1
Because they both lost so many players to WWII military service, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles combined to become the Steagles during the 1943 season.
2
Flail
This important farming tool consisted of two wooden sticks—a long handle and a shorter stick known as a swingle or swipe—joined by a leather strap, a rope or a short chain. Colonial farmers used flails to beat or “thresh” wheat and other grains in order to remove the seeds and husks.
3
Hornbook
Though many boys learned to read and write from their parents or local ministers, and others received a more formal education, that wasn’t considered necessary for girls. Many colonial-era children learned the alphabet, numbers and other basics (like the Lord’s Prayer) by using a hornbook, a sheet of paper mounted on a tablet of wood, leather or bone, and covered by a thin strip of transparent horn.
4
Whirligig
Without manufactured or electronic toys, many children played with games and toys made from common materials found around the house. The whirligig was a simple whirling toy made from a circular disc (made of bone, clay or even a spare button) with a string threaded through its center. By pulling the string tight and releasing it, children could set the whirligig whirring and buzzing.
Yes it really happened
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Spork
The term for a spoon/fork combo has been around since at least 1909 when it appeared as an entry in the Century Dictionary. The utensil itself has been in use since the mid-1800s.
2
Barbecue
If you think "barbecue" is a North American concept, bolstered by our love of burgers and hot dogs, you'd be incorrect. The word actually dates back to the mid-1600s and the Spanish word "barbacoa," specifically the indigenous Arawak people of South America and the Caribbean. This word referred to a frame of sticks for cooking meat over a fire.
3
Dope
No matter what definition you think of for this word—an adjective meaning "awesome," shorthand for drugs, or a dismissive word for a not-so-intelligent individual—it's probably pretty slang-y. You might think this word is a relatively recent invention. In fact, it dates back to the mid-1800s and comes from a Dutch word, "doop." The word meant "sauce," and led to the more "straightforward" definition of "dope," a thick liquid or substance for preparing surfaces. Learn about some words that don't mean what you think they do.
4
Ginormous
This might seem like a cute slang word that a little kid (or an elf) who was mixing up "giant/gigantic" and "enormous" might use. But it actually became popular as a slang term in the military! In 1948, it appeared in a dictionary of military slang, and it's been found
even earlier than that, in British newspapers dating back to 1942.
5
Dude
In the 1880s, dude had a negative, mocking ring to it. A dude was a dandy, someone very particular about clothes, looks, and mannerisms, who affected a sort of exaggerated high-class British persona. As one Brit noted in an 1886 issue of Longman’s Magazine, “Our novels establish a false ideal in the American imagination, and the result is that mysterious being ‘The Dude.’” To those out West, it became a word for clueless city dwellers of all kinds (hence, the dude ranch, for tourists). By the turn of the century, it had come to mean any guy, usually a pretty cool one.
Spork
The term for a spoon/fork combo has been around since at least 1909 when it appeared as an entry in the Century Dictionary. The utensil itself has been in use since the mid-1800s.
2
Barbecue
If you think "barbecue" is a North American concept, bolstered by our love of burgers and hot dogs, you'd be incorrect. The word actually dates back to the mid-1600s and the Spanish word "barbacoa," specifically the indigenous Arawak people of South America and the Caribbean. This word referred to a frame of sticks for cooking meat over a fire.
3
Dope
No matter what definition you think of for this word—an adjective meaning "awesome," shorthand for drugs, or a dismissive word for a not-so-intelligent individual—it's probably pretty slang-y. You might think this word is a relatively recent invention. In fact, it dates back to the mid-1800s and comes from a Dutch word, "doop." The word meant "sauce," and led to the more "straightforward" definition of "dope," a thick liquid or substance for preparing surfaces. Learn about some words that don't mean what you think they do.
4
Ginormous
This might seem like a cute slang word that a little kid (or an elf) who was mixing up "giant/gigantic" and "enormous" might use. But it actually became popular as a slang term in the military! In 1948, it appeared in a dictionary of military slang, and it's been found
even earlier than that, in British newspapers dating back to 1942.
5
Dude
In the 1880s, dude had a negative, mocking ring to it. A dude was a dandy, someone very particular about clothes, looks, and mannerisms, who affected a sort of exaggerated high-class British persona. As one Brit noted in an 1886 issue of Longman’s Magazine, “Our novels establish a false ideal in the American imagination, and the result is that mysterious being ‘The Dude.’” To those out West, it became a word for clueless city dwellers of all kinds (hence, the dude ranch, for tourists). By the turn of the century, it had come to mean any guy, usually a pretty cool one.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Snowing on other planets
Mars at the North Pole the CO2 will freeze
Jupiter also received the white stuff
and the Moon of Saturn Enceladus BUT the accumukation is less than 1,000 mm per year
2
The ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy hit that increasingly rare sweet spot between the critics and the box office, combining to win 30 Oscars and gross $2.9 billion worldwide. To this day, it remains a landmark series that revitalized fantasy in pop culture and introducting J.R.R. Tolkien to a new generation.
3
San Francisco Bridge
During construction, a safety net was suspended under the floor of the bridge, extending 10 feet wider than the bridge’s width and 15 feet longer than its length. The net proved an invaluable precaution as it saved the lives of 19 men. These men became known as members of the "Half-Way-to-Hell Club." Despite such safety measures, 11 men died during the bridge's construction.
3.
The bridge's orange color was originally intended just as a primer.
The U.S. Navy had lobbied that the bridge be painted in blue and yellow stripes to increase its visibility. But when the steel arrived in San Francisco painted in a burnt red hue as primer, the consulting architect decided the color was both highly visible—and more pleasing to the eye. The bridge's color is officially called international orange.
4
San Francisco celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge on May 24, 1987 with a bridge walk. The bridge began to groan and sway with an estimated 300,000 people packed like sardines onto it. The middle of the bridge sagged seven feet under the unprecedented weight, causing the iconic arch to flatten.
Officials quickly closed the bridge, preventing an additional 600,000 people from crossing. Engineers afterward said that the bridge, which was built to bend, was never in danger of collapsing.
5
In the 1930s, the Golden Gate Bridge was coated with a primer that was two-thirds (by weight) lead. The architects intended the lead-based paint to protect the steel structure from corrosion, but later learned that lead is harmful to humans and the environment.
A massive cleanup effort to remove all the lead-based paint from the bridge started in 1965 and ended in 1995. Today, a zinc-based primer paint is used instead. The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District calls the zinc a “sacrificial metal” that protects the steel from rust.
The U.S. Navy had lobbied that the bridge be painted in blue and yellow stripes to increase its visibility. But when the steel arrived in San Francisco painted in a burnt red hue as primer, the consulting architect decided the color was both highly visible—and more pleasing to the eye. The bridge's color is officially called international orange.
4. Many 'firsts' were set on the bridge’s opening day.
Some of the thousands of guests who walked across the Golden Gate Bridge once it was opened to pedestrians in 1937.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
San Franciscans celebrated the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge with Pedestrian Day on May 27, 1937. As many as 200,000 people crossed the bridge that day. People competed to be the first to run, push a baby stroller, and even roller skate across the Golden Gate Bridge.
The San Francisco Chronicle recorded some of the more outlandish firsts, including the first person to cross the Golden Gate Bridge on stilts. The bridge opened to vehicular traffic the following day.
5. It cost $0.50—each way—to cross the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937.
Press cars crossing the bridge prior to opening day in May 1937.
