Browsing: Travel

A Brief History On August 2, 1870, the Tower Subway opened for passenger traffic in London, England, the first ever underground tube type railway commonly called a “subway” in the US and “the tube” in the UK. Digging Deeper Not to be confused with a fast food store, a subway is a rail train for carrying passengers in underground tunnels.   Using coal or wood powered steam engines, or even gasoline or diesel engines to power the train would be problematic underground.  The Tower Subway was propelled by a cable system with no onboard propulsive power. Most subways today are electric…

A Brief History On August 1, 1977, former USAF and CIA pilot, Francis Gary Powers, died when his news helicopter crashed in Encino, California.  Powers became famous worldwide when his U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, causing a scandal and sensation during the Cold War.  Other pilots have achieved high levels of fame, and today we ask, “Which pilot is the most famous?” Digging Deeper Some nominees include: Orville Wright, the first powered flight in 1903. Manfred von Richthofen, aka, The Red Baron, leading World War I (WWI) fighter Ace, serving in the Luftstreitkräfte…

A Brief History On July 26, 2005, Mumbai, India, received an incredible 39.17 inches of rain in a 24 hour period.  Mumbai is the most populous city in what is now the most populous country in the world, with 12.5 million inhabitants.  Obviously, such an enormous amount of rain created massive flooding, and sadly about 1,100 people died in the floods. Digging Deeper To put this enormous amount of rain in perspective, Cleveland, Ohio, a typical US city, has a record 24 hour rainfall of just 4.59 inches on September 7, 1996.  The contiguous states US record for a single…

A Brief History On July 25, 1984, Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya exited her Salyut 7 space capsule while in orbit, thus becoming the first woman to ever engage in an EVA, or “extravehicular activity” in space.  Most of us usually call such activity a “spacewalk.” Digging Deeper The US has had 56 women in space, and the world has now sent into space about 75 ladies.  The Soviets were the real pioneers with women in space with Valentina Tereshkova becoming the first woman space traveler in 1963.  The Soviets did not send another woman into orbit until 1982, with the…

A Brief History On July 23, 1900, the icon of national “niceness” that is Canada turned a cold shoulder to immigrants, instituting a policy forbidding paupers and criminals from entering the country.  While the US currently has emotional discussion about immigration into the country, illegal and legal alike, the fact is many countries have struggled with immigration policy. Digging Deeper Religion, ethnicity, skin color, and cultural considerations have often affected immigration policies or the lack of welcome on the part of the current inhabitants.  While many countries have a positive view of immigrants, Pew Research indicates many have a negative…