Browsing: Society

A Brief History On July 25, 1722, a war started in Maine later referred to as “Dummer’s War,” among other names. Digging Deeper We have previously discussed some of the goofy names given to various conflicts, and today’s entry is one so appropriately named that we just could not resist!  Of course we speak of “Dummer’s War,” a conflict between New England European settlers and their Mohawk allies against the Wabanaki Confederacy of Native American tribes aligned with the French settlers of North America between 1722 and 1725 in the contested region between Maine and Nova Scotia, Canada.  The war…

A Brief History On July 25, 1909, French pilot Louis Bleriot made the first ever heavier than air powered flight across the English Channel in his Type XI monoplane, beating out several rival aviators that were competing for their place in history and also a nice prize of £1000 offered by The Daily Mail, a British newspaper.  Today we take a look at 10 notable airplane flights that have earned the airplane and its pilot and designer a place in aviation history.  Our list is one of interesting flights, not necessarily the most important or a “first.”  You are always…

A Brief History On July 19, 64 AD, the Roman night was interrupted by the beginning of what became known as The Great Fire of Rome. Digging Deeper The fire started in the Circus Maximus where Romans held chariot races.  It spread and burned for 6 days before Romans could bring the blaze under control, but as often happens, the flames reignited and a larger blaze began!  Three more days of flames, and two thirds of Rome was burned to the ground. Emperor Nero blamed the Christians, and began a program of repression against Christians, but many of his enemies…

A Brief History On July 18, 1806, a powder magazine exploded accidentally at Birgu, Malta, creating massive damage to the military and civilian infrastructure nearby and killing at least 200 people.  Such accidental explosions have often taken place throughout the history of gunpowder and other explosives, and today we take a look at 10 of those memorable events.  (“Gunpowder” includes black powder, the original explosive and propellant, as well as modern “smokeless” nitro based powders and modern explosives.) Digging Deeper USS Maine, 1898 We list this disaster first, because of the battle cry, “Remember the Maine!”  How could we forget? …

A Brief History On July 11, 2016, we ran an article we called Scumbag of the Year Awards (First Half) 2016.  Today, we take another look at this sordid subject with an eye on the first half of 2022.  Sadly, three is no lack of subjects for this article, though for brevity reasons we limit our list to only a few particularly egregious offenders.  Feel free to tell us those other scumbags you think belong on this list. Digging Deeper Vladimir Putin, Dictator of Russia and War Criminal Vladimir Putin, narcissistic megalomaniac dictator of Russia, ordered the invasion of neighboring…