Underwood Archives/Getty Images
The initial toll for the bridge was 50 cents each way—roughly equivalent to an $18.00 roundtrip today—a hefty price to pay in the midst of the Great Depression. Today, Golden Gate Bridge tolls are collected in one direction only, heading southbound into the city of San Francisco.
6. Fiftieth anniversary crowds made the bridge temporarily flatten.
Eight hundred thousand people crowded onto the Golden Gate Bridge to celebrate its 50th anniversary on May 24, 1987.
San Francisco celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge on May 24, 1987 with a bridge walk. The bridge began to groan and sway with an estimated 300,000 people packed like sardines onto it. The middle of the bridge sagged seven feet under the unprecedented weight, causing the iconic arch to flatten.
Officials quickly closed the bridge, preventing an additional 600,000 people from crossing. Engineers afterward said that the bridge, which was built to bend, was never in danger of collapsing.
7. The Golden Gate Bridge’s fog horns blare different tones.
The Golden Gate Bridge’s fog horns, mounted at the middle and south tower (San Francisco side) of the bridge, may be nearly as iconic as the structure itself. The San Francisco Bay is famously foggy, and the bridge may have a slight influence on directing the flow of the fog as it pushes up and pours down around the Bridge. Each horn emits a different tone at different times to help guide ships safely through dense fog.
During March, the fog horns may be heard for less than half-an-hour a day, though during the summer—San Francisco’s foggy season—they may blare for five or more hours for days at a time. The two fog horns, on average, sound for an average of 2.5 hours each day throughout the year.
The color of the bridge, officially called international orange, was chosen in part because of its high visibility in fog.
8. It took 30 years to remove lead-based paint from the bridge.
Two painters suspended in a cradle at work on underside of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California on June 24, 1965.
In the 1930s, the Golden Gate Bridge was coated with a primer that was two-thirds (by weight) lead. The architects intended the lead-based paint to protect the steel structure from corrosion, but later learned that lead is harmful to humans and the environment.
A massive cleanup effort to remove all the lead-based paint from the bridge started in 1965 and ended in 1995. Today, a zinc-based primer paint is used instead. The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District calls the zinc a “sacrificial metal” that protects the steel from rust.
Snowing on other planets
Mars at the North Pole the CO2 will freeze
Jupiter also received the white stuff
and the Moon of Saturn Enceladus BUT the accumukation is less than 1,000 mm per year
2
The ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy hit that increasingly rare sweet spot between the critics and the box office, combining to win 30 Oscars and gross $2.9 billion worldwide. To this day, it remains a landmark series that revitalized fantasy in pop culture and introducting J.R.R. Tolkien to a new generation.
3
San Francisco Bridge
During construction, a safety net was suspended under the floor of the bridge, extending 10 feet wider than the bridge’s width and 15 feet longer than its length. The net proved an invaluable precaution as it saved the lives of 19 men. These men became known as members of the "Half-Way-to-Hell Club." Despite such safety measures, 11 men died during the bridge's construction.
3.
The bridge's orange color was originally intended just as a primer.
The U.S. Navy had lobbied that the bridge be painted in blue and yellow stripes to increase its visibility. But when the steel arrived in San Francisco painted in a burnt red hue as primer, the consulting architect decided the color was both highly visible—and more pleasing to the eye. The bridge's color is officially called international orange.
4
San Francisco celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge on May 24, 1987 with a bridge walk. The bridge began to groan and sway with an estimated 300,000 people packed like sardines onto it. The middle of the bridge sagged seven feet under the unprecedented weight, causing the iconic arch to flatten.
Officials quickly closed the bridge, preventing an additional 600,000 people from crossing. Engineers afterward said that the bridge, which was built to bend, was never in danger of collapsing.
5
In the 1930s, the Golden Gate Bridge was coated with a primer that was two-thirds (by weight) lead. The architects intended the lead-based paint to protect the steel structure from corrosion, but later learned that lead is harmful to humans and the environment.
A massive cleanup effort to remove all the lead-based paint from the bridge started in 1965 and ended in 1995. Today, a zinc-based primer paint is used instead. The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District calls the zinc a “sacrificial metal” that protects the steel from rust.
The U.S. Navy had lobbied that the bridge be painted in blue and yellow stripes to increase its visibility. But when the steel arrived in San Francisco painted in a burnt red hue as primer, the consulting architect decided the color was both highly visible—and more pleasing to the eye. The bridge's color is officially called international orange.
4. Many 'firsts' were set on the bridge’s opening day.
Some of the thousands of guests who walked across the Golden Gate Bridge once it was opened to pedestrians in 1937.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
San Franciscans celebrated the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge with Pedestrian Day on May 27, 1937. As many as 200,000 people crossed the bridge that day. People competed to be the first to run, push a baby stroller, and even roller skate across the Golden Gate Bridge.
The San Francisco Chronicle recorded some of the more outlandish firsts, including the first person to cross the Golden Gate Bridge on stilts. The bridge opened to vehicular traffic the following day.
5. It cost $0.50—each way—to cross the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937.
Press cars crossing the bridge prior to opening day in May 1937.
Underwood Archives/Getty Images
The initial toll for the bridge was 50 cents each way—roughly equivalent to an $18.00 roundtrip today—a hefty price to pay in the midst of the Great Depression. Today, Golden Gate Bridge tolls are collected in one direction only, heading southbound into the city of San Francisco.
6. Fiftieth anniversary crowds made the bridge temporarily flatten.
Eight hundred thousand people crowded onto the Golden Gate Bridge to celebrate its 50th anniversary on May 24, 1987.
San Francisco celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge on May 24, 1987 with a bridge walk. The bridge began to groan and sway with an estimated 300,000 people packed like sardines onto it. The middle of the bridge sagged seven feet under the unprecedented weight, causing the iconic arch to flatten.
Officials quickly closed the bridge, preventing an additional 600,000 people from crossing. Engineers afterward said that the bridge, which was built to bend, was never in danger of collapsing.
7. The Golden Gate Bridge’s fog horns blare different tones.
The Golden Gate Bridge’s fog horns, mounted at the middle and south tower (San Francisco side) of the bridge, may be nearly as iconic as the structure itself. The San Francisco Bay is famously foggy, and the bridge may have a slight influence on directing the flow of the fog as it pushes up and pours down around the Bridge. Each horn emits a different tone at different times to help guide ships safely through dense fog.
During March, the fog horns may be heard for less than half-an-hour a day, though during the summer—San Francisco’s foggy season—they may blare for five or more hours for days at a time. The two fog horns, on average, sound for an average of 2.5 hours each day throughout the year.
The color of the bridge, officially called international orange, was chosen in part because of its high visibility in fog.
8. It took 30 years to remove lead-based paint from the bridge.
Two painters suspended in a cradle at work on underside of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California on June 24, 1965.
In the 1930s, the Golden Gate Bridge was coated with a primer that was two-thirds (by weight) lead. The architects intended the lead-based paint to protect the steel structure from corrosion, but later learned that lead is harmful to humans and the environment.
A massive cleanup effort to remove all the lead-based paint from the bridge started in 1965 and ended in 1995. Today, a zinc-based primer paint is used instead. The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District calls the zinc a “sacrificial metal” that protects the steel from rust.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Horologist
a person skilled in the practice or theory of horology
a maker of clocks or watches
Horology ("the study of time", related to Latin horologium from Greek ὡρολόγιον, "instrument for telling the hour", from ὥρα hṓra "hour; time" and -o- interfix and suffix -logy)[1][2] is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic clocks are all examples of instruments used to measure time. In current usage, horology refers mainly to the study of mechanical time-keeping devices, while chronometry more broadly includes electronic devices that have largely supplanted mechanical clocks for the best accuracy and precision in time-keeping.
