A Brief History On January 31, 1915, the German Army, in violation of the 1899 Hague Declaration Concerning Asphyxiating Gases, launched 18,000 artillery shells containing xylyl bromide tear gas against Russian positions, the first truly large scale use of poison gas in combat. Digging Deeper While people have used various poisons to deny the use of water wells as far back as 600 BC and to foul the air with toxic sulfur fumes in 479 BC, the 19th and 20th Centuries saw efforts to outlaw such use of poisons. In World War I, the first and most common use of…
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A Brief History On January 29, 2002, US President George W. Bush coined a new phrase in his State of the Union Address to Congress, labeling Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as the “Axis of Evil.” Digging Deeper Bush accused these states of being “regimes that sponsor terror,” a highly charged topic in the US after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. Bush apparently liked the sound of his new designation and used the phrase often in his remaining years in office. The allusion in the phrase to “Axis” would harken back to the “Axis Powers” of World War…
A Brief History On January 23, 1570, history of the infamous type was made when James Stewart, the Earl of Moray, was murdered by an assassin using a firearm. Stewart was acting as regent for the young King James VI of Scotland. Digging Deeper James VI became King of Scotland at the age of 1 year old when his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, abdicated the throne. James Stewart was himself the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. Ongoing resentment of Mary’s supporters bode ill for her successors. At the town of Linlithgow, the Earl was passing in…
A Brief History On January 17, 2013, renowned American cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted on Oprah’s Next Chapter, a prime time television show, that he was, as suspected and accused, a cheater that won 7 consecutive Tour de France bicycle races through the assistance of banned drugs. Digging Deeper Professional and amateur athletes have been using performance enhancing drugs for decades now, including stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines and a variety of hormones, usually characterized as “steroids.” Other banned substances include “blood doping” agents that increase the ability of blood to carry oxygen and even gene manipulation to enhance performance. …
A Brief History On January 13, 2022, the National Shooting Sports Foundation warned American firearms enthusiasts of an online scam targeting those looking to buy a new firearm. Firearms are big business in the United States, with nearly 400 million guns owned by private citizens. Digging Deeper In a set of statistics that might just surprise you, the most popular single type of rifle in the US is the M-16/AR-15 family of weapons, with a total civilian ownership of between 20 million and 44 million, depending on the source. When other military looking types of guns are included in the…