A Brief History On February 17, 1979, two Communist nations that had collaborated in the Vietnam War against the United States went to war with each other, as China sought to punish Vietnam for invading Cambodia. Digging Deeper Although China had provided weapons, supplies, technical assistance and advisers to Communist North Vietnam during the war against South Vietnam and its United States ally, and even perhaps combat involvement of Chinese pilots and soldiers. (I personally was told by a USMC Vietnam Vet that he had seen Chinese KIA during the War.) The Chinese led by Chairman Mao sought to shepherd…
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A Brief History On February 16, 1937, Wallace Carothers, chemist for DuPont, patented the synthetic polymer based plastic known to us as Nylon. Used as a fiber in clothing, tents, parachutes, stockings and every conceivable application, it is also used as a solid plastic as in bristles for toothbrushes (the original product), hairbrushes, car parts, household items, musical instrument strings, bullet jackets, flak jacket armor cloth, small and large gears, tire cord, Velcro tape, carpet, rope, gun stocks, fishing line and on ad infinitum! Nylon fiber is also often used to reinforce natural fibers in cloth. Digging Deeper Ranking with…
A Brief History On February 15, 1898, at 9:40 p.m., the US Navy had one of its darkest and yet most memorable days when the armored cruiser USS Maine ACR-1 blew up and sank while docked in Havana Harbor, Cuba. Digging Deeper Sent to Cuba to protect American interests during the Cuban revolt against Spain, the Maine blew up and sank quickly, having experienced over 5 tons of gunpowder exploding in the forward part of the ship. The giant explosion and quick sinking cost 266 of the 374 man crew their lives. The Navy and the US in general was…
A Brief History On February 14, 2005, a trio of former PayPal employees gave the world a great Valentine’s Day gift when they launched YouTube, the foremost video sharing website on the internet. Less than 2 years later they sold the site to Google for $1.65 billion! Digging Deeper Originally a way for individuals to share videos on the net, the site now hosts video posted by large corporations as well as individuals, including BBC, Vevo, Hulu and CBS, et al. Currently the second most popular website on the internet (Google is #1), you can find self-made videos by individuals…
A Brief History Historian Linda Hall asks, “Were Ancient women powerful or powerless?”1 One might refine this question to ask, “Were Ancient women famous for being naked powerful or powerless?” The women listed below unquestionably wielded power on men and women alike despite and in some cases because of their physical attributes. This article therefore explores some of Antiquity’s most famous women known for being naked and their influence on history. Digging Deeper 1) Nefertiti (c. 1,370 B.C. – c. 1,330 B.C) Known primarily for the beautifully sculpted bust that is on display at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, Nefertiti, wife of…