People interested in horology are called horologists. That term is used both by people who deal professionally with timekeeping apparatus (watchmakers, clockmakers), as well as aficionados and scholars of horology. Horology and horologists have numerous organizations, both professional associations and more scholarly societies. The largest horological membership organisation globally is the NAWCC, the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, which is USA based, but also has local chapters elsewhere.
2
New Year's Day 1999 is the dawn of a new era in Europe, as 11 nations adopt a single currency, the euro. Now the official currency of 19 members of the European Union, as well as the nations of Kosovo and Montenegro, the euro's introduction had a profound effect on the global economy and was a watershed moment in the continent’s history.
Beginning in the 1970s, European leaders had discussed creating a single currency. The plan became official with 1992 Maastricht Treaty, which formed the European Union and paved the way for the creation of a single European currency. The new currency's name was unveiled in 1995. On December 31, 1998 11 countries "locked in" their exchange rates relative to each other and to the euro. At midnight, their currencies officially ceased to exist. For the next three years, the "legacy currencies" remained legal tender, but electronic transfers and other non-physical monetary transactions began to use euros. Greece would join the Eurozone between this initial introduction and the currency's debut in physical form.
Mints throughout Europe printed 7.4 billion notes and struck 38.2 billion coins to ensure enough euros would be available by 1/1/2002. Banks issued "starter packs" containing small amounts of euros starting in December 2001 to familiarize people with the new money. Finally, a year later, the euro formally entered the world as legal tender. The first official purchase took place on the far-flung French island of Réunion, where euros were used to purchase a pound of lychees. Over the next two months, participating nations officially had two currencies in order to give people time to adjust. Businesses advertised prices both in euros and in legacy currencies, and some were accused of using the switch as an excuse to raise prices. Overall, however, the process of creating a new currency for a population of over 300 million people went remarkably smoothly.
The euro has long been a source of controversy. Conservatives in the United Kingdom opposed the idea of a European currency, and both the UK and Denmark negotiated opt-outs despite their membership in the EU. The eurozone's greatest test came during the European sovereign debt crisis, which began in 2009, as many central banks dealing in euros were unable to pay their debts and were bailed out by other eurozone nations or EU institutions. Despite continued concerns, seven EU nations have met the criteria and acceded to the euro since 2002, and the nations of Kosovo and Montenegro have also adopted it as their official currency.
Horologist
a person skilled in the practice or theory of horology
a maker of clocks or watches
Horology ("the study of time", related to Latin horologium from Greek ὡρολόγιον, "instrument for telling the hour", from ὥρα hṓra "hour; time" and -o- interfix and suffix -logy)[1][2] is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic clocks are all examples of instruments used to measure time. In current usage, horology refers mainly to the study of mechanical time-keeping devices, while chronometry more broadly includes electronic devices that have largely supplanted mechanical clocks for the best accuracy and precision in time-keeping.
People interested in horology are called horologists. That term is used both by people who deal professionally with timekeeping apparatus (watchmakers, clockmakers), as well as aficionados and scholars of horology. Horology and horologists have numerous organizations, both professional associations and more scholarly societies. The largest horological membership organisation globally is the NAWCC, the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, which is USA based, but also has local chapters elsewhere.
2
New Year's Day 1999 is the dawn of a new era in Europe, as 11 nations adopt a single currency, the euro. Now the official currency of 19 members of the European Union, as well as the nations of Kosovo and Montenegro, the euro's introduction had a profound effect on the global economy and was a watershed moment in the continent’s history.
Beginning in the 1970s, European leaders had discussed creating a single currency. The plan became official with 1992 Maastricht Treaty, which formed the European Union and paved the way for the creation of a single European currency. The new currency's name was unveiled in 1995. On December 31, 1998 11 countries "locked in" their exchange rates relative to each other and to the euro. At midnight, their currencies officially ceased to exist. For the next three years, the "legacy currencies" remained legal tender, but electronic transfers and other non-physical monetary transactions began to use euros. Greece would join the Eurozone between this initial introduction and the currency's debut in physical form.
Mints throughout Europe printed 7.4 billion notes and struck 38.2 billion coins to ensure enough euros would be available by 1/1/2002. Banks issued "starter packs" containing small amounts of euros starting in December 2001 to familiarize people with the new money. Finally, a year later, the euro formally entered the world as legal tender. The first official purchase took place on the far-flung French island of Réunion, where euros were used to purchase a pound of lychees. Over the next two months, participating nations officially had two currencies in order to give people time to adjust. Businesses advertised prices both in euros and in legacy currencies, and some were accused of using the switch as an excuse to raise prices. Overall, however, the process of creating a new currency for a population of over 300 million people went remarkably smoothly.
The euro has long been a source of controversy. Conservatives in the United Kingdom opposed the idea of a European currency, and both the UK and Denmark negotiated opt-outs despite their membership in the EU. The eurozone's greatest test came during the European sovereign debt crisis, which began in 2009, as many central banks dealing in euros were unable to pay their debts and were bailed out by other eurozone nations or EU institutions. Despite continued concerns, seven EU nations have met the criteria and acceded to the euro since 2002, and the nations of Kosovo and Montenegro have also adopted it as their official currency.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Boston Strangler Striked Again
Sullivan is raped and strangled to death in her Boston apartment. The killer left a card reading “Happy New Year” leaning against her foot. Sullivan would turn out to be the last woman killed by the notorious Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo, who had terrorized the city between 1962 and 1964, raping and killing 13 women.
DeSalvo’s serial-killing career was shaped at an early age. His father would bring home prostitutes and have sex with them in front of the family, before brutally beating his wife and children. On one occasion, DeSalvo’s father knocked out his mother’s teeth and then broke her fingers one by one while she lay unconscious on the floor. DeSalvo himself was sold by his father to work as a farm laborer, along with two of his sisters.
In the late 1950s, as a young man, DeSalvo acquired the first of his criminal nicknames. He knocked on the doors of young women, claiming to represent a modeling agency. He told the women that he needed to take their measurements and proceeded to crudely fondle the women as he used his tape measure. His stint as the “Measuring Man” came to an end with his arrest on March 17, 1960, and he spent nearly a year in prison.
When DeSalvo was released, his next series of crimes were far worse. For nearly two years, he broke into hundreds of apartments in New England, tied up the women and sexually assaulted them. He always wore green handyman clothes during his assaults and became known as the “Green Man.”
In 1962, DeSalvo started killing his victims. He strangled Anna Slesers with her own housecoat and tied the ends in a bow, which would become his trademark. Throughout the summer of 1962, DeSalvo raped and killed elderly women in Boston. However, by winter he began attacking younger women, always leaving the rope or cord used to strangle the victim in a bow.
Police, who were stymied in their attempts to stop the newly dubbed “Boston Strangler,” even brought in a psychic to inspect the clothes of the victims. However, it was DeSalvo himself who enabled the police to close the case. On October 27, 1964, after raping another young woman, he suddenly stopped before killing her. When the victim called police and gave a description of her attacker, police arrested DeSalvo.
DeSalvo confessed the murders to his cellmate George Nasser. Nasser told his attorney, F. Lee Bailey, aboutDeSalvo, and Bailey took on DeSalvo as a client. Under a deal with prosecutors, DeSalvo never was charged or convicted with the Boston Strangler murders, getting a life sentence instead for the Green Man rapes. Still, DeSalvo’s life term was short. He was stabbed to death by an unidentified fellow inmate at Walpole State Prison on November 26, 1973.
