Browsing: Lists

A Brief History On June 29, 2007, Apple Inc. introduced its iPhone for sale, resulting in massive sales over the next 7 years of over 500 million units.  People love their cell phones, and many act as though they could not live without it.  They certainly have many beneficial uses to society and to the user.  Motor vehicle accidents and other emergencies can be promptly reported, and many drunk drivers are taken off the road after being reported by cell phone.  Here we list 10 not so good uses of cell phones, ones that can get the user or other…

A Brief History On June 28, 1950, the South Korean government, democratically elected allies of the United States and other Western allies, committed a massacre of suspected communist sympathizers in what is known as The Bodo League Massacre.  Somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people are believed to have been executed, including girls as young as 12 or 13.  Sometimes the so called “good guys” do things that are not so good.  Any side is quick to point out the atrocities committed by the other side, but unlikely to acknowledge their own indiscretions.  Here, for a change, we list 10 instances when…

A Brief History On June 27, 1985, US Route 66, known as “The Main Street of America,” was officially taken off the list of US highways.  Established in 1926, it was the main road from Chicago to Los Angeles (Santa Monica).  Spawning a hit song (by Nat “King” Cole) and a hit television series, this route was the American highway, at least until superseded by the Interstate Highway System.  It survives (barely) today in pieces as “State Route 66” in some states and as stretches of a “National Scenic Byway.”  Many other symbols of America have also come and gone, and…

A Brief History On June 26, 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened for traffic.  (See our other article today.)  The seaway opened the Great Lakes to ocean going freighters enhancing the economy of the region and transportation efficiency for the US and Canada.  Unfortunately, it also brought invasive species.  Sometimes invasive species are brought to a new land or water on purpose, other times by accident.  Often times, the introduction of a non-native species has unwanted consequences for their new home and neighbors, be they plant or animal.  Here we list 10 of the most irritating (to us; it is a…

A Brief History On June 25, 1923, Lt. John Richter and Capt. Lowell Smith of the US Army performed the first aerial refueling of an airplane in flight in their DH-4B.  Here we list 10 groundbreaking (pun intended) aviation firsts, not necessarily the most important, but hopefully interesting ones.   Digging Deeper 10. Sophie Blanchard, 1st Woman Aviation Fatality, 1819. Putting on an exhibition at the Tivoli Gardens in Paris, Blanchard was flying a Balloon and shooting fireworks, which predictably ignited the gas (hydrogen) in the balloon causing it to crash, killing Sophie.  Blanchard was also the first woman balloonist and…