Browsing: Travel

A Brief History On August 27, 2006, Comair Flight 5191, a connecting flight from Lexington, Kentucky to Atlanta, Georgia, crashed, killing all aboard the aircraft except a single survivor.  Not only is the “sole survivor” fact amazing, but it was the man that was piloting the plane during the crash! (See some of our many articles about aviation and aircraft by clicking this link.) Digging Deeper The Bombardier CRJ-100 twin jet airliner that can carry 50 passengers plus an aircrew, crashed when it was attempting take off from the wrong runway, flying from runway #26 when the tower had assigned…

A Brief History On August 18, 2019, about 100 environmentally concerned citizens, including government officials and activists, held a funeral for the Okjökull glacier in Iceland. Digging Deeper The glacier, a large landbound ice formation, once covered about 6 square miles, but had completely melted away, presumably due to global climate change.  Located northeast of Reykjavík, the end of the glacier often called “the Ok glacier” actually came in 2014, so the 2019 funeral was perhaps a bit late. The gone but not forgotten glacier is memorialized on a metal plaque placed in its honor that bears the inscription (in…

A Brief History On August 16, 2008, the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, Illinois topped out and immediately became the tallest residence above ground level of any building in the world. Digging Deeper Towering, an appropriate adverb, 1,389 feet high, the skyscraper bearing the name of the future President of the United States cost about $847 million dollars in those-days dollars and would not open until January 30, 2009.  When completed with its spire in 2009, Trump International became the 7th tallest building in the world, and boasted 98 floors with 2.6 million square feet of floor space.…

A Brief History On August 9, 1965, the city/state of Singapore was evicted from the country of Malaysia and became the only country that became independent against their own will. Digging Deeper Established as the British Crown Colony of Singapore in 1946, Singapore, a strategically positioned island near the Straits of Malacca, possesses a fine harbor and had a strong British presence since 1819.  An important Far East British possession, Singapore was fortified to the point where it was called “The Gibraltar of the Pacific.” After World War II, the world saw the gradual independence of many formerly colonized countries,…

A Brief History On August 1, 1620, the British ship, Speedwell, sailed from Delfshaven along with the Mayflower to bring separatists known as Pilgrims to the New World.  Alas, the Speedwell was not seaworthy and after several attempts the ship was abandoned as a transport to America and Mayflower made the voyage into history alone. Digging Deeper Speedwell was originally named Swiftsure and was built in 1577, making her a relatively old vessel at the time of the proposed voyage to America. Decommissioned by the British navy in 1605, her name was changed, and she became a commercial vessel. Her…