1935 Labor Day Hurricane.
When the hurricane of Labor Day 1935 hit the United States at the Florida Keys it had winds reaching 200 miles per hour with a barometric pressure recorded at 26.35, the lowest ever recorded on land. It had a 17-foot tidal surge. At its inception it was only 3 to four days away from the [...]
The Beginning of Summer
Summer is one of the four seasons. One common beginning of the season is the Summer Solstice. The Summer Solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year. It’s when the tilt of the Earth axis, North or South, is most inclined towards the sun. But this should be considered the middle of the [...]
Eiffel Tower – A French Eyesore
On March 31, 1889 the Eiffel Tower was inaugurated. It opened a little over a month later on May 6th. The tower is named for its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel. It took two years to built the tower and was used as the entry arch for the 1889 World’s Fair that marked the 100th anniversary [...]
The Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is a large body of water located on the Atlantic coast of the United States. The States of Maryland and Virginia border the Chesapeake Bay and the bay has a major economic impact on both of those states. The Chesapeake Bay is 200 miles long with its widest point being 35 miles [...]
Springing Ahead
For those who don’t know the rhyme we spring ahead an hour in the spring and fall backward one hour, in the fall. Some people mistakenly call it Daylight Savings Time, but it is Daylight Saving Time. There is not ‘S’. In 2007 with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that President George Bush signed [...]
The First of the Year
In ancient Rome the first month of the new year was the same one in which spring began. That month was called Martius after the God of War, Mars. Today we call the month March. Spring would seem a natural time for the new year to begin, since that’s when the climate changes and the [...]
Remembering A Science Fiction Master
Unless you were a Science Fiction fan in the 1960s and 70s, you may not know the name Philip Jose Farmer. But during this period he was one of the genre’s best. Farmer passed away on February 25, 2009, a month after his 91st birthday. Phillip Jose Farmer was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on [...]
From Julian to Gregorian
By the middle of the 16th the Calendar used by the Christian Religious leaders was off. The Julian Calendar designed and adopted during the reign of Julius Ceasar in 45 BC was off by 10 to few days. This was causing confusion on when Easter as adopted by the First Council of Nicaea in 325. [...]
Died in Space
The American Space mission that is known as Apollo 1 ended tragically with the death of three men; Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. During a test and training exercise a fire ignited in the command module on top a Saturn IB rocket. Without an escape hatch on the capsule the three men never [...]
Attempting One Thing; Developing Another
Sometimes while trying to do one thing, another completely different item will turn up. Here are a few accidental discoveries that many of us would not want to do without. One day in the 1940’s while George de Mestral, a Swiss inventor, was walking his dog he noticed that his pants got covered with cockleburs. [...]
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