A Brief History On April 15, 1955, McDonald’s hamburger and fast-food chain claims their founding by Ray Kroc in Illinois when he opened a franchise restaurant of the hamburger stand brand founded by Richard and Maurice McDonald in California. Since Kroc made McDonald’s the fast-food giant that it is, it is not surprising he would use the date of his involvement as the “founding” date. Digging Deeper Some interesting McDonald’s facts include: Mickey D’s has over 40,000 locations in at least 119 countries. The runners up in most fast-food locations is Subway, followed by Starbucks, KFC, and Burger King. McDonald’s…
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A Brief History On April 14, 2023, the European Space Agency launched a spacecraft to explore the Moons of Jupiter, aptly naming the craft JUICE, an acronym for “Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer.” As space travel is about the coolest form of travel, we look at some real and fictional names of spacecraft in order to find the best name of them all. Digging Deeper Fictional: Enterprise, from TV and the movies’ Star Trek. Real: Enterprise, a US Space Shuttle. Fictional: Jupiter 2 from the TV show, Lost in Space. What happened to Jupiter 1? Real: Crew Dragon, a series of…
A Brief History On April 13, 1917, Diamond Jim Brady died at the age of 60, not surprisingly of a heart attack. His reputation made him a truly American legend. Digging Deeper Brady was born in New York City to Irish immigrants. Jim worked low level jobs, gradually working his way up the ladder in the railroad industry, amassing power and wealth that spawned a legend. His flashy use of diamonds earned him his moniker, while his eating was most legendary. The first New Yorker to own a car, Brady is claimed to eat meals that would feed 10 men. …
A Brief History On April 12, 1955, the Polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk was declared safe and effective for use in the United States, ending the epidemic that killed or crippled mass numbers of children in the 19th and 20th Centuries. An earlier Polio vaccine in 1950 was not approved in the US, and in 1961, an oral vaccine became available. Digging Deeper Many diseases have been tamed or eliminated by vaccines, and today we ask, which vaccine is the greatest? Here are some contenders: The smallpox vaccine, saving millions of lives, goes back to as long ago…
A Brief History On April 11, 1965, the Mid-Western and Southern US experienced a deadly rash of tornadoes infamous as the “Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak.” At least 55 confirmed tornadoes occurred from late April 10th to early April 12th, resulting in 266 deaths, 3,662 injuries, and over $1 billion in damages. Digging Deeper The US is the country that experiences the most tornadoes per year, an average of 1,200 per year, with Texas leading the states. Next on the list is Canada, with just over 100 tornadoes per year. The Great Plains of the US and Canada are conducive to…