A Brief History On November 23, 1976, Frenchman Jacques Mayol became the first free diver (no scuba or other source of air) to reach the incredible depth of 100 meters. Digging Deeper Born in Shanghai, China, Mayol was 49 years old at the time of his (then) record dive.  At age 56 he bested this effort with a free dive to 105 meters.  An accomplished free diver, Mayol had many records over the years to go along with his bench mark dive in 1976.  He had met fellow free diving pioneer Enzo Maiorca, and the 2 men had a friendly…

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A Brief History On November 22, 1988, one of the most costly of the Cold War high technology weapons was revealed when the prototype of the Northrup Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber was made public. Digging Deeper Development had started under the administration of President Carter, which was a major reason for Carter canceling the B-1 bomber.  Of course, the public was unaware of problems with the B-1 and the game changing technology that would be incorporated on the B-2, making Carter seem soft on military power.  During the 1980 presidential election, Carter felt compelled to make vague reference to…

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A Brief History On November 21, 1986, Marine Corps Lt. Col. Oliver North, a member of the National Security Council of the Ronald Reagan administration, was busy shredding documents, destroying evidence of criminal activity of the Reagan administration as part of the Iran-Contra Affair. Digging Deeper North was assisted by his comely secretary, the auspiciously named Fawn Hall, who later traded immunity from prosecution for testimony against North.  Of course, Hall realized that the shredding of documents was illegal, evidenced by her statement that, “Sometimes you have to go above the law.”  This statement was exactly the sort of rationalizing…

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A Brief History On November 20, 1998, a huge step in the history of space exploration took place when the Zarya segment of the International Space Station (ISS) was launched, the first part of the largest man-made object to orbit the Earth.  Still in use, the ISS can actually be seen by the naked eye from Earth. Digging Deeper Zarya (sunrise in Russian), was designed by the Russians for use with their Mir space station.  Called a Functional Cargo Block, this segment of the ISS was originally used to provide electricity, storage, propulsion and guidance during the early stages of…

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A Brief History On November 19, 2004, the National Basketball Association reached perhaps its lowest point in its history when players and fans engaged in a rumble at The Palace of Auburn Hills outside Detroit, Michigan. Digging Deeper The Detroit Pistons, long known as “the bad boys” of the NBA had a history of being a rough and tumble team, with physical play and intimidating behavior.  These Pistons could obviously play basketball well, too, as evidenced by being reigning NBA champions.  The Pistons had beaten the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals the previous season, and the Pacers were…

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