Browsing: June

A Brief History On June 12, 1817, Karl Drais of Germany invented a contraption he called the “Laufmaschine,” German for “running machine” as the two wheeled single rider vehicle was powered by the rider scooting his feet along the ground. Also known as a “draisine” (German) or “draisienne” (French), this earliest form of bicycle later became known broadly as a “velocipede,” a term covering all types of bicycles and other people powered ground vehicles. Drais patented his invention in France in 1818, and the name continued to evolve to become known as “The Dandy Horse.” Digging Deeper The evolution of…

A Brief History On June 11, 1919, Sir Barton, a chestnut Thoroughbred race horse, won the Belmont Stakes, the third jewel in America’s horse racing Triple Crown, the “Big Three” horse races held in the United States each year. Sir Barton’s victory made it a sweep, the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes, making Sir Barton and his jockey, Johnny Loftus, the first man/horse team to win the fabled Triple Crown of horse racing. In the 99 years since then, there have been 12 more horses to win the coveted Triple Crown Trophy, the most recent being Justify…

A Brief History On June 9, 1959, the United States Navy launched the USS George Washington, the first ballistic missile submarine capable of launching nuclear missiles. We used that occasion to publish the article “10 Weapons Milestones (Modern Systems that Changed the Game)” in which we named 10 of the most interesting and important advances in weaponry of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Today we list 10 more of those weapons and or weapons systems, and we branch out to include the 21st Century and Olden times as well. (Lightsabers not included!) Digging Deeper 1. Lasers (a Directed Energy Weapon),…

A Brief History On June 8, 2018, another great dystopian future film premiers across the United States when Hotel Artemis opens. We had the opportunity to review the film and found it to be entertaining, though not exactly uplifting. Starring Jodie Foster as “The Nurse,” the “hotel” is actually a secret hospital for well heeled outlaws to receive emergency medical treatment. Jeff Goldblum adds star power as the main bad guy, known colorfully as the much feared “Wolf King.” Writer/Director Drew Pearce lends the film noir his own brand of cynical view of society (he also wrote the screen plays…

A Brief History On June 7, 1982, the widow of the late King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Aron Presley, Priscilla Ann (Beaulieu) Presley, opened the estate of the late singer for public tours. The bathroom in which Elvis died of a heart attack in 1977 was kept off limits. The estate, named “Graceland” by its original owner after his daughter, Grace, is one of the most famous homes in the United States, and is second only to the White House in number of annual visitors with 650,000 Elvis fans visiting each year. Located in Memphis, Tennessee on 13.8 acres,…