A Brief History On January 12, 2004, the RMS Queen Mary 2, flagship of the Cunard Line, left port on its maiden voyage after having been christened 4 days earlier by Queen Elizabeth II. Built at a cost of $900 million (£460 million) to eventually replace the aging RMS Queen Elizabeth 2, that price equated to approximately $300,000 for every one of the 2,620 passenger berths. The luxury liner also carries over 1,200 crew members. Digging Deeper The second ocean liner to be named after the wife of King George V, the QM2 is massive at 1,132 feet long by about 147 feet wide. …
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 11, 1973, the American League of Major League Baseball voted to accept a rule change allowing for the position of “designated hitter” (DH) so that pitchers would not have to bat, something which they, with a few exceptions such as Babe Ruth, were generally weak at. Before then, there was only the option of using a pinch hitter, but that meant that that particular pitcher would have had to be pulled from the game. H&H Notes: The National League still has their pitchers bat. When teams from the two leagues meet, such as in a World Series, the…
A Brief History On January 10, 49 B.C., Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River as he marched toward the city of Rome with his legions. Since it was forbidden to cross the Rubicon with an army, it was seen as a threat to the Republic, and by doing so, Caesar made a bold statement about his intentions to seize power. Ever since, when we say someone has “crossed the Rubicon,” we are talking about someone who has taken a fateful and irreversible step, such as when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. A point of no return if you will, what aviators call the “Bingo”…
A Brief History On January 9, 1941, the premier British bomber of World War II, the Avro Lancaster, made its maiden flight. “The Lanc,” as it was known, was the main British bomber that carried the war to Germany. Digging Deeper With its enormous bomb bay, the Lancaster was capable of carrying the biggest bomb load and the largest single bomb. It was the only airplane of the war that could haul “blockbuster” giant bombs of 8,000, 12,000, and 22,000 pounds, while also carrying all the conventional bombs as well as anti-ship mines, incendiaries (fire bombs), and the “dam buster” specialty…
A Brief History On January 8, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson announced his “War on Poverty,” just one more of the “wars” lost by the United States. 50 years later, poverty still exists, despite the U.S. government having spent trillions of tax dollars to combat it. Far from being an invincible superpower, the United States has actually lost many wars, and here we list 10 of them. Depending on your politics and opinions, you may not agree with all of them. Digging Deeper 10. War on Poverty. With the U.S. poverty rate at 17% when the initiatives introduced by Johnson were…