Browsing: January 21

A Brief History On January 21, 1981, the DeLorean sports car started being produced in Northern Ireland, with production ending in December of 1982.  Only about 9,000 of the futuristic cars were built. Digging Deeper Featuring gull-wing doors and a rear mounted V-6 engine that produced a paltry 130 horsepower, the DeLorean boasted stainless steel outer panels and struggled to reach 60 mph in a reported 8.8 to 10.5 seconds.  For a purported “sports” car, the DMC loafed its way to a quarter mile in 17.9 seconds at a final speed of only 76.5 mph.  For comparison, the two-door, two…

A Brief History On January 21, 2009, Israel pulled its military forces out of the Gaza strip after a three-week war with Palestinian Islamic extremist group Hamas.  While fighting in and around Gaza continued in the following weeks, the scale of the fighting was a mere shadow of the Israeli-Hamas fighting that began in October of 2023. Digging Deeper In what was called The Gaza War of 2008-2009, 13 Israelis and between 1,100 and 1,400 Palestinians were killed.  Lasting from December 27, 2008 until January 18, 2009, the war was just one of many Arab-Israeli wars and other armed and…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on January 21st.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On January 21, 1535, in the aftermath of “The Affair of the Placards,” French Protestants were burned at the stake in front of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. 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…

A Brief History On January 21, 2023, we celebrate Squirrel Appreciation Day, one of the greatest holidays in all of the Rodent Kingdom! Digging Deeper Yes, squirrels are rodents, cousins to mice and rats, although with a much more attractive coat.  Tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, prairie dogs and flying squirrels are all in this expansive family.   Although squirrels are native to the Americas, Asia, and Africa, they had to be introduced to Australia and Europe.  Often accused of crimes such as stealing food from bird feeders and burglarizing houses, squirrels provide a lot of visual enjoyment as they scurry…

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…