A Brief History On May 25, 1977, the blockbuster movie, Star Wars, premiered. Spawning 2 sequels and 3 prequels, Star Wars has had tremendous cultural impact, with Geek Pride Day celebrated on every May 25th (since 2006) as part of its legacy. There is even a religious movement called Jedism. In the 100 plus years of motion pictures, some films have transcended mere entertainment and have influenced society as well as spawning successful sequels. Here we list 10 of the movies we think are most influential, on American culture, not just on the film industry. Digging Deeper 10. Roots, 1977.…
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 May 25, 1738, a treaty was finally signed, ending the war between Maryland and Pennsylvania known as The Conojocular War, or Cresap’s War. Digging Deeper The war had started in 1730 over boundary disputes, and escalated over the next few years to the point where military forces became involved in 1736 and 1737. The treaty, ordered by King George II, had ended the shooting war, but the boundary dispute lasted all the way until 1767 when the Mason-Dixon Line became recognized as the boundary. The colonial governments of Pennsylvania and Maryland became embroiled in the dispute…
A Brief History On May 24, 1940, Igor Sikorsky, a Russian immigrant to the United States, performed the first successful single rotor helicopter flight without a tether. His invention, the Vought Sikorsky VS-300 was quickly developed into the R-4 “Hoverfly” 2 seat helicopter, the first commercially produced successful such aircraft and the first helicopter used by the United States military. Digging Deeper Sikorsky designed several successful aircraft while an American, including the famous S-42 “Clipper” flying boat, the original Pan Am Clipper. The aircraft company he founded in 1925, Sikorsky Aircraft Company, is still in business today, owned by Lockheed…
A Brief History On May 24, 1940, Ukrainian born Igor Sikorsky flew the first successful single rotor helicopter in history, the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 (untethered flight). Within 2 years, his Sikorsky R-4 became the first mass produced helicopter in the world. Digging Deeper Sikorsky was born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1889 back in the days of the Russian Empire. He was of Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian origin, and became a noted aviation pioneer while a Russian subject. Some of his early Russian accomplishments included design and flying of the first multi-engine fixed wing aircraft, the Russky Vitas (1913) and the Ilya…
A Brief History On May 24, 1626, Peter Minuit, Director of New Netherland, bought the island of Manhattan (in modern day New York City) from Native-Americans for goods valued at 60 guilders, the equivalent of $24. That was a bargain! Of course, there is the strong possibility that the sellers were not the owners anyway, so they basically got something for nothing, not a bad deal either. History is full of remarkably good bargains. Here we list 10 of them. Digging Deeper 10. Manhattan, 1626. As described above, this purchase was quite a bargain. Considering the circumstances in their entirety,…