Browsing: Lists

A Brief History On February 10, 2007, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President in the 2008 Presidential election.  Born in 1961, Obama was only 45 years old when he made his announcement.  He would go on to win the Democratic nomination and then win the US Presidential election, sworn in as President of the United States on January 20, 2009 at the age of 47.  Compared to our current President, age 73 at this time and potentially 74 years old if he is sworn in for a second term in January of…

A Brief History On February 9, 1941, during World War II, a giant naval artillery shell dropped on the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Genoa, Italy (usually just called The Genoa Cathedral) failed to explode, sparing the church from destruction.  Fired by the British battleship HMS Malaya, the 15 inch armor piercing projectile was mistakenly fired at the wrong target, and incredibly, the shell remains in place to this day!  Today we take a look at some instances when a bomb or other explosive failed to either detonate at all or detonate without achieving its intended purpose of destruction.  As…

A Brief History On February 2, 2020, we celebrate yet another Groundhog Day, a day in which Winter weary people find out if we are in for 6 more weeks of Winter or if we are facing the joy of an early Spring.  As implied by the name of the day, an actual Groundhog is “consulted” for his (or her) “prediction.”  But…. This year the animal rights organization, PETA, is recommending we immediately end this act of animal cruelty (?) and replace our beloved Marmots with (gasp!) animatronic replicas of Groundhogs!  A discussion of why this plan is “stupid” is…

A Brief History On January 27, 1939, one of the great American fighter planes of World War II, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, made its first flight.  Appropriately named, the Lightning was the fastest fighter in the world at that time, being the first to exceed 400 mph in level flight.  Far from an anomaly, the P-38 was not the only important twin engine fighter plane to grace the skies during combat operation in World War II and the Korean War,  Today we look at 10 of the best 2 engine fighter aircraft from the peak of the piston powered era,…

A Brief History On January 23, 2018, not 1, but 2 car bombs were set off in Benghazi, Libya, killing at least 33 people, both military and civilians, and wounding dozens or even scores more.  Not the proper use of an automobile!  Normally, we love our cars and pick up trucks, SUV’s and the like, and do our best to keep them intact.  Sometimes, people love their car so much they are buried in the car instead of a casket!  Cars can be used as art, places to spoon with your sweetie, a comfortable seat to watch a drive-in movie…