Browsing: Vehicles

A Brief History On August 16, 1944, the Nazis flew the prototype of the Ju-287 for the first time.  Manufactured by the German aircraft company Junkers, it was a 4-engine, jet-powered bomber whose forward-swept wings made it radically different from any other airplane in existence at the time. Digging Deeper With a turbojet engine on each side of its nose, and another under each wing, the Ju-287 flew to speeds of almost 350 mph, which was fast but still not fast enough. Originally it was supposed to have been equipped with even more powerful jet engines, but developmental difficulties meant that Junkers had to go with what was available, the Jumo…

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.  This goof is just one of the many really bad design features on of cars over the years.  The following article lists the 10 worst features, as based on the author’s opinion.  Digging…

A Brief History On August 8, 2000, 136 years after she sank with all hands, the Confederate submarine, the Hunley, was raised to the surface.  Throughout history, men have built famous ships, and many of those ships have found their way to the bottom of the sea.  Some of the shipwrecks have been found and either raised, salvaged, explored, or made into shrines.  Here we list 10 of the most famous ones.   Digging Deeper 10. Sultana, 1865. About 1,800 lives were lost when this Mississippi side-wheel steamboat’s boiler blew up in 1865.  Her wreck lay undiscovered until 1982, when it was found in a…

A Brief History On August 7, 1909, Alice Huyler Ramsey and 3 other women completed a 59-day road trip from New York to San Francisco, the first women to drive across the continent in a car.  Other women have also been famous or notorious for what they did in or on cars; some may have already been famous and others achieved fame because of their association with a car.  Here we list 10 such women.  (Dishonorable Mention to Britney Spears for not knowing how to get in or out of a car and to Lindsay Lohan for not knowing how to drive.)…

A Brief History On May 30, 1914, the British ocean liner RMS Aquitania made her maiden voyage.  Larger than the Titanic, this giant was known as “Ship Beautiful” for self-descriptive reasons.  Serving in both World Wars, she was the last of the great 4-funnel (as smokestacks were called) liners and was the longest serving liner in history until surpassed by the Queen Elizabeth II.  Obviously famous in her day, the Aquitania is not well remembered, unlike the other 10 ships we list here whose fame has stood the test of time.  Apologies to the HMS Victory, the USS Arizona, the USS Missouri, the USS…