A Brief History On December 4, 1971, rock legend Frank Zappa and his band, The Mothers of Invention, were holding a concert at the Montreux Casino in Switzerland, on the shores of beautiful Lake Geneva, when disaster struck. Digging Deeper A misguided fan thought it was a good idea to launch a flare from a flare pistol into the ceiling of the place, causing a fire that brought the building down. The fire was significant enough on its own, but was immortalized by the Deep Purple hit, “Smoke on the Water,” since Deep Purple was at a nearby hotel waiting…
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.
Read More
A Brief History On December 3, 1800, the Electoral College tallied votes in the Presidential election and found the two main contenders, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, were tied. Incredible though it seems today, Burr was actually the Vice Presidential running mate of Jefferson that year, but Electoral rules at the time allowed each elector to vote for two people, the second highest vote getter becoming Vice President. Digging Deeper Jefferson and Burr beat incumbent John Adams, and a special election in the House of Representatives was held to pick a winner between Jefferson and Burr. Jefferson won that vote,…
A Brief History On December 2, 1927, Henry Ford revealed the successor to his iconic Model T, the Ford Model A. While the Ford Model T at one time comprised half or more of all the cars in the world, the Model A was also a success. Digging Deeper After 18 years of production, the Model T had become dated, and sales slowed. The Model A reached 3 million in sales by March of 1930, and was offered in nine styles, the cheapest of which cost only $385! A total of 4.8 million were made. The 4-cylinder engine pumped out…
A Brief History On December 1, 1984, a joint operation between NASA and the FAA conducted a “Controlled Impact Demonstration,” a fancy way of saying purposely crashing an unoccupied jetliner. Digging Deeper The remotely controlled jet was a Boeing 720, a narrowed down version of the ubiquitous 707. A 4-engine jetliner that could carry 131 passengers, the 720 was a good representation of the airliners of the time. The doomed jet was loaded with cameras, sensors, and recording equipment, and the data derived from the intentional crash was used to develop new safety standards for airliners. Conclusions included that airliners…
A Brief History On November 30, 1936, the Crystal Palace in London, England was destroyed by a fire. The huge iron, wood, and mostly glass building had been built for the Great Exposition of 1,851 and stretched 1851 feet long with an interior height of 128 feet. Erected in Hyde Park, after the Exposition the entire structure was dismantled and rebuilt in South London. Digging Deeper Some other significant structures destroyed by fire include: The Great Library at Alexandria, burned in 48 BC when Julius Caesar burned a fleet in the harbor that spread to the iconic library. The White…