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…

A Brief History On April 7, 30 AD, Jesus Christ of Nazareth was crucified in Jerusalem and died on that same day. Or did He? Digging Deeper The exact date of the crucifixion and death of Christ has been debated as long as there have been followers of Christianity.  Tradition used to claim 33 AD as the year of the death of Jesus, but this year does not reconcile with the timing of the death of Herod the Great, which is historically known, placing the death of Jesus in 30 AD instead of 33 AD.  This information also means the…

A Brief History On April 6, 1970, a California Highway Patrol (CHP) traffic stop turned deadly when two CHP officers stopped a car containing two criminals and those two officers were killed in the shootout. The next two CHP officers on the scene were also shot and killed, with one suspect later committing suicide when surrounded and the other later killing himself while in jail doing a life term. The horrible results of what is known as the Newhall Incident resulted in a rethinking of police firearms training and equipment in California. Digging Deeper Analysis of the shootout found that…

A Brief History On April 5, 1943, B-17 Flying Fortress bombers of the American 8th Air Force proved once again that “Friendly fire is not friendly!” On several occasions, we have discussed incidents where one side in an armed conflict accidentally causes casualties to either their own people or the people of an allied nation. In this case, US bombs meant to attack a factory supplying engine parts for German warplanes hit a residential area of Mortsel, Belgium, killing 936 civilians, of which 209 were children under the age of 15. Digging Deeper The US aviators were convinced that daylight…

A Brief History On April 4, 1984, President Ronald Reagan made a public plea to the world to ban chemical weapons.  Already outlawed by previous treaties, the widespread use of various chemical weapons in World War I was the peak of chemical warfare, but these terrible weapons have not totally disappeared.  Today, we list 10 Fiendish, Horrible, Evil Weapons We’re Not Supposed to Use, either by International agreement or our own decision.  At times even crossbows were banned for use against “Christians,” as were square projectiles. Digging Deeper 10.  Poison Gas. Not to be confused with your baby nephew and…