A Brief History On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael hit Florida hard, a category 5 hurricane that caused 57 American deaths and $25.1 billion of damage. Rating the worst hurricanes can be done by dollar amounts in either contemporaneous values or proportioned to today/s value, or by deaths. Obviously, estimates also vary, but we will attempt to rank some of the worst of these big Atlantic storms. Digging Deeper The worst hurricane by fatalities was the Great Hurricane of 1780, with around 22,000 people killed, 9000 on Martinique alone as it ravaged the Caribbean. The deadliest hurricane in US history…
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A Brief History On October 7, 1996, Fox News Channel debuted on cable, later to become the most watched of the cable news networks. Fox was late to the party, with CNN starting the cable news craze in 1980. MSNBC, the #2 cable news outlet, also launched in 1996, and Newsmax premiered in 2014 as a major player. Many other financial, sports and specialty news channels are also available on cable. Digging Deeper Prior to the ascendancy of cable news, network TV news was king, starting with 15 minute broadcasts and in 1963 moving to the 30 minute format. Before…
A Brief History On October 1, 2021, the international exposition known as Expo 2020 was opened in Dubai, an expo delayed by the Covid 19 pandemic since its intended opening of October 20, 2020. Few places on Earth remained largely unaffected by the worst pandemic of recent decades, and many notable activities were greatly affected by the measures to limit the spread of the deadly virus. Digging Deeper Some other major disruptions included: The 2020 Summer Olympics were not held until July and August of 2021. Other sporting events were either cancelled or held without spectators. School closings affected about…
A Brief History On September 30, 2024, we celebrated another National Chewing Gum Day, which brings us the question, “Who invented chewing gum?” Who do we have to thank for this tasty treat? Digging Deeper The answer is not so simple. While we generally think of chewing gum as a product of chicle from Latin America, the predecessors of modern chewing gum go back thousands of years in a wide variety of resins, saps, plants and other concoctions people used to satisfy their need to chew. Ancient Finns and Ancient Greeks chewed tree products that they flavored, while the Aztecs…
A Brief History On September 29, 2024, we celebrate another National Coffee Day, reveling in our appreciation for that “Cup of Joe,” “Shot of Caffeine,” “Java,” “Go Juice,” or whatever you want to call it. Hot or cold, coffee keeps America going to the tune of 400 million cups a day! Digging Deeper Nearly half of all Americans drink coffee, and the US is the largest consumer of coffee among all countries. On the other hand, per capita coffee consumption leaves the US back at #25, while Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden lead the per capita race,…