2
The home team must provide the referee with 36 footballs for each National Football League game. (USA Football )
That’s a lot of pigskin …
3
What is a plum duff?
ANSWER
SUET PUDDING
Boston Strangler Striked Again
Sullivan is raped and strangled to death in her Boston apartment. The killer left a card reading “Happy New Year” leaning against her foot. Sullivan would turn out to be the last woman killed by the notorious Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo, who had terrorized the city between 1962 and 1964, raping and killing 13 women.
DeSalvo’s serial-killing career was shaped at an early age. His father would bring home prostitutes and have sex with them in front of the family, before brutally beating his wife and children. On one occasion, DeSalvo’s father knocked out his mother’s teeth and then broke her fingers one by one while she lay unconscious on the floor. DeSalvo himself was sold by his father to work as a farm laborer, along with two of his sisters.
In the late 1950s, as a young man, DeSalvo acquired the first of his criminal nicknames. He knocked on the doors of young women, claiming to represent a modeling agency. He told the women that he needed to take their measurements and proceeded to crudely fondle the women as he used his tape measure. His stint as the “Measuring Man” came to an end with his arrest on March 17, 1960, and he spent nearly a year in prison.
When DeSalvo was released, his next series of crimes were far worse. For nearly two years, he broke into hundreds of apartments in New England, tied up the women and sexually assaulted them. He always wore green handyman clothes during his assaults and became known as the “Green Man.”
In 1962, DeSalvo started killing his victims. He strangled Anna Slesers with her own housecoat and tied the ends in a bow, which would become his trademark. Throughout the summer of 1962, DeSalvo raped and killed elderly women in Boston. However, by winter he began attacking younger women, always leaving the rope or cord used to strangle the victim in a bow.
Police, who were stymied in their attempts to stop the newly dubbed “Boston Strangler,” even brought in a psychic to inspect the clothes of the victims. However, it was DeSalvo himself who enabled the police to close the case. On October 27, 1964, after raping another young woman, he suddenly stopped before killing her. When the victim called police and gave a description of her attacker, police arrested DeSalvo.
DeSalvo confessed the murders to his cellmate George Nasser. Nasser told his attorney, F. Lee Bailey, aboutDeSalvo, and Bailey took on DeSalvo as a client. Under a deal with prosecutors, DeSalvo never was charged or convicted with the Boston Strangler murders, getting a life sentence instead for the Green Man rapes. Still, DeSalvo’s life term was short. He was stabbed to death by an unidentified fellow inmate at Walpole State Prison on November 26, 1973.
2
The home team must provide the referee with 36 footballs for each National Football League game. (USA Football )
That’s a lot of pigskin …
3
What is a plum duff?
ANSWER
SUET PUDDING
Re: Yes it really happened
1
1847
January 04
Samuel Colt sells his first revolvers to the U.S. government Samuel Colt rescues the future of his faltering gun company by winning a contract to provide the U.S. government with 1,000 of his .44 caliber revolvers.
Before Colt began mass-producing his popular revolvers in 1847, handguns had not played a significant role in the history of either the American West or the nation as a whole. Expensive and inaccurate, short-barreled handguns were impractical for the majority of Americans, though a handful of elite still insisted on using dueling pistols to solve disputes in highly formalized combat. When choosing a practical weapon for self-defense and close-quarter fighting, most Americans preferred knives, and western pioneers especially favored the deadly and versatile Bowie knife.
That began to change when Samuel Colt patented his percussion-repeating revolver in 1836. The heart of Colt’s invention was a mechanism that combined a single rifled barrel with a revolving chamber that held five or six shots. When the weapon was cocked for firing, the chamber revolved automatically to bring the next shot into line with the barrel.
Though still far less accurate than a well-made hunting rifle, the Colt revolver could be aimed with reasonable precision at a short distance (30 to 40 yards in the hands of an expert), because the interior bore was “rifled”—cut with a series of grooves spiraling down its length. The spiral grooves caused the slug to spin rapidly as it left the barrel, giving it gyroscopic stability. The five or six-shoot capacity also made accuracy less important, since a missed shot could quickly be followed with others.
Yet most cowboys, gamblers and gunslingers could never have afforded such a revolver if not for the de facto subsidy the federal government provided to Colt by purchasing his revolvers in such great quantities. After the first batch of revolvers proved popular with soldiers, the federal government became one of Colt’s biggest customers, providing him with the much-needed capital to improve his production facilities. With the help of Eli Whitney and other inventors, Colt developed a system of mass production and interchangeable parts for his pistols that greatly lowered their cost.
Though never cheap, by the early 1850s, Colt revolvers were inexpensive enough to be a favorite with Americans headed westward during the California Gold Rush. Between 1850 and 1860, Colt sold 170,000 of his “pocket” revolvers and 98,000 “belt” revolvers, mostly to civilians looking for a powerful and effective means of self-defense in the Wild West.
2
The Olympic rings cover every flag in the world. Yellow, green, red, black, and blue were selected because at least one of those five colors appears in every flag in the world.
3
The longest tennis match took place in 2010 at Wimbledon. John Isner of the United States beat Nicolas Mahut of France in a match that lasted 11 hours and five minutes. It took 3 days to complete!
1847
January 04
Samuel Colt sells his first revolvers to the U.S. government Samuel Colt rescues the future of his faltering gun company by winning a contract to provide the U.S. government with 1,000 of his .44 caliber revolvers.
Before Colt began mass-producing his popular revolvers in 1847, handguns had not played a significant role in the history of either the American West or the nation as a whole. Expensive and inaccurate, short-barreled handguns were impractical for the majority of Americans, though a handful of elite still insisted on using dueling pistols to solve disputes in highly formalized combat. When choosing a practical weapon for self-defense and close-quarter fighting, most Americans preferred knives, and western pioneers especially favored the deadly and versatile Bowie knife.
That began to change when Samuel Colt patented his percussion-repeating revolver in 1836. The heart of Colt’s invention was a mechanism that combined a single rifled barrel with a revolving chamber that held five or six shots. When the weapon was cocked for firing, the chamber revolved automatically to bring the next shot into line with the barrel.
Though still far less accurate than a well-made hunting rifle, the Colt revolver could be aimed with reasonable precision at a short distance (30 to 40 yards in the hands of an expert), because the interior bore was “rifled”—cut with a series of grooves spiraling down its length. The spiral grooves caused the slug to spin rapidly as it left the barrel, giving it gyroscopic stability. The five or six-shoot capacity also made accuracy less important, since a missed shot could quickly be followed with others.
Yet most cowboys, gamblers and gunslingers could never have afforded such a revolver if not for the de facto subsidy the federal government provided to Colt by purchasing his revolvers in such great quantities. After the first batch of revolvers proved popular with soldiers, the federal government became one of Colt’s biggest customers, providing him with the much-needed capital to improve his production facilities. With the help of Eli Whitney and other inventors, Colt developed a system of mass production and interchangeable parts for his pistols that greatly lowered their cost.
Though never cheap, by the early 1850s, Colt revolvers were inexpensive enough to be a favorite with Americans headed westward during the California Gold Rush. Between 1850 and 1860, Colt sold 170,000 of his “pocket” revolvers and 98,000 “belt” revolvers, mostly to civilians looking for a powerful and effective means of self-defense in the Wild West.
