A Brief History On January 3, 1961, a steam explosion occurred at the SL-1 US Army experimental nuclear reactor located outside Idaho Falls, Idaho, leaving three technicians dead, the only immediately fatal US nuclear reactor accident so far. Digging Deeper The explosion was caused by the too rapid withdrawal of a control rod, causing the reactor pile to go critical and creating a burst of intense heat that instantly vaporized the cooling water and causing the explosion. Incredibly, one of the nuclear techs was hit by a high-speed piece of the reactor and pinned to the ceiling, the shield plug…
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A Brief History On January 1, 2025, we all take a bold leap into the future, a new year filled with promise and perhaps with some concerns as well. Fear not, for Major Dan at H&H is happy to tell you what will possibly happen in the coming year. Of course, I make no guarantees, for as Donald Trump recently said, “I can’t guarantee anything. I can’t guarantee tomorrow.” Digging Deeper Number one, as alluded to by the former president, all the bombastic campaign promises about lowering food and energy costs, etc., will fail to materialize, although we of course…
A Brief History On December 31, 2010, the Central and Southern portion of the US was bombarded with 37 tornadoes, leaving nine people dead, more injured, and much damage across mainly Missouri and Mississippi, but also including Arkansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Louisiana. Digging Deeper Not only was the US wracked by the tornadoes, but other areas also suffered winds of 80 mph with related damage. The ordeal started on December 30th and lasted three days until January 1, 2011, a miserable way for thousands of Americans to start the New Year. As if wind damage was not enough, Mother Nature…
A Brief History On December 24, 1971, a bolt of lightning took down a Lockheed 188A turboprop airliner over Peru, killing all but one of the 82 people aboard. Thunderstorms and lightning are just one of many ways Mother Nature discourages and even puts an end to manned flight by humans in airplanes. Digging Deeper Besides weather, birds have a long history of bringing down airplanes, including the famous “Miracle on the Hudson” event in 2009. Birds are so dangerous to airplanes, that many airports employ a variety of means to keep birds away from runways, from noisemakers and landscaping…
A Brief History On December 23, 2002, the first known air to air battle between a manned fighter plane and an unmanned aerial drone took place in the sky above Iraq, when an Iraqi MiG-25 fighter jet shot down an American General Atomics MQ-1 Predator. Digging Deeper Far from the manned fighter merely taking out the drone, the high technology dogfight was a real air to air combat, with the drone armed with and firing an air-to-air missile at the Iraqi fighter. Luckily for the Iraqi pilot, the drone’s Stinger missile was allegedly confused by the heat signature of the…