A Brief History On May 4, 2019, the W Series conducted their first and inaugural motor race at Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg, Germany, an all-Female auto racing event. Digging Deeper That initial race was won by Jamie Chadwick, a British race car driver, who went on to win that first season W Series Championship. Chadwick still drives competitively in the Indy NXT series for the Andretti Autosport team and is a major female example of top-notch drivers such as Danica Patrick, Shirley Muldowney, Janet Guthrie, Simona de Silvestro, Michèle Mouton, and Maria Teresa de Filippis. Apologies to the many great female drivers…
Browsing: Science & Technology
A Brief History On May 3, 1999, the state of Oklahoma experienced a catastrophic weather event known as the “1999 Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak.” A series of tornadoes that lasted from May 2nd to May 8th, the highest wind speed recorded during the twisters was an incredible 301 mph, plus or minus 20 mph. Digging Deeper But of course, that is tornadic wind speed. Wind as measured as normal high-speed wind along the surface of the Earth has a lower record velocity. A candidate for the highest wind speed on Earth occurred at Barrow Island, Australia in 1996, an umbrella shattering…
A Brief History On May 1, 1851, Queen Victoria opened The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, a sort of World’s Fair, in Hyde Park, London, England at a spectacular edifice known as The Crystal Palace. Digging Deeper So impressive was the venue, many people called the event the “Crystal Palace Exhibition.” Lasting from May 1st to October 15th, 1851, the celebration of industry, culture, and art attracted numerous celebrities, such as Sam Colt, Michael Faraday, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carrol, Charlotte Bronte, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and other stars. Designed by Joseph Paxton,…
A Brief History On March 12, 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan was devastated by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, causing a reactor to explode and release radiation into the environment. Digging Deeper To this day a 12 mile radius “no-go” zone is imposed around the disaster site, with only scientists and technicians with appropriate protection allowed to visit. Radioactive water will continue to be released into the Pacific Ocean for a period of 3 decades. Far from the only nuclear plant disaster, other disasters have cast a pall on what has been touted as “clean”…
A Brief History On March 11, 2023, Americans celebrate another National Worship of Tools Day, a day in which professional craftsmen and do it yourselfers alike can glory in the inventions of their favorite tools. Digging Deeper So, what tool do you think is the greatest? The mighty hammer, that makes all things fit if you hit them hard enough? The saw, which can be designed to cut through virtually anything? The incredibly versatile pliers? The also incredibly versatile screwdriver? Or would you nominate a more complex tool, such as the Swiss Army Knife, or the Leatherman multi-tool? Or would…