Author: Major Dan

A Brief History On June 3, 1839, Chinese agents under Lin Zexu (various spellings) seized an incredible 1,210 ton cache of opium (2.66 million pounds, or 1.2 million kilos), later destroying the drug. Digging Deeper Incredibly, the opium was being forcibly imported into China by British drug merchants with the complicity of the British government.  China at the time had no need for Western goods, but was producing silk and other products bought in large amounts by the West, resulting in a gross trade imbalance.  (Sound familiar?)  British opium (poppy) farmers in India sent their drug to China where opium…

A Brief History On June 3, 1943, US Navy sailors and US Marines tangled with Latino young men in what is known as The Zoot Suit Riots. Earlier this web site discussed the Brown Dog Riot and the Egg Nog Riot, which just goes to show you that people will riot about almost anything. (We will ignore the typical riots, such as race based, all but one sporting event based, and starving peasants.) Here we list 10 of the goofiest named riots in history. Digging Deeper 10. Nika Hippodrome Riots (Constantinople), 532. Why is this incident the only sporting event…

A Brief History On June 2, 1692, the trial of Bridget Bishop began, starting a reign of terror in Salem, Massachusetts known as The Salem Witch Trials.  The hysterical idiots responsible (unless you believe in witches) executed (by hanging) 20 people from 1692 to 1693 before the madness ended.  Scores of others had been accused, many of whom confessed to avoid execution, and scores were imprisoned.  At least five of those imprisoned died while in jail. Cracked fact: No “witch” was burned at the stake in these trials. Execution was by hanging. Digging Deeper Despite the common name of this…

A Brief History On June 2, 1983, Air Canada flight 797 had an accidental fire. So far, not freaky. When the airliner made an emergency landing, 90 seconds after the doors opened the inrush of air caused a “flashover” fire, killing 23 people, a freak accident. Every so often something seemingly normal goes horribly wrong. Here we list 10 of those occasions out of the millions that have occurred, each of which resulted in someone’s death. Digging Deeper 10. Air Canada Flight 797, 1983. As you read above, a fire bad enough to cause the airliner to make an emergency…

A Brief History On June 2, 1763, as part of a general Indian (as in Native American) uprising known as Pontiac’s Rebellion, Chippewa warriors captured Fort Michiimackinac what is now present day Mackinaw City, by storming the fort.  How did they get in?  By playing lacrosse and pretending to chase the ball into the fort and taking the defenders by surprise. Digging Deeper Throughout history, military minds have used trickery to fool their enemies, sometimes with great success.  An ancient example would be the Greeks using a giant wooden horse secretly filled with Greek warriors left at the gates of…