Browsing: Society

A Brief History On April 10, 2016, the Puttingal Temple in India was the scene of a horrific disaster when worshippers at a festival honoring the goddess Bhadrakali were blown up accidentally by a fireworks cache located there for the celebration. Digging Deeper We have previously asked, “Why are the faithful victims of tragedy during religious events?” and this tragedy is certainly one of those baffling events.  Sadly, 111 people lost their lives and another 350 were badly burned.   Obviously, the temple was heavily damaged, and 150 local houses also suffered damage. In response to the tragedy, three days later…

A Brief History On April 4, 1991, US Senator from Pennsylvania John Heinz along with six other people died when a helicopter suffered a mid-air collision with the small airplane carrying Heinz over Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania.  Sadly, two of the seven fatalities were children on the ground. Digging Deeper Heinz is only one of many politicians that met an early demise in aircraft crashes, such as the following examples. In 1928, Congressman Thaddeus Sweet of New York became the first US politician to die in an air wreck. In 1947 and again in 1962, State Governors died in air…

A Brief History On February 23, 1778, the Baron von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge to assist George Washington with training the Continental Army.  Washington was waging a war of independence against Britain, to forever remove what would become the United States from the tyranny of living under a King.  Today, we find there are many “kings” in the USA and we list some of these from the 20th and 21st Centuries. Digging Deeper First, we have “The King of all media,” Howard Stern, shock jock of radio, television, literature, and the internet. Several musical “kings” have reigned, including Elvis…

A Brief History On February 22, 1974, President Richard Nixon was the target of a failed assassination attempt.  Failed attempts at presidential assassinations are numerous, including the first, in 1835, when President Andrew Jackson beat the would be assassin senseless with his cane, after the assassin’s pistol misfired. Digging Deeper An assassination attempt on Teddy Roosevelt after he left the White House left the macho ex-president with a bullet in his chest for life, but that did not stop him from delivering his scheduled speech moments later.  In fact, the folded-up speech in TR’s pocket may have saved his life,…

A Brief History On February 16, 2005, the National Hockey League cancelled its entire 2004-2005 regular season and playoffs after locking out the players due to labor problems.  This event was the third of four times the NHL suffered lost games, the earliest incident taking place in 1992, and the most recent in 2012. Digging Deeper The NBA has had four lockouts and a strike in 2020.  The lockout of 1998-1999 lasted six months and resulted in lowered salaries for players.  Other lockouts occurred in 1995, 1996, and 2011. So that you do not become too upset, think of Stephen…