Browsing: Travel

A Brief History On September 3, 1967, Sweden corrected a long-standing mistake by switching from driving on the left, as they do in Britain, Australia, Japan, India, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal, Bhutan, Suriname, Mozambique, and some other confused places. Digging Deeper All European countries except the islands listed above drive on the right, like the US, Canada, Mexico and the rest of the civilized world.  Just to keep things confusing, some countries such as China and even the US have places where driving is on the left whereas the rest of the country drives on the right! While…

A Brief History On August 30, 1936, the Blue Riband was awarded to the RMS Queen Mary for the fastest transatlantic crossing.  The Queen Mary made its maiden voyage earlier that year, serving until 1967, including transporting troops during World War II, as many as 16,000 passengers on a single trip, a record that still stands. Digging Deeper The Blue Riband eventually went to the SS United States in 1952, but the 81,000 ton Queen Mary over a thousand feet long, along with her sister ship, the RMS Queen Elizabeth, were the standard of luxury until their retirement. Instead of scrapping…

A Brief History On August 28, 1565, Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés landed on the East coast of Florida and founded the city of St. Augustine, the oldest city in what is now the United States to be continuously occupied. Digging Deeper An explorer and conquistador, de Avilés was the mastermind behind Spain’s establishment of trans-Atlantic convoys of “treasure fleets” to ferry the riches of the New World back to Spain.  A major figure in the Spanish conquest of the New World, de Avilés made many voyages to the New World, establishing forts, exploring, fighting and trading with native…

A Brief History On August 23, 1954, a pleasure cruise around the Mediterranean Sea carrying many of the crowned heads of Europe set sail from Marseille, France, a royalty only trip known as “The Cruise of Kings.” Digging Deeper The cruise was planned by the Greek monarchs, King Paul and Queen Frederica, with the idea that bringing many royals together could result in possible marital matchmaking.  Royalty representing 25 current and former royal families were gathered for the 11-day cruise, but only a single match was generated, that between Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia and Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma.  A…

A Brief History On August 11, 2000, Southwest Airlines Flight 1763 from Nevada to Utah experienced one of those horrible moments when the lives of all on board were at stake. Digging Deeper An emotionally upset 19 year old man, possibly fueled by drugs in his system, engaged in an ongoing tirade in the airliner, culminating in his kicking in the cockpit door and attempting to enter the cockpit.  The flight crew pushed the angry young man out of the flight deck and concerned passengers swarmed the out-of-control passenger and subdued him. Unfortunately, the 19-year-old died while other passengers restrained…