Author: Major Dan

A Brief History On May 28, 1934, outside the village of Corbeil, Ontario, the first human quintuplets known to have survived past infancy were born.  The Dionne Quints, as they were called, became an international sensation. Digging Deeper In today’s world of fertility drugs and treatments that doctors and clinics specifically created to enhance fertility, we are no longer impressed with multiple births.  (Okay, we were impressed by “Octomom,” but in more of a horrified way.)  Triplets, quadruplets and quintuplets induced by fertility treatments and by the artificial implanting of fertilized human egg cells has made the multiple birth phenomena…

A Brief History On May 23, 1934, bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde were gunned down by law enforcement officers.  For a change, the lawmen had the upper hand as far as firepower goes.  In the 1920’s and 1930’s gangsters had been arming themselves with automatic and semi-automatic weapons and out-gunning the police, with the police mostly armed with .38 caliber revolvers and sometimes 12 gauge pump action shotguns. On numerous occasions then and even in the 1970’s and 1980’s the police were woefully under-armed, but that is changing now.  Here is a list of some of the favorite gangster guns…

A  Brief History On May 13, 1998, Jakarta (or Djakarta) Indonesia experienced race riots directed against the ethnic Chinese minority. These Indonesians of Chinese descent owned many of the shops and stores, creating jealousy and ill will, resulting in looting and rape. Many countries have minorities that are discriminated against, either officially by law or by common practice. Here in the US we are most familiar with discrimination against African-Americans, but here and around the world there is much more than that. Here are 10 examples of minority groups struggling against such oppression. What groups would you add to this…

A Brief History On May 5, 1809, Mary Kies became the first woman granted a US patent. She had invented a process for weaving straw with silk and thread. Over the years women have showed ingenuity and we would like to tell you about 10 of them.  Honorary Mention: Eve, The Headache, Day 6. Not only did she invent how to get one, but how to give one as well!) Digging Deeper 10. Mellitta Bentz, Paper Coffee Filter (1908). Ever notice the name brand Mellitta on coffee filters in the store? Now you know where it came from. 9. Marie…

A Brief History On April 30, 1993, Hungarian (by ancestry) tennis star, Monica Seles, was stabbed in the back by a fan obsessed with Steffi Graf, another well known female tennis star.  Seles was number one in the world for the previous 2 years, but unfortunately was absent from pro tennis for 2 years after the stabbing.  She had already won 8 Grand Slam titles had become the youngest ever French Open winner at age 16.  She was only 20 years old at the time of the attack and never regained her championship form, playing her last professional match in…