2
The Olympic rings cover every flag in the world. Yellow, green, red, black, and blue were selected because at least one of those five colors appears in every flag in the world.
3
The longest tennis match took place in 2010 at Wimbledon. John Isner of the United States beat Nicolas Mahut of France in a match that lasted 11 hours and five minutes. It took 3 days to complete!
Re: Yes it really happened
1
James Strickland started Strickland’s Blinds, Shades & Shutters as a wooden Venetian blind manufacturer in 1942, but the history of Venetian blinds are thought to date all the way back to Persia and possibly even ancient Egypt.
It is believed that the early Venetians, who were great traders, brought the idea of the blind from Persia to Venice. Then, freed Venetian slaves brought the blind to France, not only for their personal comfort, but also as a means of livelihood.
Wherever their birthplace, Venetian blinds have served as decorative window treatments for nearly three centuries. One of the earliest records of the window treatment in America was the fitting of Venetian blinds at St. Peter’s Church in Philadelphia in 1761. John Webster, an upholsterer from London , was the first pioneers of the Venetian blind in the United States. He placed the first known print advertisement for wooden blinds in the “New World” on August 20, 1767 in the Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser.
2
Quanah Parker (Comanche kwana, "smell, odor") (c. 1845 – February 20, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grown up among the Kwahadis, the son of Kwahadi Comanche chief Peta Nocona and Cynthia Ann Parker, an Anglo-American who had been kidnapped as a child and assimilated into the Nokoni tribe. Following the apprehension of several Kiowa chiefs in 1871, Quanah Parker emerged as a dominant figure in the Red River War, clashing repeatedly with Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie. With European-Americans hunting American bison, the Comanches' primary sustenance, into near extinction, Quanah Parker eventually surrendered and peaceably led the Kwahadi to the reservation at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Quanah Parker was never elected chief by his people but was appointed by the federal government as principal chief of the entire Comanche Nation, and became a primary emissary of southwest indigenous Americans to the United States legislature. In civilian life, he gained wealth as a rancher, settling near Cache, Oklahoma. Though he encouraged Christianization of Comanche people, he also advocated the syncretic Native American Church alternative, and passionately fought for the legal use of peyote in the movement's religious practices. He was elected deputy sheriff of Lawton in 1902. After his death in 1911, the leadership title of Chief was replaced with Chairman; Quanah Parker is thereby described as the "Last Chief of the Comanche," a term also applied to Horseback.
He is buried at Chief's Knoll on Fort Sill. Many cities and highway systems in southwest Oklahoma and north Texas, once southern Comancheria, bear references to his name.
2
James Strickland started Strickland’s Blinds, Shades & Shutters as a wooden Venetian blind manufacturer in 1942, but the history of Venetian blinds are thought to date all the way back to Persia and possibly even ancient Egypt.
It is believed that the early Venetians, who were great traders, brought the idea of the blind from Persia to Venice. Then, freed Venetian slaves brought the blind to France, not only for their personal comfort, but also as a means of livelihood.
Wherever their birthplace, Venetian blinds have served as decorative window treatments for nearly three centuries. One of the earliest records of the window treatment in America was the fitting of Venetian blinds at St. Peter’s Church in Philadelphia in 1761. John Webster, an upholsterer from London , was the first pioneers of the Venetian blind in the United States. He placed the first known print advertisement for wooden blinds in the “New World” on August 20, 1767 in the Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser.
2
Quanah Parker (Comanche kwana, "smell, odor") (c. 1845 – February 20, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grown up among the Kwahadis, the son of Kwahadi Comanche chief Peta Nocona and Cynthia Ann Parker, an Anglo-American who had been kidnapped as a child and assimilated into the Nokoni tribe. Following the apprehension of several Kiowa chiefs in 1871, Quanah Parker emerged as a dominant figure in the Red River War, clashing repeatedly with Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie. With European-Americans hunting American bison, the Comanches' primary sustenance, into near extinction, Quanah Parker eventually surrendered and peaceably led the Kwahadi to the reservation at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Quanah Parker was never elected chief by his people but was appointed by the federal government as principal chief of the entire Comanche Nation, and became a primary emissary of southwest indigenous Americans to the United States legislature. In civilian life, he gained wealth as a rancher, settling near Cache, Oklahoma. Though he encouraged Christianization of Comanche people, he also advocated the syncretic Native American Church alternative, and passionately fought for the legal use of peyote in the movement's religious practices. He was elected deputy sheriff of Lawton in 1902. After his death in 1911, the leadership title of Chief was replaced with Chairman; Quanah Parker is thereby described as the "Last Chief of the Comanche," a term also applied to Horseback.
He is buried at Chief's Knoll on Fort Sill. Many cities and highway systems in southwest Oklahoma and north Texas, once southern Comancheria, bear references to his name.
2
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Turnkey is ofter related to what old fashion jjob
a) Locksnoth
b) Clockmaker
c) Prison Oficer
2
Resolute, Nunavut Canada –35.8 °C
For intrepid travellers, Resolute is a stop on one of those cruises that go off the beaten path, through the Northwest Passage. For about two hundred very resolute people, however, this tiny town is home, even if they have never experienced temperatures above freezing between late October and early May. The record low in Resolute was –52.2 °C but the average low in February, the coldest month, is –35.8 °C.
3
Exercise moment.
Want to utilize 14 various muscles
Then open a bottle of wine
#1 Amswer is c) Prison Officer
Historically, terms such as "jailer" (also spelled "jailor" or "gaoler"), "jail guard", "prison guard", "turnkey"[1] and "warder"[2] have all been used.
Turnkey is ofter related to what old fashion jjob
a) Locksnoth
b) Clockmaker
c) Prison Oficer
2
Resolute, Nunavut Canada –35.8 °C
For intrepid travellers, Resolute is a stop on one of those cruises that go off the beaten path, through the Northwest Passage. For about two hundred very resolute people, however, this tiny town is home, even if they have never experienced temperatures above freezing between late October and early May. The record low in Resolute was –52.2 °C but the average low in February, the coldest month, is –35.8 °C.
3
Exercise moment.
Want to utilize 14 various muscles
Then open a bottle of wine
#1 Amswer is c) Prison Officer
Historically, terms such as "jailer" (also spelled "jailor" or "gaoler"), "jail guard", "prison guard", "turnkey"[1] and "warder"[2] have all been used.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Eleanor Wadsworth, who was 103, was part of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), a civilian service that transported fighter aircraft and crew.
The ATA Association said she was among 165 women who flew without radios or instrument flying instructions.
During the war, about 1,250 men and women from 25 countries transferred some 309,000 aircraft of 147 different types.
Mrs Wadsworth, who was born in Nottingham, joined the ATA in 1943 after seeing an advertisement for female pilots and was one of the first six successful candidates to be accepted with no or little previous flying experience, historian Sally McGlone said.
In 2020, the former pilot told her housing association’s in-house magazine that she had been “looking for a new challenge” when she joined the service.
“The thought of learning to fly for free was a great incentive [so] I put my name down and didn’t think much about it,” she said.
She added that she had enjoyed flying Spitfires the most, which she did 132 times.
“It was a beautiful aircraft, great to handle,” she said.
Tributes have been paid to her bravery on social including one from former RAF Tornado navigator and Gulf prisoner of war John Nichol.
Ms McGlone said Mrs Wadsworth and her fellow ATA pilots “will remain an inspiration to women worldwide”, while fellow historian Howard Cook said she and her fellow “Spitfire Women” had been “incredibly brave”.
