Browsing: August 21

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on August 21st.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On August 21, 1791, a voodoo, or alternately “vodou,” ceremony at Bois Caïman, Haiti, was the scene of the first major assembly of African slaves in Haiti, an event that led to the slave rebellion known as the Haitian Revolution. On August 21, 1897, Ransom Eli Olds founded the car company that became the first assembly line producer of automobiles in the…

A Brief History On August 21, 1791, a voodoo, or alternately “vodou,” ceremony at Bois Caïman, Haiti was the scene of the first major assembly of African slaves in Haiti, an event that led to the slave rebellion known as the Haitian Revolution. Digging Deeper White European colonial slave owners viewed the voodoo ceremonies as harmless exercise of the slave religion, making such rituals the only opportunity for large numbers of slaves to meet. Dutty Boukman, a voodoo priest and slave looked up to by other slaves, was named by a mysterious woman who appeared during the ceremony as the…

A Brief History On August 21, 1897, Ransom Eli Olds founded the car company that bore his name, Oldsmobile.  Oldsmobile was in business for 107 years, making powerful, comfortable and smooth riding cars, but alas they have gone extinct, like many other car companies.  Today we ask you, “What car company do you miss the most?” Digging Deeper We list a few for you to choose from, or name your own nominee: American Motors, Checker, DeLorean, Geo, Mercury, Oldsmobile, Packard, Plymouth, Pontiac, Rambler, Saturn, Studebaker, Triumph Motor Company, and Yugo. Question for students (and subscribers): Which of these companies surprises…

A Brief History On August 21, 1986, a volcano in Cameroon hidden beneath Lake Nyos erupted and released a mass quantity of carbon dioxide gas, suffocating and killing nearly 1800 and 3500 of their farm animals.  (When we say “mass quantity,” we mean 100,000 to 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide, or maybe as much as well over a million tons!) Although unusual, this horrible disaster is not unique, as 2 other lakes in Africa have a similar situation where volcanic carbon dioxide exists in enormous quantities, potentially causing a similar disaster.  Those other 2 lakes are Lake Kivu on the…

A Brief History On August 21, 2012, the fourth game in the Counter-Strike series was released for Windows, OS X, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.  Your performance in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) can be decided by three factors: ability, tactics, and group play. As it comes about skill, you’re going to have to grit your reaction times, crosshair positioning, and spray power. Refining your ability to a ‘high level’, you will also learn a lot of simple tactics, a phenomenon that has proven to be effective at matchmaking. When you go pretty much up as a five-on-five team (clan), these techniques may not be enough…