Browsing: Society

A Brief History Sometime in the year 62 B.C., the famous Roman General Julius Caesar decided to divorce his second wife Pompeia.  In regard to his reasoning, he famously said that any wife of his must be above suspicion.  Digging Deeper Actually he said, “my wife ought not even be under suspicion.”  This quote, however, later evolved into the expression: “Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion.” So, what event brought about the doubt concerning Pompeia’s character?  Well, she had hosted an all-girls party known as Bona Dea (good goddess) to which Vestal Virgins had been invited and to which entry by males was prohibited. …

A Brief History On October 25, 1944, the U.S. submarine USS Tang (SS-306), commanded by ace submarine skipper Richard O’Kane, was sunk when a torpedo that it had fired malfunctioned, turned around, and struck the hapless submarine. Digging Deeper You may have read the History and Headlines article “There is No Such Thing as Friendly Fire!”  Friendly fire is the accidental coming of harm to one’s own troops through one’s own weapons.  As military instructors are quick to point out, however, no fire is “friendly fire,” as bullets, bombs and shells will kill you no matter who launched them in the first place.  Weapons of…

A Brief History On October 24th, 1537, in a cruel twist of fate, Queen Jane Seymour died of complications following childbirth after having just 12 days earlier provided Henry VIII with his much longed-for son and heir. Digging Deeper There is a popular rhyme that people can memorize to remember the fates of Henry VIII’s six wives: divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. Jane, the only one of his wives to bear that name (the rest were either “Catherines” or “Annes”), was the one who died.  If she had not died, however, she would have been the one who survived, as…

A Brief History On October 23, 1939, the Japanese G4M, named the “Betty” bomber by the Allies, made its maiden flight.  Destined to be the main Japanese land-based bomber for the entire war, it was, like other Japanese planes, state of the art at the beginning of World War II but grossly outmatched by American models later in the war.  Made by Mitsubishi, the same company that made the Zero and now makes cars and trucks, its performance was roughly on par with the American B-25 as far as speed and climb, and it had better range. Digging Deeper Unfortunately for some Japanese airmen,…

A Brief History On October 19, 2011, Zanesville in Muskingum County, Ohio became hunting grounds for lions, tigers, bears, leopards, mountain lions, and even monkeys when the owner of an exotic animal farm released his private zoo into the open and then shot himself. Digging Deeper Muskingum County was the home of Terry Thompson, a Viet Nam War vet who had maintained a private farm of dangerous and exotic animals.  Among his successes were handling animals on the Rachel Ray Show and providing a lion cub for a photo shoot which featured Heidi Klum (click on her name for a link to the video).  Despite these moments in the sun,…