A Brief History On February 18, 1954, Los Angeles, California hosted the establishment of a new religion, a controversial organization some refer to as a cult. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find The Church of Scientology founded in December of 1953 and its first church opened two months later in Los Angeles. Founder L. Ron Hubbard (more formally, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard) was a science-fiction writer and a self-help proponent of his system he called Dianetics. Hubbard’s best known science-fiction story is Battlefield Earth which was also made into a movie by the same name in 2000, starring church member John…
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 February 17, 1972, misers, poor people, chicks, and Adolf Hitler were all vindicated! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find that on this date, the Volkswagen Beetle became the best-selling car of all time with number 15,007,034 pulling it ahead of the Ford Model T. Built to satisfy Adolf Hitler’s specifications for a “people’s car,” the Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche. Designed to scoot along at 62 mph and to carry 2 adults along with 3 children, the Beetle was also required to have an air-cooled engine and to meet standards of reliability and easy maintenance. It…
A Brief History On February 17, 1864, the H.L. Hunley became the first submarine to sink an enemy warship, even though it had itself sunk twice before! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find the Hunley again sank after its successful attack, making it a total of three times that she sank, each time drowning her crew. About forty feet long and four feet wide, the Hunley had, not surprisingly, been designed by H.L. Hunley who also died in the second sinking. Built in Mobile, Alabama, the Hunley was transported by railroad to Charleston, South Carolina where Confederate authorities took charge…
A Brief History On February 16, 1923, King Tut’s burial chamber was entered for the first time in over 3,000 years! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find King Tutankhamun becoming “The Boy King” at age nine in 1332 B.C. and reigning over Egypt until his death in 1323 B.C. at age nineteen rediscovered in 1922 A.D. by Howard Carter. A tremendous amount is known about Tutankhamun, who is usually referred to as “King Tut,” largely due to the wealth of information gathered from his tomb which is the least disturbed of any tomb yet found. Techniques for discovering information about Tut include analyzing…
A Brief History On February 7, 1885, one of the first great industrialists to bring Japan from a backwater third world nation to a modern industrial giant died of stomach cancer. The founder of the giant Mitsubishi Company, Iwasaki Yataro left the company in the hands of his brother. Digging Deeper Born in 1835, Yataro had humble roots, and his education was cut short when he was sent to prison at age 19 for accusing a local government official of corruption concerning a dispute with Yataro’s father. After serving a 7 month prison term, Yataro found it hard to find…