A Brief History On August 20, 1977, the United States space probe, Voyager 2 was launched with the mission of studying the outer portions of our solar system and then becoming the first (with its sister ship, Voyager 1, actually launched 2 weeks later) man made object to enter inter-stellar space. Digging Deeper These Voyager spacecraft have sent back information about Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter and Neptune and the moons of those planets, and are expected to continue to send back data (including images) until about 2020 when their Plutonium powered generators run down, with perhaps another 5 years of weak…
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.
Read More
A Brief History On August 14, 1893, some idiot in France dreamed up motor vehicle registration. I wonder how long it took for someone to dream up long irritating lines… Digging Deeper Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: How long have you had to wait in line when registering a motor vehicle? If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons! Your readership is much appreciated! Historical Evidence For more on this topic, please…
A Brief History On August 10, 1628, the brand new Swedish warship, the Vasa, set sail for the first and last time, sinking all by herself with no help from any enemy after traveling less than a mile! She was not the largest ship in the world at the time, nor did she carry the most guns, but because she had the most shot, she was the most powerful. Digging Deeper History and Headlines has featured stories about military disasters and “Naval Oops Moments,” and the sinking of the Vasa ranks right up near the top of those blunders. Built at a time when naval…
A Brief History On August 9, 1930, the voluptuous Betty Boop made her big screen debut in the animated cartoon, Dizzy Dishes. Featuring a gorilla patron at a restaurant and singing cats, Betty was portrayed as a sort of dog-woman (Poodle) in this cartoon, prior to her “evolution” to purely human form. She went on to become an All-American icon, a character certainly associated with the United States by Americans and others alike. Here we list 10 such characters that are identified as uniquely American. (Apologies to Rocky and Bullwinkle, Woody Woodpecker, Yogi Bear and to Tom and Jerry, et…
A Brief History On August 6, 1945, US Army Air Force B-29 Superfortress bomber, Enola Gay, dropped the first atomic bomb ever to be used against a real target. Digging Deeper The major Japanese city of Hiroshima had been left largely undamaged by bombing for the specific reason of preserving the city for just such an attack, to better demonstrate the terrible power of the atomic bomb (or nuclear bomb as it is called today), and also to better analyze what damage such a bomb does to a real life city. The bomb was dropped with pinpoint accuracy and killed…