A Brief History On August 26, 1883, the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa began its 2-day eruption that was so massive that its effects were felt around the world.  Krakatoa is also the name of the island the volcano is situated on.  The explosive eruption was so great that 2/3 of the island is no longer there. Digging Deeper Prior to the eruption, the island was about 9 kilometers long by 5 kilometers wide.  After the eruption, the remaining island was only 3 kilometers long by 5 kilometers wide.  The mighty blast was heard by people as much as 3,000 miles away.  There were 4…

A Brief History This article presents a timeline of weaponry. Digging Deeper into Ancient History Digging Deeper into Medieval History On January 23, 971, with deadly fire from their crossbows, troops of the Chinese Song Dynasty managed to defeat the War Elephant Corps of the Southern Han Kingdom. On July 20, 1304, the forces of King Edward I of England successfully took Stirling Castle during the First War of Scottish Independence. On August 26, 1346, at the Battle of Crecy, English archers proved the superiority of the English longbow over the combination of armored knights and crossbowmen fielded by the French.  There have…

A Brief History On August 26, 1346, at the Battle of Crecy, English archers proved the superiority of the English longbow over the combination of armored knights and crossbowmen fielded by the French.  There have been many weapons throughout history that did not need either gunpowder or explosives to be effective.  Here 10 such weapons are listed in no particular order.   Digging Deeper 10. Hands, Feet, Teeth, 1st Use Unknown. The absolute simplest weapons: hands, feet and teeth can be used to strike, kick or bite an opponent quite effectively, even killing him or it (if an animal). For example, just…

A Brief History On August 25, 1835, the New York newspaper The Sun published the first of six articles about alleged new scientific discoveries concerning the moon, specifically that a civilization had been found thriving there.  People bought the newspapers in eager anticipation of each new report about this fabulous discovery.  Throughout history people have been fooled by tricksters that perpetrate hoaxes, sometimes for profit, sometimes just for fun.  Here 10 of those hoaxes are listed.   Digging Deeper 10. Cardiff Giant, 1869. In an effort to make fun of Biblical references to giants, George Hull, a New York atheist, had a…

A Brief History On August 25, 1939, in a move meant to dissuade Germany from attacking Poland, the United Kingdom (Britain) signed a military alliance treaty with Poland which promised that if either were attacked, the other would come to their assistance.  Meanwhile, in a deal made with the devil (you pick which side is the devil, both qualify!), the German Nazi government led by Adolf Hitler signed a “non-aggression pact” with the Soviet Union known as the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact in which each country promised not to attack the other. Digging Deeper Both of these agreements were not worth the paper…