Browsing: Science & Technology

A Brief History On October 9, 2012, just eight years ago, 15 year old Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani Muslim girl, was shot in the face by Taliban Islamic extremist terrorists for the “crime” of being a girl that wanted to go to school to learn to read and write.  This intrepid young lady went on to become a major player in the battle for women’s rights in the Islamic world, and has served as an inspiration for people across the globe.  At the age of 16, she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize!  We have previously cited this brave…

A Brief History On October 7, 1988, a native Alaskan hunter found three Gray Whales trapped by the sea ice near Point Barrow, Alaska in the Beaufort Sea, initiating a chain of events that culminated in a massive international rescue effort of the giant cetaceans.  The rescue effort, named Operation Breakthrough, failed to save the youngest whale, which died before being freed, and the fate of the other 2 whales that were ultimately freed is unknown. Digging Deeper Whales and their kin have been hunted by humans ever since humans took to the sea in any sort of boat.  Prior…

A Brief History On October 1, 2009, paleontologists formally announced the discovery of the relatively complete Ardipithecus ramidus fossil skeleton first unearthed in 1994.  An incredibly important find in the search for the origins of human beings, the fossil is of a creature that is both bipedal and arboreal, and not real good at either form of existence!  When walking upright, Ardipithecus ramidus was less efficient than humans, and life in the trees left him less than as adept as arboreal primates.  Still, Ardi is an example of the species that is recognized as the earliest member of the family…

A Brief History On August 2, 1943, the US Navy patrol torpedo boat, PT-109, commanded by Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer in the Solomon Islands.  Kennedy would go on to become President of the United States, partially based on his status as a war hero for his exploits concerning his command of PT-109 for which he achieved national hero status.  Was that status deserved?  (See our many articles about Naval “Oops” moments) Digging Deeper John F. Kennedy was born into a relatively wealthy Irish Catholic family in Massachusetts, his forbears having dabbled in…

A Brief History On July 12, 1776, famous explorer English Captain James Cook set sail from Plymouth on what was to be his final voyage.  The premier English explorer of the Pacific, Cook had taken voyages from 1768-1771 and 1772-1775, greatly expanding British knowledge of the Pacific, its islands, aits people.  Cook’s third voyage would take the route around Africa to the Indian Ocean and on to the Pacific. Digging Deeper Captain Cook was given the task of returning a young man named Omai (Mai in his native language) to his homeland of the island of Raiatea, one of the…