A Brief History On November 4, 1960, Dr. Jane Goodall observed Chimpanzees creating and using tools, behavior previously believed to be limited to human beings. Digging Deeper Goodall’s stunning discovery took place at the Kasakela Chimpanzee Community in Tanganyika, what is now Tanzania. While many animals use various objects as tools, actually modifying an object into a useful tool is a bit rarer. Chimps even make spears for hunting Bushbabies and monkeys, and their use of tools has been documented to go back thousands of years. Other animals using tools include Sea Otters using rocks to break open shellfish, elephants…
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 November 3, 1986, a Lebanese magazine reported that the US had been selling weapons to Iran as part of a negotiation to get seven Americans released in Lebanon. President Reagan, as part of his “tough guy” image as a presidential candidate had repeated a line from US leaders since Nixon, “there will be no negotiation with terrorists of any kind.” Digging Deeper Reagan, however, appeared outed as dealing with terrorists in violation of US law in the Iran-Contra Scandal, dealing with Iran, a state sponsor of terrorists. Reagan’s team was allegedly even negotiating with terrorists before…
A Brief History On November 2, 2016, the Chicago Cubs broke the “Curse of the Billy Goat,” a championship drought of 108 years, by beating the Cleveland Indians in the 2016 World Series. Digging Deeper The Cubs had last won a World Series in 1908, while the Indians, now known as the Guardians, have not won a World Series title since 1948, now a 75 year dry spell. The 2016 World Series was notable not only for the reemergence of the Cubs as champions, but because the Indians had blown a 3 games to 1 lead to lose the Series…
A Brief History On November 1, 1982, Honda Motor Company of Japan started making cars in the United States. The gasoline shortages of 1973 and 1979 pushed American drivers into the seats of imported cars that got better gas mileage than American land yachts, and with better quality for good measure. Digging Deeper Honda took advantage of this trend by opening a manufacturing plant in Marysville, Ohio, starting with their Civic subcompact car. Honda’s American growth has been spectacular and now, four decades later, 2/3 of their vehicles are built in the US at a total of 12 automotive plants…
A Brief History On October 31, 1973, three Provisional Irish Republican Army members held prisoner in Dublin, Ireland were busted out of prison in a manner befitting an action movie! Digging Deeper The Provisional IRA was a group attempting to force a unification of Northern Ireland with the rest of the island, using violence as a main method of “persuasion.” The prisoners had been convicted and sentenced to prison for “offences against the state.” An aborted plan to break out the prisoners by blowing a hole in the prison wall was replaced by an even more spectacular plan of using…