Author Karen Borden, who interviewed Mrs Wadsworth for an upcoming book, added that “like many of the women pilots, she was incredibly humble about her contribution to the war effort”.
“She joked about how flying ‘straight and level’ was her mark… and how marvellous it was to take to the air on her own.”
He said she would say that “we had a job to do [and] we just got on and did it”.
Mrs Wadsworth had been one of three surviving female ATA pilots, alongside American Nancy Stratford and Briton Jaye Edwards, who lives in Canada.
2
What was the most unusual dogfight of World War 2?
On 12 April 1945 an American L4 Grasshopper reconnaissance plane was on a reconnaissance mission near Berlin when it came across a German Fieseler Storch doing the same thing. Both planes were unarmed but the US crew, Lt. Duane Francis and Lt. Bill Martin, did the most American thing ever and opened the doors to fire on the enemy with their .45 pistols, as if they were gangsters doing a drive-by.
Remarkably, it worked. The Storch took evasive action, a wing clipped the ground and it crashed. Francis and Martin landed and administered first aid to the Germans and took them prisoner. Safe to say this was the only aerial ‘kill’ claimed by pistols in that war.
What makes this, the last dogfight in the European theatre in World War Two, so poignant is that it is so similar to the first dogfights of the First World War, when the pilots of unarmed reconnaissance flights would ‘duel’ with their pistols.
Eleanor Wadsworth, who was 103, was part of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), a civilian service that transported fighter aircraft and crew.
The ATA Association said she was among 165 women who flew without radios or instrument flying instructions.
During the war, about 1,250 men and women from 25 countries transferred some 309,000 aircraft of 147 different types.
Mrs Wadsworth, who was born in Nottingham, joined the ATA in 1943 after seeing an advertisement for female pilots and was one of the first six successful candidates to be accepted with no or little previous flying experience, historian Sally McGlone said.
In 2020, the former pilot told her housing association’s in-house magazine that she had been “looking for a new challenge” when she joined the service.
“The thought of learning to fly for free was a great incentive [so] I put my name down and didn’t think much about it,” she said.
She added that she had enjoyed flying Spitfires the most, which she did 132 times.
“It was a beautiful aircraft, great to handle,” she said.
Tributes have been paid to her bravery on social including one from former RAF Tornado navigator and Gulf prisoner of war John Nichol.
Ms McGlone said Mrs Wadsworth and her fellow ATA pilots “will remain an inspiration to women worldwide”, while fellow historian Howard Cook said she and her fellow “Spitfire Women” had been “incredibly brave”.
Author Karen Borden, who interviewed Mrs Wadsworth for an upcoming book, added that “like many of the women pilots, she was incredibly humble about her contribution to the war effort”.
“She joked about how flying ‘straight and level’ was her mark… and how marvellous it was to take to the air on her own.”
He said she would say that “we had a job to do [and] we just got on and did it”.
Mrs Wadsworth had been one of three surviving female ATA pilots, alongside American Nancy Stratford and Briton Jaye Edwards, who lives in Canada.
2
What was the most unusual dogfight of World War 2?
On 12 April 1945 an American L4 Grasshopper reconnaissance plane was on a reconnaissance mission near Berlin when it came across a German Fieseler Storch doing the same thing. Both planes were unarmed but the US crew, Lt. Duane Francis and Lt. Bill Martin, did the most American thing ever and opened the doors to fire on the enemy with their .45 pistols, as if they were gangsters doing a drive-by.
Remarkably, it worked. The Storch took evasive action, a wing clipped the ground and it crashed. Francis and Martin landed and administered first aid to the Germans and took them prisoner. Safe to say this was the only aerial ‘kill’ claimed by pistols in that war.
What makes this, the last dogfight in the European theatre in World War Two, so poignant is that it is so similar to the first dogfights of the First World War, when the pilots of unarmed reconnaissance flights would ‘duel’ with their pistols.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
ALL Nippon The Japanese airlines started to ask passengers to use the toilet prior to flying. This would reduce the weight by 240 pounds of Urine therefore reducing Carbon Emissions by 5 tons every month
2
Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales CBE (née Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English actress and presenter best known for her role as Basil Fawlty's wife Sybil in the BBC comedy Fawlty Towers and her BAFTA award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in A Question of Attribution (Screen One, BBC 1991) by Alan Bennett.
A fantastic part of my life was Fawlty Towers
3
Seppuku (Japanese: 切腹, "cutting [the] belly"), sometimes referred to as harakiri (腹切り, "abdomen/belly cutting", a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa period (particularly officers near the end of World War II) to restore honor for themselves or for their families. As a samurai practice, seppuku was used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies (and likely be tortured), as a form of capital punishment for samurai who had committed serious offenses, or performed because they had brought shame to themselves. The ceremonial disembowelment, which is usually part of a more elaborate ritual and performed in front of spectators, consists of plunging a short blade, traditionally a tantō, into the belly and drawing the blade from left to right, slicing the belly open. If the cut is deep enough, it can sever the descending aorta, causing a rapid death by blood loss.
ALL Nippon The Japanese airlines started to ask passengers to use the toilet prior to flying. This would reduce the weight by 240 pounds of Urine therefore reducing Carbon Emissions by 5 tons every month
2
Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales CBE (née Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English actress and presenter best known for her role as Basil Fawlty's wife Sybil in the BBC comedy Fawlty Towers and her BAFTA award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in A Question of Attribution (Screen One, BBC 1991) by Alan Bennett.
A fantastic part of my life was Fawlty Towers
3
Seppuku (Japanese: 切腹, "cutting [the] belly"), sometimes referred to as harakiri (腹切り, "abdomen/belly cutting", a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa period (particularly officers near the end of World War II) to restore honor for themselves or for their families. As a samurai practice, seppuku was used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies (and likely be tortured), as a form of capital punishment for samurai who had committed serious offenses, or performed because they had brought shame to themselves. The ceremonial disembowelment, which is usually part of a more elaborate ritual and performed in front of spectators, consists of plunging a short blade, traditionally a tantō, into the belly and drawing the blade from left to right, slicing the belly open. If the cut is deep enough, it can sever the descending aorta, causing a rapid death by blood loss.
Re: Yes it really happened
I think you forgot, that usually a 'Friend ' also cut off the head as well to ensure a quick death instead of a long agonising one .
Re: Yes it really happened
Madam C.J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove; December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919) was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. She is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records.[1] Multiple sources mention that although other women might have been the first, their wealth is not as well-documented.[
Walker made her fortune by developing and marketing a line of cosmetics and hair care products for black women through the business she founded, Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company. She became known also for her philanthropy and activism. She made financial donations to numerous organizations and became a patron of the arts. Villa Lewaro, Walker's lavish estate in Irvington, New York, served as a social gathering place for the African-American community. At the time of her death, she was considered the wealthiest African-American businesswoman and wealthiest self-made black woman in America.[4] Her name was a version of "Mrs. Charles Joseph Walker", after her third husband.
Mrs.
Mrs originated as a contraction of the honorific Mistress (the feminine of Mister or Master) which was originall...
Villa Lewaro
From 1918 to 1919, Villa Lewaro was the home of Madam C. J. Walker, an African-American entrepreneur, philanthro...
2
JAN 05, 2021: VETERAN OF THE DAY: Today we honor veteran Janice Benario, 97, who worked on World War II code-breaking team.
Janice Benario squawked loudly, as she realized that a cloak-and-dagger secret from her past was now on public display.
