A Brief History Today, on October 1st, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities, begins. A partnership between the American Cancer Society and the pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries (now part of AstraZeneca, producer of several anti-breast cancer drugs) founded NBCAM in 1985 to promote mammography as the most effective weapon in the fight against breast cancer.  This move follows the even earlier activities of October 1983 when the Race for the Cure, now the world’s largest fundraising event for breast cancer, was held for the first time in Dallas, Texas.  This article is dedicated to the many…

A Brief History On October 1, 2001, Mullah Omar agreed to a proposal by the head of Pakistan’s most important Islamic party to have terrorist Osama bin Laden taken to Pakistan where he would be held under house arrest and tried by an international tribunal.  This proposal was not realized and soon after an American-led coalition invaded the country, overthrowing Omar’s Taliban, but remaining in the country even to this day.  Here 9 places that have seen bitter fighting for control of territory that is not exactly prime land are listed.  Some of the places may briefly have had a…

A Brief History On September 30, 1955, up-and-coming actor James Dean perished in an auto accident aged only 24.  In 3 movies he had already established himself as a “giant” of the silver screen, but his death at such a young age meant he would stay forever young in the eye of movie fans.  History is full of people who left their mark in a surprisingly short amount of time.  Here 9 such people are listed, in no particular order.  (Remember, the criteria is not just death at a young age but also lasting fame and/or influence.) Digging Deeper 9.…

A Brief History On September 29, 1982, the first of seven victims of intentionally-contaminated Tylenol died.  The deadly Tylenol capsules had had their normal acetaminophen switched and replaced with cyanide, meaning that anyone who took them would die a quick and unexpected death. Digging Deeper When the first victim died suddenly, his family and friends gathered to mourn his passing, and then the victim’s brother and widow took Tylenol from the same contaminated bottle and became fatalities numbers 2 and 3.  Another 4 bottles resulted in another 4 deaths, and the nationwide alarm was raised.  Only 3 more tampered-with bottles were found, but the…

A Brief History On September 28, 1066, a warrior leader known as “William the Bastard” invaded England from Normandy in what is now France.  You probably know him better as William the Conqueror, a much catchier name.  William the Bastard was the illegitimate son of the Duke of Normandy.  His status as a bastard posed some difficulties for him as he succeeded his father; however, after he had consolidated his power and established control over his duchy, he also set his sites on England and set the invasion of the island country in motion.  That move was the best thing he…