A Brief History On January 11, 1935, American aviatrix Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California, one of her many aviation firsts. She was also the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic and was a proponent of women in aviation, of which there have been many great ones, as listed below: Digging Deeper Jackie Cochran (1906-1980) was an aviation pioneer that held more aviation records during her life than any other pilot of either sex. The first woman to fly supersonic, she also helped organize female pilots for Britain and the US…
Browsing: January
Read More
A Brief History On January 10, 2015, Karachi, Pakistan was the scene of a horrific motor vehicle crash when a tanker truck and passenger bus collided, resulting in 62 deaths, of which six were children. Anytime you have a “close one” while driving, you may think of the dire consequences of a car wreck, and today we list a few of the worst. Digging Deeper Le Mans Disaster of 1955, when car racing proved to be deadly, as a track wreck spilled into the stands, killing one driver and 83 spectators. Sotouboua, Togo, truck vs. dancers wreck of 1965, when…
A Brief History On January 9, 2015, a funeral in Mozambique was the eerily appropriate venue for a disaster involving the favorite bubbly beverage of millions, or even billions, of people. The funeral goers were supplied with the local brew they call pombe, and sadly the beer was contaminated with a deadly germ called Burkholderia gladioli. Digging Deeper Beer has been a staple beverage and even food for many centuries, and generally speaking if consumed in moderation it can have beneficial effects on health. Like many other foods and drinks, when consumed to excess, bad things can happen. Or in…
A Brief History On January 8, 2023, supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the Brazilian capital of Brasilia in protest of the 2022 presidential election that Bolsonaro lost to Luis Inácio Lula da Silva. Apparently, dissatisfaction with the results of a presidential election is NOT a uniquely American phenomenon! Digging Deeper The pro-Bolsonaro mob heavily damaged several government buildings, including the Presidential Palace and the national Supreme Federal Court as well as the Congress building. The stated goal of the mob was to force the Brazilian military to take action and hopefully reinstate Bolsonaro. Hundreds of rioters were…
A Brief History On January 7, 1894, Ohio born uber-inventor Thomas Edison made and demonstrated a kinetoscope, a sort of device using multiple photos or drawings to show the illusion of movement, in this case of a man sneezing. Although Edison is often given credit for inventing the “motion picture,” his own employee, William Kennedy Dickson, actually received the patent for motion picture film on that same day. Digging Deeper Edison is often cited as the most prolific inventor in history, and it is his name on 1,093 patents, although more modern inventors have dramatically eclipsed this number. Edison’s real…