This Day in History on January - History and Headlines

10 Best Twin Engine Piston Powered Fighter Planes

By Major Dan on January 27, 2020 Inventions, January 27, Lists, Military, Vehicles

A Brief History On January 27, 1939, one of the great American fighter planes of World War II, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, made its first flight. Appropriately named, the Lightning was the fastest fighter in the world at that time, being the first to exceed 400 mph in level flight. Far from an anomaly, the P-38 was not the only important twin engine fighter plane to grace the skies during combat operation in World War II and the Korean War, Today we look at 10 of the best 2 engine fighter aircraft from the peak of the piston powered era,…

10 Cars Named after Critters

By Major Dan on January 23, 2020 January 23, Lists, Nature, Vehicles

A Brief History On January 23, 2018, not 1, but 2 car bombs were set off in Benghazi, Libya, killing at least 33 people, both military and civilians, and wounding dozens or even scores more. Not the proper use of an automobile! Normally, we love our cars and pick up trucks, SUV’s and the like, and do our best to keep them intact. Sometimes, people love their car so much they are buried in the car instead of a casket! Cars can be used as art, places to spoon with your sweetie, a comfortable seat to watch a drive-in movie…

Royal Shenanigans, 8 Month Old Made Co-Emperor of Byzantium

By Major Dan on January 22, 2020 January 22, Military, Politics, Religion

A Brief History On January 22, 613, in the capital city of Constantinople, Emperor Heraclius of the Byzantine Empire declared his 8 month old son, Constantine, Co-Emperor, or in the vernacular of the day, “Caesar.” Perhaps you recall our related article, “The Beheading of a Byzantine Emperor by Another Byzantine Emperor!?” (October 4, 2013) that details how Heraclius seized power from the reigning Emperor, Phocas, by personally chopping off Phocas’ head! Apparently, Heraclius was not quite done with doing outrageous things, such as making a baby Co-Emperor. Digging Deeper Heraclius had inherited a tough war by seizing power, a war…

10 Famous/Infamous Cases of People that were Decapitated

By Major Dan on January 21, 2020 Crime, January 21, Lists, Politics

A Brief History On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI of France was convicted of treason and taken to the guillotine where he was promptly beheaded, just one of the many instances of famous beheadings in a long history of human violence, both intentional and accidental, both by the state as an execution or by criminal action, and even by our animal “friends.” Sometimes, people are even decapitated posthumously for some sort of extra emphasis. Today we list 10 of these cases of human decapitation, both famous and infamous. Execution by beheading has been a long historical means of capital…

10 More Things You Just Don’t See Anymore

By Major Dan on January 20, 2020 Inventions, January 20, Lists

A Brief History On January 20, 2020, we take a meandering mid-winter look at some of those things you seldom if ever encounter anymore, things that were once commonplace and even in their time of cutting edge technology. We might even throw in a phrase or word that has become passé. We are not saying these things have totally disappeared, just so greatly diminished that seeing or hearing one is an oddity. (See our previous articles on this subject, including: “Things That Did Not Exist (Or Were Different) on July 1, 1957,” “May 16, 1960: 10 More Things That did…