A Brief History On July 17, 2016, national news outlets blared the all too familiar news that policemen had been gunned down while merely doing their jobs. Reports of at least 3 Baton Rouge, Louisiana cops shot dead and another 3 or 4 wounded while responding to a report of a suspicious man walking down the street with what appeared to be an “assault weapon.” Initial reports are that at least 1 suspect has been killed by police, but another 1 or 2 suspects are believed to be at large. Digging Deeper This horrific incident is believed to be misguided…
Browsing: July 17
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A Brief History On July 17, 1791, hero of the American Revolution, the Marquis de Lafayette, Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier (you can see why he is usually just called “Lafayette”) led the French National Guard against a riotous mob of around 10,000 angry French revolutionaries, gunning down about 50 of the rebels in the action. (The mob had started throwing stones and then shooting at the soldiers.) Digging Deeper Lafayette returned to France a hero after aiding George Washington and the Americans in defeating the British during the American Revolution, only to find France torn between loyal…
A Brief history On July 17, 1955, Anaheim, California watched as Walt Disney dedicated and opened Disneyland, at the time, the premier amusement park in the world. The US has a long history of fine amusement parks, certainly making the US the amusement park capital of the world. Here we list 10 great parks, not necessarily the biggest, but 10 that draw the most people each year, and that we think you would especially enjoy visiting. Digging Deeper 10. Six Flags Magic Mountain, California (Valencia). With 19 roller coasters, more than any other park in the world, this place gives…
A Brief History On July 17, 1944, US P-38 fighter bombers dropped napalm bombs on a German Army fuel depot near St. Lo in Normandy, France, one of the earliest uses of napalm. Napalm a mixture of gasoline and a thickening agent (several formulas) is used as a flame weapon that stubbornly sticks to anything it comes in contact with, greatly increasing its lethality against humans and effectiveness in catching things on fire. Digging Deeper One of the iconic products closely associated with the US by the rest of the world, napalm was developed secretly in 1942 during World War…
A Brief History On July 17, 1917, King George V of the United Kingdom changed the British royal family’s name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the more English-sounding Windsor. Digging Deeper A blatantly political move, changing the German name was done under pressure from a war-weary nation that had been fighting in what at the time had been the biggest and costliest war in human history. England had even been bombed by German bomber aircraft named Gotha, causing that much more resentment. As a cousin of both Czar Nicholas II of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, King George knew the incestuous nature…
