Browsing: July 9

A Brief History On July 9, 1922, Johnny Weissmuller became the first man to break 60 seconds in the 100 meter freestyle swim, posting a world record time of 58.6 seconds.  Weissmuller rode his fame as a swimmer to become the Tarzan of the movies that we think of as the definitive Tarzan.  He was the greatest swimmer of his day, but girls routinely beat his best times today.  Here we list 10 of the greatest swimmers in the world and in history, some of which may not be what you are thinking of.  (Maybe next time we can list the worst swimmers!)…

A Brief History On July 9, 1958, an earthquake (7.9 to 8.3 on the Richter scale) struck Alaska, shaking off a 90 million (long) ton block of rock and ice into Lituya Bay in southern Alaska, resulting in the biggest wave ever recorded. Digging Deeper A megatsunami is created when an impact event occurs, such as a meteor striking the water, a landslide causing large amounts of material to fall into the water, or violent  volcanic activity.  This differs from normal tsunamis that originate from volcanic or tectonic activity on the sea floor, while megatsunamis events are created by impact…

A Brief History On July 9, 1903, the future leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, was exiled to Siberia for 3 years.  Financing the Communist movement in Russia by robbery, extortion and kidnappings, it is no surprise that Stalin (born Ioseb Jugashvili) was arrested several times and sent to Siberia, where he invariably escaped to return to fomenting revolution.  Vladimir Lenin likewise served 3 years of exile in Siberia for sedition.  (If punitive exile was supposed to erase revolutionary zeal, it appears not to have worked.) Digging Deeper Many future leaders of countries had found themselves in jail prior…

A Brief History On July 9, 1540, the marriage between Henry VIII and his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, was annulled. Digging Deeper Annulled on the basis of non-consummation of the marriage, the real reason Henry wanted the divorce was because he found Anne unattractive, if not revolting.  Yes, it sounds very harsh, but it was probably a bit of an exaggeration as Henry had to get his point across to morally win his case.  How could he possibly be expected to make love to a woman who did not turn him on?  Well, he should have asked his forefathers who…