Browsing: October

A Brief History On October 21, 1966, at 9:15 in the morning, the little Welsh village of Aberfan was the scene of a bizarre disaster that combined natural and man-made elements that resulted in the deaths of 116 children and 28 adults.  The event, known as “The Aberfan Disaster,” was caused by the sudden failure of a “spoil tip” at the local coal mining yard. Digging Deeper (For those unfamiliar with such lingo, a “spoil tip,” also known as a “culm bank,” “boney pile,” or “gob pile,” is a waste area where the unwanted residue of coal mining operations is…

A Brief History On October 19, 2019, we celebrate another Saturday geared toward honoring our sweetest of our sweeties, another one of those “holidays” allegedly created by greeting card companies to sell greeting cards, but fun for the rest of us nonetheless! Digging Deeper Of course, we have previously discussed some of these made-up holidays, and had this to say about Sweetest Day: “Along with Mother’s Day and Father’s Day among others considered a “Hallmark Holiday” created commercially to sell candy and greeting cards, it was invented in Cleveland in 1921 by the newspaper, The Plain Dealer. MEN: DO NOT…

A Brief History On October 18, 1851, the Herman Melville classic, Moby Dick, was first published under its original or alternate title, The Whale.  Not surprisingly, a particular enormous Sperm Whale, that happens to be white in color, is the star of the story, never mind the human drama that interferes with the exciting whale parts!  People have often written books and stories about animals, whether those critters are loved pets, feared predators of humans, or just focusing on the animal as an individual persona.  Some of the stories are scary, some sad, some fictional and some really happened.  These…

A Brief History On October 16, 2019, we take a critical look back at last night’s Democratic Presidential Debate among the 12 major candidates still remaining in the race for the Democratic nomination for President.  (Click link for full transcript.)  No earthshaking news this time, and no candidate was either blown out of contention or latched onto a rocket of success in the next poll, but we believe there were some definite winners and losers. Digging Deeper Loser, Senator Elizabeth Warren. As the co-front runner this time around, she was not immune to attacks from the other candidates, though the…

A Brief History On October 15, 1910, the non-rigid airship, America, set off from Atlantic City, New Jersey on the first attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean by humans in a powered aircraft.  After a flight of over 1300 miles, not all in the right direction, and after a harrowing 71 hours of flight, the crew of 5 managed to signal a ship passing below them and along with their cat, entered the lifeboat carried aboard the airship and abandoned the ill fated blimp, watching it drift away never to be seen again. Digging Deeper The “genius” behind the record…