Browsing: October 15

A Brief History On October 15, 1815, Emperor of the French, Napoleon I (Bonaparte) began his second and final exile on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic. Booted out of Europe by the victorious allied nations (aka, the Seventh Coalition) led by the English, Napoleon was sent far enough away that he would never return to upset the traditional order in Europe. Although many people have been exiled, Napoleon is famous for having twice been exiled, the first time to the Island of Elba, tantalizingly close to France. That mistake would not be repeated. Here we list…

A Brief History On October 15, 1997, Andy Green became the first supersonic driver of a car by setting the land speed record of 763 mph (Mach 1.016), driving a twin jet powered ThrustSSC across a measured course and back in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. This historic event occurred 50 years and 1 day after Chuck Yeager became the first person to fly supersonic in level flight. Digging Deeper Green is an RAF fighter pilot, no stranger to high speed, also is the holder of the land speed record for diesel powered vehicles with a speed of 350 mph in…

A Brief History On October 15, 1997, the ThrustSSC driven by Andy Green became the first land vehicle to break the sound barrier. At a speed of 763 mph this twin jet powered car became the fastest car on the planet. Here we list 9 such land based people, animals, or vehicles that are the fastest in their category. What additions to this list would you make? (See our list from March 30, 2014 10 Fastest Things, and our list from July 9, 2014, 10 Greatest Swimmers.) Digging Deeper 9. Fastest Roller Coaster, Formula Rossa, 149 mph. Located in the…

A Brief History On October 15th, 1917, the famous exotic dancer and courtesan Mata Hari was executed by firing squad after having been found guilty of espionage.  Digging Deeper In our three previous articles from this series, we have already listed 31 women famous for being naked or who, at one point in their lives, had famously been naked.  In this article, we again examine 10 more such ladies.  These lists on History and Headlines are different from conventional naked ladies lists in that the main prerequisite for being considered for these is less the actual nudity itself and more its social, cultural or historical significance.   For the latest installment…

A Brief History On October 15, 1863, The H. L. Hunley, a Confederate (the South!) submarine, sank during a test, killing its inventor and namesake, Horace L. Hunley. Digging Deeper The Hunley was NOT the first submarine ever invented and certainly not the first one ever used for military purposes.  The first military submersible was most likely the Turtle invented by David Bushnell in 1775 for use in the American Revolutionary War.  Robert Fulton, another American inventor, invented the leaky Nautilus in 1800 and thus tried unsuccessfully to entice First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte of France to make use of the…