One day in the early 1990s, she was perusing a book her husband had given her on the World War II Enigma project, the Allies’ successful top-secret effort to break the code the Germans used to communicate with U-boats in the Atlantic Ocean.
“It was one of the first books published on that. She let out a shriek and my father walked into the room,” said son Fred Benario. “She showed him a picture in the book and she was in that picture,”
She had kept her participation in the top-secret program that tracked and decoded the location of prowling enemy submarines under wraps, even from her family, for decades.
But husband Herbert said the “reveal” was not too surprising,
“I knew she was in the WAVES (women’s naval service) but I didn’t know exactly what she was doing,” he said. “And she was a very talented woman.”
Benario, 97, whose work — along with many others’ — was key to the Allies’ success in the Second World War, died Dec. 3 of natural causes. Survivors include sons Fred and John and husband Herbert. No memorial service was held.
Janice Benario told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2018 that the road to her deep-cover assignment began with a professor at her school, Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. It was October of 1942.
Taking Benario into an office and shutting the door, the instructor said, “I’m going to invite you to a class given by the Navy, and you don’t dare mention it outside this room because this being wartime, it would be considered treason,” she said.
After eight weeks of training in cryptology, she reported to a Navy communications annex in Washington D.C. — a former school with blacked-out windows, and she lived in a nearby dormitory.
The younger Benario said his mom was not a codebreaker, but her role was important nonetheless. She read messages between top German commanders and sub crews and determined who to pass them along to among the appropriate Navy brass.
She told the AJC that each morning “there would be a knock at the door and there was an officer from the main Navy department with a big leather pouch,” which he filled with the messages and then took to naval headquarters.
“My life was governed by secrecy,” she was quoted as saying in an obituary prepared by Emory University, where she later taught Latin. “We were not to breathe a word about what we were doing once we got into that office.”
It could be nerve-wracking work. She and women recruited from several other colleges worked 24/7 in rotating shifts, and strict accuracy was expected.
Discharged from the Navy in 1946 as a lieutenant junior grade, Benario earned a classics doctorate from Johns Hopkins University, where she met her husband. A move to Atlanta came in 1960. She went to work at Georgia State University as a professor.
After retiring from Georgia State, she began instructing beginning Latin classes at Emory, said Niall Slater, the former head of the classics department there.
“She was a superb teacher all her life.” he said.
Another turn in life came in 2003, when a women’s group at Emory asked her to give a talk about her codebreaking work, said Fred Benario.
“She prepared about a 45- to 50-minute presentation and it was a huge success,” he said. “People stood up and cheered. She spent the next 12 years giving presentations all over metro Atlanta.”
Benario said his mother blazed new trails in two key ways. Her wartime job demanded that she live independently — uncommon for a woman at the time. And she became a leading light in Atlanta’s World War II community in her 70s and 80s.
She pushed her envelope in another way as well, developing what Slater called “a broader interest in other aspects of World War II.” One example: Slater was a guest lecturer on a 2005 trip to Crete under the auspices of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The island had been captured by the Nazi’s during the war. Benario tagged along, as it brought together her interest in classics and World War II.
Fred Benario said that he doesn’t have any definitive word on why his mother was chosen for the critical war effort but thinks it had much to do with her ample intelligence.
“She was an only child,” he said, “and her father was a lawyer, so her parents did a good job of raising a daughter who was treated as if her brain mattered.”
“Every Day is Memorial Day”
Walker made her fortune by developing and marketing a line of cosmetics and hair care products for black women through the business she founded, Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company. She became known also for her philanthropy and activism. She made financial donations to numerous organizations and became a patron of the arts. Villa Lewaro, Walker's lavish estate in Irvington, New York, served as a social gathering place for the African-American community. At the time of her death, she was considered the wealthiest African-American businesswoman and wealthiest self-made black woman in America.[4] Her name was a version of "Mrs. Charles Joseph Walker", after her third husband.
Mrs.
Mrs originated as a contraction of the honorific Mistress (the feminine of Mister or Master) which was originall...
Villa Lewaro
From 1918 to 1919, Villa Lewaro was the home of Madam C. J. Walker, an African-American entrepreneur, philanthro...
2
JAN 05, 2021: VETERAN OF THE DAY: Today we honor veteran Janice Benario, 97, who worked on World War II code-breaking team.
Janice Benario squawked loudly, as she realized that a cloak-and-dagger secret from her past was now on public display.
One day in the early 1990s, she was perusing a book her husband had given her on the World War II Enigma project, the Allies’ successful top-secret effort to break the code the Germans used to communicate with U-boats in the Atlantic Ocean.
“It was one of the first books published on that. She let out a shriek and my father walked into the room,” said son Fred Benario. “She showed him a picture in the book and she was in that picture,”
She had kept her participation in the top-secret program that tracked and decoded the location of prowling enemy submarines under wraps, even from her family, for decades.
But husband Herbert said the “reveal” was not too surprising,
“I knew she was in the WAVES (women’s naval service) but I didn’t know exactly what she was doing,” he said. “And she was a very talented woman.”
Benario, 97, whose work — along with many others’ — was key to the Allies’ success in the Second World War, died Dec. 3 of natural causes. Survivors include sons Fred and John and husband Herbert. No memorial service was held.
Janice Benario told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2018 that the road to her deep-cover assignment began with a professor at her school, Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. It was October of 1942.
Taking Benario into an office and shutting the door, the instructor said, “I’m going to invite you to a class given by the Navy, and you don’t dare mention it outside this room because this being wartime, it would be considered treason,” she said.
After eight weeks of training in cryptology, she reported to a Navy communications annex in Washington D.C. — a former school with blacked-out windows, and she lived in a nearby dormitory.
The younger Benario said his mom was not a codebreaker, but her role was important nonetheless. She read messages between top German commanders and sub crews and determined who to pass them along to among the appropriate Navy brass.
She told the AJC that each morning “there would be a knock at the door and there was an officer from the main Navy department with a big leather pouch,” which he filled with the messages and then took to naval headquarters.
“My life was governed by secrecy,” she was quoted as saying in an obituary prepared by Emory University, where she later taught Latin. “We were not to breathe a word about what we were doing once we got into that office.”
It could be nerve-wracking work. She and women recruited from several other colleges worked 24/7 in rotating shifts, and strict accuracy was expected.
Discharged from the Navy in 1946 as a lieutenant junior grade, Benario earned a classics doctorate from Johns Hopkins University, where she met her husband. A move to Atlanta came in 1960. She went to work at Georgia State University as a professor.
After retiring from Georgia State, she began instructing beginning Latin classes at Emory, said Niall Slater, the former head of the classics department there.
“She was a superb teacher all her life.” he said.
Another turn in life came in 2003, when a women’s group at Emory asked her to give a talk about her codebreaking work, said Fred Benario.
“She prepared about a 45- to 50-minute presentation and it was a huge success,” he said. “People stood up and cheered. She spent the next 12 years giving presentations all over metro Atlanta.”
Benario said his mother blazed new trails in two key ways. Her wartime job demanded that she live independently — uncommon for a woman at the time. And she became a leading light in Atlanta’s World War II community in her 70s and 80s.
She pushed her envelope in another way as well, developing what Slater called “a broader interest in other aspects of World War II.” One example: Slater was a guest lecturer on a 2005 trip to Crete under the auspices of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The island had been captured by the Nazi’s during the war. Benario tagged along, as it brought together her interest in classics and World War II.
Fred Benario said that he doesn’t have any definitive word on why his mother was chosen for the critical war effort but thinks it had much to do with her ample intelligence.
