Browsing: Nature

A Brief History On October 17, 2018, the recreational use of Marijuana was legalized in Canada.  Call it Cannabis, Hemp, Pot, Weed or whatever, for decades the “herb” was illegal in most industrialized nations. Digging Deeper Going back to 1378, the Emir of the Joneima in Arabia outlawed Marijuana and its derivatives, and Napoleon did the same for the French in 1800.  Other countries followed, including Mexico in 1920, Canada in 1923, Britain in 1928, and the USA in 1937. Now, almost a century later, the tide has turned, and many States and countries have legalized Weed for medical or…

A Brief History On October 8, 1982, actor Fernando Lamas died, probably best remembered for the Billy Crystal impression saying the phrase, “You look marvelous!”  Many other actors and celebrities have been attributed quotations they did not really say, and today we look at a few of those. Digging Deeper PT Barnum, showman and huckster, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Julius Caesar, Roman dictator, “Et tu, Brute?” Albert Einstein, physicist and genius, “If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live.” Greta Garbo, actress, “I vant to be alone…”…

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…

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 14, 1984, retired USAF Colonel Joseph Kittinger made aviation history by becoming the first person to pilot a gas balloon solo across the Atlantic. Digging Deeper Kittinger scored other aviation firsts when he made the then record high altitude skydive, 102,800 feet, in 1960, a record that stood until 2012.  Kittinger flew 483 combat missions in Vietnam, including being shot down and captured in 1972. Kittinger had also previously set altitude records for balloon flight, and on one of those high-altitude flights became the first human to view the curvature of the Earth fully.  Not…