A Brief History On September 27, 1962, the book, Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson was published. The book dealt with environmental science and focused on the widespread use of pesticides and the disinformation provided by the manufacturers of those chemicals. Digging Deeper Carson made a case that the indiscriminate use of these chemicals was poisoning the environment and killing off many beneficial insects along with the pests. Additionally, many birds suffered ill effects from the pesticides, and Carson projected that one day the birds would be gone, hence the title of the book. You might have thought a cataclysmic environmental…
Browsing: Science & Technology
A Brief History On September 22, 1948, USAF pilot Lt. Gail Halvorsen began dropping candy via parachute to the children of Berlin. In 1948, the USSR tried to cut off West Berlin from supplies from the West, starving the population. Digging Deeper The US and its allies began an operation dubbed “The Berlin Airlift,” flying supplies of food, fuel, medicine, and other essentials to West Berlin surrounded by the Soviets and their East German lackeys. Halvorsen was one of those pilots of cargo planes, and when he noticed hungry faces of children lined up by the West Berlin airport, he…
A Brief History On September 19, 1991, the mummified body of a man that lived around 3350 to 3105 BC was discovered in the Ötztal Alps between Austria and Italy. The name of the mountains was used to name the mummy “Otzi,” and the long dead “iceman” became a celebrity. Digging Deeper Preserved by the snow and ice on the mountain, this Copper Age man was found to probably have been murdered, an arrowhead found in his shoulder and other wounds implying so. Otzi was found by tourists from Germany at a height of 10,530 feet. Believing the body to…
A Brief History On September 17, 1961, downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was the site of the first retractable roof arena in the world, although its purpose may surprise you! Digging Deeper The Civic Arena was built mainly as the home of the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, although it moved into the sporting world in a big way in 1967 when it became the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL hockey team, until 2010, when it finally closed. Of course, the 17,000 seat arena also hosted many other sporting events, professional and amateur, including basketball, wrestling, boxing, soccer, figure skating, gymnastics, and…
A Brief History On September 16, 1979, eight people yearning to be free of oppressive communism in East Germany made a flight to freedom in a hot air balloon to West Germany. Digging Deeper Amazingly, the escapees had been plotting their flight for over 18 months and had failed in a previous attempt. Lucky for them the authorities were unable to identify the would-be aeronauts. The successful balloon was the third balloon constructed by the determined Germans. Germany had been separated into Soviet and other Allied zones after the end of World War II in Europe, with East Germany dominated…
