first short ride in a diesel powered car on Christmas, 1929. When the engine and automobile combination proved successful, Cummins then orchestrated the first road trip by a Diesel powered automobile with his trip to New York. Digging Deeper Internal combustion engines had been furiously developed during…
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 January 5, 1998, former rock and roll star and current Congressman from California, Salvatore “Sonny” Bono, died when he skied into a tree at a Nevada ski resort. Sonny, former member of rock duo Sonny and Cher, was 62 years old when he died. Digging Deeper Born in Detroit to a Sicilian family, Sonny moved to California at the age of 7. Bono’s first foray into the music business was as a songwriter, with the hit song “Needles and Pins” to his credit (#13 in US and #1 in the UK in 1964 by The Searchers).…
A Brief History On January 1, 2016, we started a new year with the same hopes and expectations we normally start every year. Despite all the acrimonious politics, the Obama years had actually been slowly improving across the economy, for rich and poor alike. Job numbers had grown for 81 consecutive months (a record) and Obamacare resulted in more Americans than ever having health insurance. A Presidential election year had begun, and it was widely thought that this year would see the first ever woman nominated by a major political party (Hillary Clinton by the Democrats) and that she would…
A Brief History On January 3, 1959, the United States of America added the largest state ever admitted to the Union when Alaska became the 49th state. Purchased from Imperial Russia in 1867, Alaska is one of history’s greatest land bargains, at only about 2 cents per acre! Digging Deeper Alaska immediately comes to mind when you think of our Northernmost state, but in reality it is also the Easternmost and the Westernmost state as well! (Baffle your friends with this bit of trivia!) While Alaska was once the least populous state, the oil industry has changed things and Alaska…
A Brief History On January 2, 1974, President Richard M. Nixon signed into law a national speed limit of 55 mph. Prior to this law, the speed limits on most limited access highways in the US ranged from 65 mph to 70 mph, with a few remote places (Montana and Nevada) not relying on a numerical limit at all. The people of the US were suddenly saddled with roads designed to safely travel at speeds over 80 mph at an aggravating and seemingly crawling speed of 55 mph. This was in response to the OPEC (“Arab”) Oil Embargo of 1973…