A Brief History On August 12, 1944, German Nazi troops finished off a massacre of between 40,000 and 50,000 Poles, many of them Jewish. The excuse for this massacre was to put down the Warsaw Uprising and to discourage any further resistance to the occupying forces. Digging Deeper After the Germans took over Poland in 1939 (with the Soviets coming in through Poland’s back door, stabbing their neighbor in the back), the conquered Poles were treated like subhuman slaves. Finally in 1944, partisan forces rose up and fought back against the Nazi overlords in an attempt to kick the Germans…
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 August 11, 1984, President Reagan caused the Soviet Union to raise their security and defense levels by joking about bombing Russia. Whether meant to go public or said in private conversation, politicians throughout history have been known to say incredibly stupid things. Here we list 10 such misstatements made by politicians. (Note: Due to the volume of stupid utterances, we do not claim these are the most stupid, but they are pretty stupid.) Obviously, this list cries out for a sequel. 10. “Read my lips, no new taxes.” George H.W. Bush, 1988. Campaign pledges are usually not considered…
A Brief History On August 11, 1934, the Federal Penitentiary located on the island of Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay opened for civilian prisoners. Despite its exotic-sounding name, Alcatraz was a state-of-the-art maximum security prison designed to hold the toughest, most dangerous prisoners. Digging Deeper Some of the desperadoes held there included: Al “Scarface” Capone; “Doc” Barker; Robert Stroud (aka “The Bird Man of Alcatraz”); “Bumpy“ Johnson (aka “The Godfather of Harlem“); “Whitey” Bulger; Alvin “Creepy” Karpis; and “Machine Gun” Kelly. Apparently having a nickname was a good way to end up on “The Rock!” Considered to be escape-proof, the…
A Brief History On August 10, 1978, 3 members of a family died in a fiery crash when their Ford Pinto was rear-ended. The bolts on the differential were positioned in such a manner that in the case of a rear-end collision, the bolts would pierce the gas tank. Ford had known about the problem but chose not to correct it, electing to pay off lawsuits instead. This goof is just one of the many really bad design features on of cars over the years. The following article lists the 10 worst features, as based on the author’s opinion. Digging…
A Brief History On August 10, 1948, the American public first heard an unseen television announcer say, “Smile, you’re on Candid Camera!” In the infancy of public broadcasting, Candid Microphone, a popular radio show, was adapted for television by creator and producer Allen Funt. Digging Deeper With over 1,000 episodes in 38 full or partial seasons, Candid Camera proved very popular. Hosts included Funt, himself, Arthur Godfrey, Durwood Kirby, Dom DeLuise, Suzanne Somers and former beauty queens Phyllis George and Bess Myerson among others. The idea was to have unsuspecting people spied on by a hidden camera while they were being subjected to pranks. These…