Browsing: July 20

A Brief History On July 20, 1969, the promise by President John F. Kennedy that the USA would put men on the Moon came true when Apollo 11’s Lunar Module, the Eagle, landed on the surface of the Moon, with astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Astronaut Michael Collins remained in the main Apollo capsule orbiting the Moon until the 2 moon men would lift off and later rejoin him for the return to Earth. Digging Deeper About 6 and a half hours after the Eagle landed, Armstrong stepped out of the module and onto the surface of the Moon,…

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A Brief History On July 20, 1779, Tekle Giyorgis I (meaning “The Plant of Saint George”) became Emperor of Ethiopia, a member of the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia.  Between ascending to the throne on this day, and June of 1800, he would 5 more times be named Emperor, having lost his status each time previously for a total of 6 stints as Emperor, probably a World Record for times any person became Emperor! Digging Deeper As you probably guessed already from the name of the dynasty the Ethiopian Emperors supposedly descended from, it is the same Solomon one finds in…

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A Brief History On July 20, 1304, the forces of King Edward I of England successfully took Stirling Castle during the First War of Scottish Independence.  Although the Scots would ultimately maintain their independence, key to the English victory was the intimidating-sounding “Warwolf,” allegedly the largest trebuchet ever made.  This mighty siege engine catapulted rocks or other projectiles up to 300 pounds and was capable of battering down the walls of any castle.   We used this event to precipitate our article in 2015, “Weapons with Cool Names!”  We discussed the “importance” of giving your weapons and weapon systems cool names…

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A Brief History On July 20, 2012, Aurora, Colorado was the site of the third largest mass shooting in terms of number of casualties in United States history at the time, now the eighteenth largest, and the second-deadliest shooting in Colorado after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.  The shooting occurred just after midnight, when James Eagan Holmes opened fire during the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in a Century movie theater, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others.  Although widely known for this tragedy, Aurora, Colorado also counts among the 60 largest cities in the United States, with a population greater than such cities as Pittsburgh, Buffalo or Salt Lake City, but lacks…

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A Brief History On July 20, 2018, horror movie fans are treated to an opening of a major motion picture in the murder/suspense/slasher genre with the modern aspect of computer culture as the background. The new film, Unfriended: Dark Web, is a sequel of sorts to the 2014 film, Unfriended, although the new movie is a stand alone film that does not rely on any part of the previous movie. Well directed by Stephen Susco, who previously directed The Grudge, The Grudge 2, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D (all good horror movies), Dark Web delves into the Dark Web, just…

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