A Brief History On March 24, 1999, an unlikely cargo became deadly when a truck carrying margarine and flour caught fire in the Mont Blanc tunnel on its way from France to Italy. Digging Deeper While fires in tunnels can be a terrifying prospect, the Mont Blanc tunnel was no stranger to fire, having previously experienced 16 truck fires prior to this incident. The driver of the Belgian truck became aware of a problem when oncoming traffic began flashing their headlights to alert him to smoke pouring out of his truck. Stopping his truck about half-way through the 7.2 mile…
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 March 23, 2018, the President of Peru, Pedro Kuczynski, resigned in disgrace due to corruption. Although Kuczynski was born in Peru, you might tell from his name that his parents were not, and in fact were from Germany, of Polish Jewish descent. Kuczynski even lived in the USA for a while before becoming a politician. Digging Deeper Some other national leaders of ethnicities other than the host country that did not fare well include: Alberto Fujimori, another Peruvian President born in Peru, but this time of Japanese immigrants. After a decade as President, in 2000 Fujimori…
A Brief History On March 22, 1995, Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov made it back to Earth after spending a record 437 days and 18 hours in space. A physician, Polyakov had previously spent 241 days in space on another space flight in 1988. Digging Deeper These two space flights were the only ones Polyakov made in his career. After medical and psychological tests, Polyakov was found to have undergone mood swings, but otherwise remained healthy after his experiences. He lived to the age of 80, dying in 2022. The current record for total time spent in space by anyone is…
A Brief History On March 22, 2024, the fifth movie in the Ghostbusters franchise makes its wide release across the United States, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, a movie featuring some of the original characters and actors from the 1984 smash hit film as well as some of the new crew introduced in the 2021 third edition in the lineal series, Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Digging Deeper The big stars from yesteryear, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson are back, along with original characters played by William Atherton, and Annie Potts. Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, and Mckenna Grace form the core…
A Brief History On March 21, 1801, French forces fought the British outside of Alexandria, Egypt in one of the many epic battles that have taken place at Alexandria over the centuries. Digging Deeper This 1801 battle is one of 13 major engagements fought at or near Alexandria, starting in 169 BC and most recently in 1941. Many cities or locations have been the scene of frequent battles through history, including: Jerusalem is probably the most fought over city in the world, with over 50 attacks on the city starting in 1000 BC when King David captured the place and as…