A Brief History On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut (their version of astronaut) Yuri Gagarin was sent into orbit around the Earth aboard Vostok 1, becoming the first human being to “slip the surly bonds of Earth” and voyage where no man had gone before, Outer Space. Digging Deeper Humans have looked up with wonder at the Sun, the Moon, the stars and planets beyond the clouds and wondered what is really up there? In the past, with no better explanation, stories were made up about celestial gods, the Moon made of Green Cheese, flaming chariots and all sorts of…

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A Brief History On April 11, 1986, a tragic shootout between 8 FBI agents and 2 bank robbers in Miami, Florida, resulted in the deaths of 2 agents and both suspects, and the wounding of 5 other agents. The failure of the FBI tactics and firearms resulted in a revolution in police firepower. Digging Deeper The subjects had murdered another man and stolen his car, and then went on a robbery spree. Both suspects were US Army veterans (one had also served in the Marine Corps) and may have been responsible for the murders of their wives. Neither man had…

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A Brief History On April 10, 1916, the Professional Golfers’ Association of America was formed in New York City. This watershed date in golf history is marked today as “Golfer’s Day.” Despite severe criticism by citizen Donald J. Trump of President Barack Obama, also known as “The Golfer in Chief,” for having golfed 306 rounds during his 8 years as President, President Trump has already raised eyebrows by going golfing 14 times in the 2 and half months he has been President. Apparently President Trump is not acquainted with Citizen Trump. Digging Deeper Although golfing is a recreational activity enjoyed…

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A Brief History On April 9, 1967, the Boeing 737 made its first flight, and would go on to become the biggest selling jet airliner of all time, with over 9400 built and 50 years later it is still in production!  Over 4400 of the latest generation are on order at this time. (Note:  On April 8, 2019, Boeing announced a stoppage of the assembly of new 737 airliners in the wake of 2 major crashes of the latest model of the aircraft.  When the problem that led to the crashes is identified and rectified, it is likely production of…

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A Brief History On April 8, 1935, the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 went into effect, and as a byproduct created the Works Progress Administration (later renamed the Work Projects Administration). This ambitious Federal government effort to get unemployed Americans back to work and accomplish much needed improvements to the country’s infrastructure was responsible for an incredible array of public construction projects, including the building of many roads, public buildings, airports (Midway in Chicago), and even sports stadiums such as the Akron Rubber Bowl. Digging Deeper One project NOT built by the WPA was Cleveland Municipal Stadium, where the…

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