A Brief History This article, published on February 5, 2023, presents a compilation of our three recent videos that in some way mention the 2023 China balloon incident. Digging Deeper Our first video asks some questions about some top news stories of the first week of February 2023. Our second video answers the question posed at the end of the first video. Finally, our third video explores a bit more about the US political controversy concerning the balloon incident. Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: What are your thoughts about the 2023 China balloon incident? If you liked this…

A Brief History On February 5, 2023, America is abuzz with partisan bickering over the way President Biden handled the alleged Chinese spy balloon shot down on February 4th. Digging Deeper Despite Republican criticism that President Biden “waited” to decide to take action, the White House reports that Biden had ordered the balloon to be shot down back on February 1st, and that the military waited until the spy in the sky was over water for the safety of those on the ground.  The balloon is reportedly the size of “three buses,” and presumably would weigh hundreds or even thousands…

A Brief History On February 5, 2023, Americans were flooded with a variety of opinions about the Chinese “spy” balloon that had crossed much of the US and was shot down by a US fighter plane off the coast of South Carolina yesterday. Digging Deeper Some of the controversies concerning this event include: Chinese outrage over US action against their alleged “weather balloon.” China’s promise to “retaliate.” Why did President Biden wait until the balloon was off the coast to shoot it down? Why didn’t President Trump shoot down the three Chinese balloons that crossed the US during his administration?…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on February 5th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On February 5, 1852, the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was opened to the public. On February 5, 1869, prospectors Richard Oates and John Deason of Australia found the incredibly large alluvial gold nugget known as “Welcome Stranger,” a rock weighing almost 300 pounds! On February 5, 1909, New Yorker Leo Baekeland presented his invention of Bakelite, the first synthetic plastic, to the…

A Brief History On February 5, 1852, the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was opened to the public.  The largest art museum in the world, by floor space, the Hermitage was established in 1764 by Empress Catherine the Great to house her massive art collection. Digging Deeper The Hermitage ranks 6th in the world by number of annual visitors, and most lists of “Greatest Museums” include it on their honor roll. Other worthy contenders for the title of Greatest Museum would include the Louvre, in Paris, the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C., the British Museum, in London, and the…