A Brief History On August 8, 2023, the island of Maui, Hawaii, became other than a tropical Eden when wildfires broke out and burned over 17,000 acres, killing over 100 people. Digging Deeper Oddly enough, Hawaii is the rainiest of the 50 United States, with an annual rainfall of almost 64 inches, more than 3.5 inches more than runner up Louisiana. Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands, and has uneven rainfall, with 17 to 20 inches falling on the Southwestern coast compared to as much as 300 inches in the area of Haleakalā National Park near Hana.…

A Brief History On August 7, 1962, a reviewer from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, was recognized by President John F. Kennedy with the President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service. Digging Deeper Kelsey had previously denied the use of the drug, Thalidomide, for use in the US after it had been used in West Germany since 1957 for a wide range of symptoms, including morning sickness in pregnant women.  Dissatisfied with the safety research and record to date, Kelsey turned down the drug for the US, ultimately saving untold hundreds or even thousands of…

A Brief History On August 5, 2015, Colorado found out the hard way that the Federal Government is capable of massive blunders even when they are trying to “help,” when the EPA managed to spill three million gallons of wastewater and heavy metal tailings from the Gold King Mine into the Animas River. Digging Deeper Tasked with keeping our air, water and land safe, the Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970.  In the Gold King Mine disaster, the EPA was working with a private company, Environmental Restoration LLC, to minimize environmental damage from toxic waste created by the closed…

A Brief History On August 4, 2020, one of the largest explosions of something not meant to be an explosive occurred in a warehouse in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, when 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate went up in an explosion that rivaled a small nuclear weapon. Digging Deeper A fire resulting from welding at the warehouse was the cause, and over 200 people died with an additional 7,000 injured, leaving a crater over 400 feet across and over 140 feet deep!  Incredibly, 300,000 people were made homeless by the double blasts 30 seconds apart and homes 6 miles aways…

A Brief History On August 3, 1900, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company was founded in Akron, Ohio, joining Goodyear Tire and Rubber in Akron as the two preeminent tire makers in the US for the next 75 years.  In 1988, Japanese tire maker, Bridgestone, bought Firestone. Digging Deeper While Goodyear is still an American company, other US tire companies have been acquired by foreign firms, including General Tire now owned by Continental AG of Germany, and BF Goodrich tire division is now part of Michelin based in France. Once one of the “Big Three” US car companies, Chrysler Corporation is…