Browsing: Vehicles

A Brief History On August 19, 1940, the B-25 Mitchell was flown for the first time.  Although its service life did not extend as long as many other airplanes, this medium bomber was adapted for a huge variety of uses and configurations, making it one of the most versatile aircraft ever.  We started a previous article about versatile aircraft with the first flight of the B-25, and today we take a look at another group of incredibly versatile aircraft that have made their mark in aviation history.  As always, we invite you to nominate those aircraft you believe belong on…

A Brief History On August 10, 1978, 3 members of a family died in a fiery crash when their Ford Pinto was rear-ended.  The bolts on the differential were positioned in such a manner that in the case of a rear-end collision, the bolts would pierce the gas tank.  Ford had known about the problem but chose not to correct it, electing to pay off lawsuits instead.  We used this unfortunate incident to highlight those terrible flaws and features in cars and non-commercial trucks in our previous article, “10 Worst Car Features and Flaws Ever!” and today we add another…

A Brief History On August 5, 1914, the first electric traffic light in the world was installed at the corner of E. 105 Street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, just one of the many “firsts” for the “Forest City.”  You may know of Cleveland as the butt of jokes since the 1960’s, frequently targeted by -standup comedians and on the Laugh-In television show, especially when the Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969, just one of the several times the central river of Cleveland caught fire but probably the most memorable as it garnered so much national attention songs were…

A Brief History On July 31, 1970, the British Royal Navy experienced one of the darkest days in their long and glorious history, Black Tot Day.  This episode was the last day the Royal Navy would follow the long tradition of supplying a daily drink of rum to their sailors.  We first brought up this terrible turn of events in our article “10 Traditional Parts of Life That No Longer Exist (Or Barely!)”  We have also touched on other articles that marveled at the things we did not have when this author was a lad, some of which may surprise…

A Brief History On May 11, 2020, CNN and other news agencies reported the Iranian Navy while conducting exercises in the Gulf of Oman accidentally killed 19 of their own sailors and wounded another 15.  As we have reported many times in the past, Naval Oops Moments seem to be without any limit, with no navy in the world immune from catastrophic blunders.  We have also reported on incidents concerning so called “friendly fire,” when your own people accidentally shoot, blow up or target their own comrades or equipment.  Sometimes both of these military mishaps come together and combine into…