Browsing: September

A Brief History On September 14, 326 A.D., Helena of Constantinople made one of the greatest discoveries in Christian history when she found the Holy Sepulchre (the crypt where Jesus was entombed) and the True Cross in Jerusalem. Digging Deeper Helena, also known as St. Helen, was the mother of Constantine the Great, emperor of Rome.  In that capacity, she was awarded the title “Augusta Imperatrix.”  She is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, both branches of the Orthodox Church and the Lutheran and Anglican Churches. Her son Constantine became the first Christian emperor of Rome and was the namesake…

A Brief History On September 13, 1848, a Vermont railroad worker suffered a bizarre injury when a 3-foot metal rod went right through his head and proceeded to land 80 feet away.  Digging Deeper Phineas Gage was 25-years old at the time and had been using 13-pound iron rod to tamp explosives into holes that had been bored in rock in order to blast a path for a railway.  An unexpected explosion occurred, and the rod penetrated the left side of his face and exited out the top of his head, passing behind his left eye.  Although much of Gage’s frontal brain lobe was damaged…

A Brief History On September 12, 1857, the SS Central America sank in a hurricane off the coast of North Carolina, taking with her most of her passengers and crew and 30,000 pounds of gold from California.  For over 130 years, the Atlantic Ocean protected this treasure, that was until 1988, and a massive jackpot of about $150 million in gold has been recovered so far.  Are you hoping to discover treasure that will put you in the top tax bracket?  Every so often throughout history, a lucky few were blessed with that Midas touch.  Here 10 such spectacular finds…

A Brief History On September 12, 1942, one of the saddest and most regrettable incidents of World War II took place following the sinking of the British ocean liner the RMS Laconia by torpedoes from a German U-boat. Digging Deeper The Laconia was the second British liner to bear that name. The first, in an ominous preview of history repeating itself, was sunk by a U-boat during World War I.  Fitted with 8 x 6 inch guns and 2 x 3 inch guns, the passenger liner was as heavily armed as a light cruiser and thus a legitimate target for U-boats.  On September 12, 1942,…

A Brief History On September 12, 2014, Farsight Studios continued their goal of digitizing historic pinball machines by launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund the digitization of one of the most popular machines of all time: The Addams Family. Digging Deeper Just over a year ago, I wrote a well-received article for TopTenz that provides some background information on the history of pinball. At that time, Farsight Studios had launched an ultimately successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the digitization of the Terminator 2: Judgment Day pinball game. That success has helped inspire them to go forward with their next major effort to…