A Brief History On September 28, 2008, the first Formula One night race was held, the Singapore Grand Prix. The high-profile international auto race was won by Fernando Alonso driving for the Renault F1 team. Later, it was discovered that Alonso’s teammate, Nelson Piquet Jr., had been ordered by team managers to deliberately cause a crash to help Alonso win the race. Digging Deeper This race would not be the first or the last time pro sports events were “fixed,” either by cheating or by deliberately losing in order to affect betting outcomes. Some other examples include the 1919 “Black…
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 September 27, 1962, the book, Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson was published. The book dealt with environmental science and focused on the widespread use of pesticides and the disinformation provided by the manufacturers of those chemicals. Digging Deeper Carson made a case that the indiscriminate use of these chemicals was poisoning the environment and killing off many beneficial insects along with the pests. Additionally, many birds suffered ill effects from the pesticides, and Carson projected that one day the birds would be gone, hence the title of the book. You might have thought a cataclysmic environmental…
A Brief History On September 26, 1983, Australian 12-metre-class yacht, Australia II, finally won an America’s Cup yacht race, the first time in 132 years that the Cup was lost by an American sailboat representing the New York Yacht Club. Digging Deeper Australia II represented the Royal Perth Yacht Club in the prestigious sailing race, defeating the American entry, Liberty, to end the longest win streak in sporting history. The race dates back to 1857 and is not held every year, with 37 races so far. American teams have won 30 of those competitions. Some other sporting win streaks by…
A Brief History On September 25, 1555, the peace treaty known as the Peace of Augsburg or alternately as the Augsburg Settlement was signed by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his opponents, known as the Schmalkaldic League. Digging Deeper The signing took place in the German city of Augsburg, giving the treaty its name. The Holy Roman Empire of the time consisted of a Catholic consortium of countries, including Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, and Burgundy, as well as portions of Italy. Opposing the Emperor was the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes within the empire that…
A Brief History On September 24, 2015, yet another religious related tragedy occurred when as many as 2,000 faithful Muslims in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj were stampeded and suffocated when a large crowd met another large crowd at a road intersection and chaos resulted. The worst tragedy in a long line of Hajj related tragedies, some estimates were as high as over 2,400 dead, the worst Hajj related disaster. Digging Deeper In previous articles we have discussed tragedies and disasters related to religious events and locations, and asked the question, “What do these tragedies mean?” If you are a…