A Brief History On September 26, 1981, Nolan Ryan, right-handed pitcher for the Houston Astros, pitched his record-breaking 5th no-hitter of his career. Ryan, arguably the best pitcher in major league baseball history, went on to throw 2 more no-hitters in his career, the last (number 7) in 1991 when he was an astounding 44 years old! Digging Deeper Fans of other great pitchers will make the case for those hurlers. Some might talk about Bob Feller’s incredible fastball, his 3 no-hitters and 12 one-hitters and how he lost some of his prime years to service in the Navy during World War…
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 September 24, 2009, the first use of a long range acoustic device (LRAD) for crowd control in the United States took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the G-20 summit that was being held there. The first use had been in Georgia (the country, not the state) in 2007. Digging Deeper Although it is also known as a sound cannon, its manufacturer, the LRAD Corporation, does not call it a weapon but rather a “directed sound communications system.” It is a device that looks like a loudspeaker, however instead of projecting beautiful music, it generates deterring sounds that are pain inducing, and it can send those sounds…
A Brief History On September 23, 1641, off the coast of Cornwall, England, a British merchant ship named the Merchant Royal sank with her cargo of Spanish treasure. She has not yet been found, and your treasure possibly awaits you somewhere at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean, southwest of England. Digging Deeper If lost treasure interests you, then pay attention! The Merchant Royal, despite being leaky and somewhat weary after long travels, had been contracted to transport gold and silver from Cadiz, Spain, to Antwerp in modern-day Belgium (which at that time was part of the Spanish Netherlands), to pay…
A Brief History On September 21, 1993, Russian President Boris Yeltsin triggered the Russian Constitutional Crisis of 1993 by throwing out the constitution and dissolving Parliament. The resulting chaos included the worst riots and fighting seen in Moscow since the 1917 revolution. Digging Deeper Relations between Yeltsin and Parliament had been deteriorating for some time when Yeltsin decided to dissolve Parliament, although he did not have the power to do so according to the constitution. In turn, Parliament declared Yeltsin’s decision null and void, impeached him and barricaded themselves within the parliament building known as the White House. Both sides made…
A Brief History On September 20, 2000, the headquarters of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), an agency also known as MI6, suffered the indignity of being hit by a Soviet-made RPG-22 anti-tank rocket. No suspect has ever been identified or arrested. Digging Deeper The rocket hit the exterior of the building at the level of the 8th floor. It caused superficial damage and thankfully no injuries. Of course, the pride of James Bond, M, Q and Moneypenny was severely shaken! The anti-terrorist branch of the Metropolitan Police believed that the perpetrators belonged to the Real IRA, a breakaway group from the Provisional IRA, but did not name…