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…
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 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…
A Brief History On October 30, 1961, former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin suffered the indignity of having his body removed from a place of honor in Lenin’s Tomb and parked in a regular grave with a plain granite marker. Stalin’s body suffered only a minor indignity compared to some other former national leaders, and here we discuss a few of those. Digging Deeper Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of Britain, was dug up in 1661, three years after his death to be tried and “executed,” including beheading. Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, died in exile in 1821, and someone removed…
A Brief History On October 29, 2015, China announced the end of its “one child” policy that had been in effect since 1979, limiting couples to one child in an effort to curb population growth. Digging Deeper Fears of what seemed to be inevitable overpopulation caused China’s leaders to raise the age for marriage and to encourage couples to delay having children, limiting the number of children they had, and spacing out pregnancies. Finally, the Draconian edict of one child per couple was put into effect, but with many exceptions. In 2015, the policy became a two-child policy, and in…