Browsing: Lists

A Brief History On January 3, 2000, the final new comic strip of the Peanuts (Charlie Brown, et al) series was published in the nation’s newspapers, ending a 50 year run as an iconic funny papers staple.  Less than a month later, the strip’s creator, Charles M. Schulz, died of colon cancer at the age of 77.  We still see “reruns” of Peanuts comic strips, but the days of getting new strips are long gone, as are the days of many other bygone comic strips that were once something for Americans to look forward to in the comics section of…

A Brief History On January 1, 2018, we take a fond look back at the tumultuous year of 2017, a year in which a remarkable number of prominent people got fired.  In honor of President Donald Trump, who took office in January of 2017 and his personal catch phrase, “You’re fired!” we list many of the best known people that got the axe.  Many actually worked for The Donald himself, how apropos!  In fact, an astounding 21 of 61 Trump White House staffers were canned, an all time record.  (The Reagan Administration saw a paltry 17% go bye-bye, the second-place…

A Brief History On December 31, 1759, Arthur Guinness contracted for a lease on four acres of land in Dublin, Ireland, where he promptly commenced to brewing Guinness dry stout beer, a now world famous brew.  The terms of the lease?  Only £45 per year for 9000 years!  Today, we commemorate this part of brewing history by listing what we think are the 10 Greatest Beers (ales, too) in the world today. Digging Deeper 1. Guinness Draught (Stout), Guinness, Ireland. Now owned by Diageo, a multi-national producer of alcoholic beverages (including whisky, vodka, and liquours, as well as brewed drinks and…

A Brief History On December 30, 2006, former dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, was hanged in a gruesome execution that nearly severed his head from his body.  In the aftermath of the terror attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the US alleged Iraqi involvement with those attacks and by 2003 the US led a coalition of nations in an invasion of Iraq, eventually arresting Hussein in December of 2003, with the newly installed Iraqi government executing the reviled dictator 3 years later.  Many national leaders have been executed throughout history, usually by their own people.  Today, we…

A Brief History On December 27, 2017, we stand on the brink of a new year, giving us cause to look back on the year that is finishing.  As with every year, many notable people died this past year, and we list 10 of the most significant or interesting of the Class of 2017.  Many people you might add to the list are included in the “honorable mentions,” but feel free to tell us who else we should have listed.  (Dishonorable mention: Roger Ailes, Fox TV boss and sexual harasser; Manuel Noriega, dictator) Digging Deeper 1. Hugh Hefner, magazine magnate. Founder…