Browsing: Society

A Brief History On April 27, 1945, Finnish soldiers were photographed proudly raising the Finnish war flag on top of a concrete cairn where the borders of Finland, Norway, and Sweden meet.  A famous photograph, the shot is often called “Raising the Flag on the Three-Country Cairn.” Digging Deeper An opportunistic bully, the USSR tried to capitalize on the chaos of World War II to expand their own borders, in Poland, the Far East, and in Finland.  From 1939 to 1940, the Finns fought the Soviets in the Winter War, and again in the Continuation War of 1941 to 1944. …

A Brief History On April 26, 1942, the Benxihu Colliery an iron and coal mine in Liaoning, China, was the scene of a horrific accident resulting in the deaths of 1,549 miners, the highest death toll of any mining disaster ever. Digging Deeper Japan had invaded Manchuria in 1931 and began to exploit the natural resources and the people of the region.  Using Chinese as slave labor, the Japanese military did not provide adequate food, clothing, medical care, and sanitation for the workers. In miserable conditions, a huge coal dust explosion took place on April 26, 1942, triggering a massive…

A Brief History On April 24, 2013, the Rana Plaza, an eight story multi-use commercial building in Bangladesh, collapsed and killed over 1,100 of the people inside, as well as injuring another 2,500.  Apparently, the top four floors were added without proper support, leading to heavy garment equipment causing the collapse. Digging Deeper Sadly, many times buildings have collapsed with tragic consequences, and here we list two of the worst tragedies. In 27, AD a wooden amphitheater in Fidenae on the outskirts of Rome collapsed during a gladiatorial contest, killing a reported 20,000 spectators, although that number may be a…

A Brief History On April 23, 2018, Canada suffered its worst vehicular attack when a frustrated 25 year old man rammed a rented van into a group of pedestrians, killing 11 people, of which 9 were women.  The attack occurred in the North York City Centre area of Toronto and injured an additional 15 people. Digging Deeper The perpetrator was arrested despite his efforts to have the police kill him, and an investigation concluded that he was sexually frustrated by being socially rejected by women, what is colloquially referred to as being an “incel,” or involuntary celibate. The unrepentant misogynist…

A Brief History On April 22, 1944, an Allied “sledge patrol” attacked a German Bassgeiger weather station in Greenland, as part of the ongoing and important, although often overlooked, North Atlantic Weather War during World War II. Digging Deeper The battles and weapons of World War II get most of the popular attention, but another highly important part of waging war is accurate weather prediction.  Many operations are dependent on compliant weather, such as air operations including bombing and paratroop drops, naval movements, and even land battles.  Amphibious operations such as the D-Day landings at Normandy in 1944 were dependent…