Browsing: Science & Technology

A Brief History On June 14, 1789, the Rev. Elijah Craig first distilled whiskey from maize (corn).  Since he was living in Bourbon County, Kentucky, he called his creation Bourbon.  Many foods and drinks derive their name from where they were invented or made popular, or for whatever reason were named after a city, region, or country.  Here we list 10 of the most popular of these “place named” foods and drinks.   10. 1000 Island Dressing. Going back to around 1900 or so, legend has it that this salad dressing and sandwich topping was made in the 1000 Islands Region of…

A Brief History On June 9, 1959, the USS George Washington was launched, the first ballistic missile carrying submarine, creating a new class of nuclear delivery weapons that would virtually guarantee mutual destruction in time of nuclear war.  Here we list 10 such milestones in modern  (19th through 21st Centuries) weaponry that can be considered “game changers.”  (The order listed is not necessarily by importance.) Digging Deeper 10. Ballistic Missile Submarine, 1959. Almost impossible to keep track of an entire enemy submarine fleet, either side in the Cold War would be subject to a surprise attack with much shorter notice…

A Brief History On June 7, 1991, a sleepy volcano on the Philippine island of Luzon experienced an explosion that sent an ash cloud 4.3 miles high.  After months of activity indicating an eruption was imminent, the first eruption started on June 3, but the first big explosion with magma flow happened on June 7. Digging Deeper By this time, authorities had been evacuating the population for several miles around the volcano, increasing the area evacuated twice to a radius of about 25 miles.  Many residents had started leaving of their own accord prior to official evacuations.  (About 350,000 people…

A Brief History On June 4, 1896, Henry Ford completed his Quadricycle, the first Ford automobile, which he promptly took for a test drive.  Almost 120 years later nearly 100 million Ford cars can trace their lineage back to this humble vehicle.  Every company has to start somewhere and somehow, and here we list 10 First Products of some of these iconic companies (in no particular order). Digging Deeper 10. Ford Quadricycle, 1896.  This Granddaddy of all Fords had a 2 cylinder 4 horsepower motor, could seat 2 and rode on bicycle tires.  Steering was accomplished by a “tiller” (stick…

A Brief History On June 4, 1411, King Charles VI of France granted a monopoly to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon for the ripening of Roquefort cheese. Today, what we call “bleu cheese” is basically Roquefort cheese that is not from Roquefort, as only the cheese from that original location is allowed to bear that name. Many good things have come from France (uh-oh, do we need a sequel list?) and Roquefort/bleu cheese is just one of them. Here we list 10 of the absolute best things from France. There are so many people and things to consider any list is…