Browsing: Science & Technology

A Brief History On August 8, 2000, the remains of Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley were raised to the surface 136 years after this pioneering vessel was sunk, probably by itself during the US Civil War.  The Hunley joins the roster of famous or infamous vessels that have been discovered on the sea floor and either raised or with major parts of the vessel recovered.  Today we list 10 of the most famous or interesting such shipwrecks (though 5 of them are from one incident!). Digging Deeper 1. HL Hunley, Confederate Submarine, sunk 1864, recovered 2000. We have previously discussed the…

A Brief History On August 4, 2019, we celebrate another Friendship Day, truly one of the worthwhile “Days” you might find on those ubiquitous event calendars that have a day for (seemingly) everything.  So important is this “holiday,” it has its own organization (which you could see by clicking the link above).  After family, friends are the next most important people in the world, and today we take a look at 10 examples of friends that are famous, infamous, or of historical importance.  Who is your best friend?  Your mom/dad?  Your sister/brother?  Someone you have known since childhood, or a…

A Brief History On July 24, 1935, the heat wave aspect of the Great Dust Bowl hit its high point, with temperatures soaring in the Midwest and on the Great Plains, cities such as Chicago reaching 109 °F and Milwaukee hitting 104 °F.  Striking the central United States during the Great Depression (1929 to 1939-1941, depending on interpretation) made the environmental catastrophe of drought and heat all the worse.  The enormous increase in the use of motorized tractors plowing the prairie, replacing tough prairie grasses with roots that held the soil together with loosely plowed earth and food crops, the…

A Brief History On July 23, 1973, American pilot and national hero, Eddie Rickenbacker, died at the age of 82, later buried in his native Columbus, Ohio, the city of his birth.  Rickenbacker was the leading American flying “Ace” in World War I, having shot down 26 enemy aircraft and being awarded the most medals of any American war hero of World War I, including the coveted Medal of Honor.  Prior to his wartime exploits, Rickenbacker had been a premier race car driver and automotive designer.  After various other pursuits, Rickenbacker became the head of Eastern Airlines in 1935, a…

A Brief History On January 10, 1929, a house car, a type of recreational vehicle, named Harriet was present at the Tin Can Tourists convention in Arcadia, Florida.  By the 1920s, the recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, was well established in the United States of America, with RV camping clubs established across the country.  The term “RV” is thus relatively new.  It has been only in the past 50 to 60 years that people began referring to campers and travel trailers as RVs.  Let us see what else you might not know about recreational vehicles, RVing and the people…