A Brief History On September 24, 1884, Hugo Schmeisser was born in Jena, in what was then the German Empire.  The son of a well known weapons designer, Hugo would go on to everlasting fame, or infamy if you prefer, as the man that invented the assault rifle. Digging Deeper Did you think the assault rifle inventor was  Mikhail Kalashnikov, the Russian that invented the AK-47?  Or perhaps you thought that Eugene Stoner, inventor of the M-16/AR-15 family of assault rifles invented the genre? Schmeisser beat both of those famous weapons designers by coming up with the StG-44 during World…

A Brief History On September 23, 1986, Houston Astros’ pitcher Jim Deshaies set a record, striking out the first eight batters he faced.  We ask you, what MLB record is the hardest to top? Digging Deeper We list some possible answers below but go ahead and tell us your own ideas if you prefer. Denton “Cy” Young, Most Wins by a pitcher, 511, 1890-1911 (Young is also the only pitcher to have pitched over 700 Complete Games) Ty Cobb, career Batting Average, .366, 1905-1928 Joe DiMaggio, 56 game hit streak, 1941 Nolan Ryan, 7 career No Hitters, 1973-1991 (Nolan Ryan…

A Brief History On September 22, 1980, Iraq invaded their neighbor, Iran, seeking to take advantage of the disruption caused by the Iranian revolution.  The resulting war lasted 8 years and cost each country around a half million people each, with no change in territory and no clear winner. Digging Deeper Today, we ask, “What was the most miscalculated invasion in history?” and we give some examples to choose from, although you can think of your own: US Invasions of Canada, 1775 and 1812 French Invasion of Russia, 1812 French Invasion of Germany/Prussia, 1870 Soviet Invasion of Finland, 1939 German…

A Brief History On September 21, 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was confirmed by the Senate as the first ever female Justice of the Supreme Court.  What other indications do we have that American women are really on an equal basis with men? Digging Deeper We list a few of these facts that can be considered signs of equal rights progress: Women’s Suffrage, 1920; The Equal Pay Act of 1963; a married woman was first allowed to get a credit card in her own name, 1974; the first female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, 1981; the first American woman astronaut…

A Brief History On September 20, 1911, the RMS Olympic, the first of three enormous British luxury liners of the Olympic-class, collided with the British cruiser HMS Hawke. Digging Deeper Olympic, commissioned in 1911 as the largest ship in the world at that point, was later followed by the slightly larger RMS Titanic.  Of course, the Titanic sank in 1912 on its maiden voyage in one of the most famous incidents of a ship sinking, and the third sister ship of the class, the HMHS Britannic, was sunk when she hit a mine in 1916 during World War I. The Olympic…