A Brief History On September 29, 1990, the prototype jet fighter plane designated YF-22 Raptor, built by a powerful consortium of American airplane manufacturers, Lockheed, Boeing, and General Dynamics, made its maiden flight. The F-22 stealth fighter program was designed to give our Air Force the finest and stealthiest fighter jet ever built, and of course, this complexity came at a price both in time and money. At the time of its first flight, the YF-22 was still known as the “Lightning II” in memory of the World War II workhorse, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Its name was officially changed…
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A Brief History On September 27, 1777, the Continental Congress, precursor to the United States Congress, fled the American capital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (our first capital city) as British troops closed in. The American government ended up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for a mere one day stay, leaving an historical mark on the city by giving it claim to have been one of nine US capital cities. Or one of eight. Or one of three. Confused? Different sources use different criteria for deciding which cities deserve recognition as having been our “capital” city, so you can take your pick as to…
A Brief History On September 22, 1995, a United States Air Force Boeing E-3B Sentry (AWACS, early warning spy in the sky type aircraft) flew into a flock of birds immediately after taking off from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska, putting two of the four jet engines out of commission and causing a crash of the big plane, killing all 24 crewmen aboard. Developed from the Boeing 707 jetliner, the E-3 is a large airplane, but not so large it could not be downed by birds. Birds pose a danger to airplanes of all sizes and types and can…
A Brief History On September 21, 1921, as many as 600 Germans learned of a new way to die when a silo in Oppau, Germany (part of modern-day Ludwigshafen, Germany), exploded with great force, injuring another 2,000 unfortunate workers. As you probably know, silos are tower like cylindrical structures usually used to store foodstuffs such as grain and corn. In this case, the silo in question was at a BASF plant and was used to store ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate. Digging Deeper You may also be aware that ammonium nitrate can be used as a mixture with fuel oil…
A Brief History On September 17, 1683, Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek presented a paper to the Royal Society (The President, Council and Fellows of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge) containing a description of the first scientific recognition of microbes/protozoa, a living thing he referred to as “animalcules” (single celled organisms). Although van Leeuwenhoek had designed his microscope himself and is known as “The Father of Microbiology,” he was definitely not the inventor of the microscope. In fact, exactly who is the inventor of this highly important contribution to science is not agreed upon by historians.…