Browsing: November 12

A Brief History On November 12, 1985, fans of Mixed Martial Arts fighting got an early Christmas present when the little girl that would grow up to become the hottest ring girl in MMA was born.  Penelope Lopez Marquez was born (appropriately) in Las Vegas, Nevada, although you would know her better as Arianny Celeste.  Today the lovely miss turns 32 years old and looks 10 years younger. Digging Deeper Celeste made her debut as an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ring girl in 2006, of course in her native Las Vegas.  She went on to great acclaim for her beauty…

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A Brief History On November 12, 1993, Denver, Colorado became the site of the first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship event, titled UFC 1, what has become the premier promotion of mixed martial arts fighting. Starting what would become a regular routine, the event was broadcast live on Pay-Per-View, had a live audience, and was later released on video. Digging Deeper This initial UFC event was an 8 man tournament, with eventual winner Royce Gracie of Brazil taking the top ($50,000) prize. The other big name fighter to go on to great things was Ken Shamrock, known as “The World’s Most…

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A Brief History On November 12, 1970, the people along the Pacific Coast of Oregon found out the answer to the question, “How many State highway Department employees does it take to blow up a whale?”  Unfortunately, no rational people had actually asked that particular question in the first place! Digging Deeper On that memorable November day, a 45 foot long, 8 ton Sperm Whale washed up dead on an Oregon beach.  Stinky and unsightly, locals not surprisingly wanted it gone.  In Oregon, for some reason beaches are considered highways, so the nasty task of removing the whale carcass fell…

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A Brief History On November 12, 1944, the Royal Air Force (RAF) used its heavy bomber, the Avro Lancaster, to drop Tall Boy bombs on the last German battleship, the Tirpitz.   This attack was the 26th Allied attempt in a series of attacks over a 4-year period to sink her like her sister ship, the Bismarck.  And with 3 direct hits, over she capsized.  Digging Deeper The Tall Boys were giant 12,000-pound bombs designed by the British weapons designer Barnes Wallis.  They were so big that only Lancasters could lug them to the target.  No U.S. bomber of World War II times was…

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A Brief History On November 12, 1933, Hugh Gray took the first known photos of the Loch Ness Monster. Digging Deeper Outside of maybe Bigfoot, Nessie (the Loch Ness Monster) is probably the most well-known cryptid in the English-speaking world.  Claims of the existence of this monster date back possibly as far back as to Saint Columba (December 7, 521 A.D. – June 9,  597 A.D.).  According to legend, Columba helped rescue a man from a water beast in Scotland. Of course, humans had not yet invented photographs and so it would not be for another nearly millennium and a…

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