“She was an only child,” he said, “and her father was a lawyer, so her parents did a good job of raising a daughter who was treated as if her brain mattered.”
“Every Day is Memorial Day”
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak (Russian: Лидия Владимировна Литвяк; 18 August 1921, in Moscow – 1 August 1943, in Krasnyi Luch), also known as Lilya, was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II.[1] Historians' estimates for her total victories range from five to twelve solo victories and two to four shared kills in her 66 combat sorties.[2][3][4][5][6] In about two years of operations, she was the first female fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft, the first of two female fighter pilots who have earned the title of fighter ace and the holder of the record for the greatest number of kills by a female fighter pilot. She was shot down near Orel during the Battle of Kursk as she attacked a formation of German aircraft.
Last mission[edit]On August 1, 1943, Litvyak did not come back to her base at Krasnyy Luch. It was her fourth sortie of the day, escorting a flight of Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. As the Soviets were returning to base near Orel,[6] a pair of Bf 109 fighters[28] dove on Litvyak while she was attacking a large group of German bombers. Soviet pilot Ivan Borisenko recalled: “Lily just didn’t see the Messerschmitt 109s flying cover for the German bombers. A pair of them dove on her and when she did see them she turned to meet them. Then they all disappeared behind a cloud.” Borisenko, involved in the dogfight, saw her the last time, through a gap in the clouds, her Yak-1 pouring smoke and pursued by as many as eight Bf 109s.
Borisenko descended to see if he could find her. No parachute was seen, and no explosion, yet she never returned from the mission. Litvyak was 21 years old. Soviet authorities suspected that she might have been captured, a possibility that prevented them from awarding her the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.[35]
Two German pilots are believed to have shot down Litvyak: Iron Cross holder and 30-kill experte Fw. Hans-Jörg Merkle of 1./JG.52, Knight's Cross holder and future 99-kill experte Lt, or Hans Schleef, of 7./JG 3. Merkle is the only pilot that claimed a Yak-1 near Dmitryevka on 1 August 1943, his 30th victory. (Dmitrijewka is where she was last seen and was – reportedly – buried.) This occurred before being rammed and killed by his own victim (Luftwaffe combat report of collision: 3 km east of Dmitrievka). While Schleef claimed a LaGG-3 (often confused in combat with Yak-1s by German pilots) kill on the same day, in the South-Ukraine area where Litvyak's aircraft was at last found.
2
Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.
British Airways Flight 9, better known as the Jakarta incident.
On 24 June 1982, the Boeing 747-200 flew into a cloud of volcanic ash and all engines flamed out. The problem why the engines flamed out wasn't immediately known to the pilots or the ground control. The craft immediately diverted to Jakarta, in hope of gliding past the mountains in Indonesia and ‘crash landing’ safely.
The craft glided for 23 minutes through the volcanic ash cloud and the pilots successfully restarted the engines landing safely. None of the 268 occupants were lost.
It's a cool line from the pilot though.
Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak (Russian: Лидия Владимировна Литвяк; 18 August 1921, in Moscow – 1 August 1943, in Krasnyi Luch), also known as Lilya, was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II.[1] Historians' estimates for her total victories range from five to twelve solo victories and two to four shared kills in her 66 combat sorties.[2][3][4][5][6] In about two years of operations, she was the first female fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft, the first of two female fighter pilots who have earned the title of fighter ace and the holder of the record for the greatest number of kills by a female fighter pilot. She was shot down near Orel during the Battle of Kursk as she attacked a formation of German aircraft.
Last mission[edit]On August 1, 1943, Litvyak did not come back to her base at Krasnyy Luch. It was her fourth sortie of the day, escorting a flight of Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. As the Soviets were returning to base near Orel,[6] a pair of Bf 109 fighters[28] dove on Litvyak while she was attacking a large group of German bombers. Soviet pilot Ivan Borisenko recalled: “Lily just didn’t see the Messerschmitt 109s flying cover for the German bombers. A pair of them dove on her and when she did see them she turned to meet them. Then they all disappeared behind a cloud.” Borisenko, involved in the dogfight, saw her the last time, through a gap in the clouds, her Yak-1 pouring smoke and pursued by as many as eight Bf 109s.
Borisenko descended to see if he could find her. No parachute was seen, and no explosion, yet she never returned from the mission. Litvyak was 21 years old. Soviet authorities suspected that she might have been captured, a possibility that prevented them from awarding her the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.[35]
Two German pilots are believed to have shot down Litvyak: Iron Cross holder and 30-kill experte Fw. Hans-Jörg Merkle of 1./JG.52, Knight's Cross holder and future 99-kill experte Lt, or Hans Schleef, of 7./JG 3. Merkle is the only pilot that claimed a Yak-1 near Dmitryevka on 1 August 1943, his 30th victory. (Dmitrijewka is where she was last seen and was – reportedly – buried.) This occurred before being rammed and killed by his own victim (Luftwaffe combat report of collision: 3 km east of Dmitrievka). While Schleef claimed a LaGG-3 (often confused in combat with Yak-1s by German pilots) kill on the same day, in the South-Ukraine area where Litvyak's aircraft was at last found.
2
Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.
British Airways Flight 9, better known as the Jakarta incident.
On 24 June 1982, the Boeing 747-200 flew into a cloud of volcanic ash and all engines flamed out. The problem why the engines flamed out wasn't immediately known to the pilots or the ground control. The craft immediately diverted to Jakarta, in hope of gliding past the mountains in Indonesia and ‘crash landing’ safely.
The craft glided for 23 minutes through the volcanic ash cloud and the pilots successfully restarted the engines landing safely. None of the 268 occupants were lost.
It's a cool line from the pilot though.
Re: Yes it really happened
Who was the single most ruthless Nazi of all time?
Most Nazi’s were not Evil, they were scared. Hitlers Bodyguard The Schutzstaffel or Black Shirts was the embodiment of Terror. Evil personified. The Man responsible for this was not Hitler, it was Heydrich.
The Hangman of Prague
The tall blond blue eyed SS Commander answered only to Himmler and Hitler. He looked a true Aryan for Hitler’s Master Race ideology, rumours about Jewish ancestry in his own family made him even more ruthless, he created The Police State as deputy head of The SS. Known as Himmler’s Brains, he was the mastermind of The Holocaust. The Man with the Iron Heart was head of The Gestapo the secret police that terrorised any German they seen as an Enemy of The State.
From Dachau the SS rehabilitation camp, he signed the Death warrant in the meeting of The Final Solution. His master plan he presented to Hitler of the complete extermination of The Jewish people of Europe. The many work camps all dotted around the German & Polish countryside and out of sight like Buchenwald & Auschwitz became Death camps. After his assassination by British trained Czech resistance it enraged The Nazi’s into Industrialised Murder on a scale The World had never seen.
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a main architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Main Security Office (including the Gestapo, Kripo, and SD). He was also Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor (Deputy/Acting Reich-Protector) of Bohemia and Moravia. He served as president of the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC, later known as Interpol) and chaired the January 1942 Wannsee Conference which formalised plans for the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question"—the deportation and genocide of all Jews in German-occupied Europe.
Many historians regard Heydrich as the darkest figure within the Nazi regime;[5][6][7] Adolf Hitler described him as "the man with the iron heart".[4] He was the founding head of the Sicherheitsdienst (Security Service, SD), an intelligence organisation charged with seeking out and neutralising resistance to the Nazi Party via arrests, deportations, and murders. He helped organise Kristallnacht, a series of coordinated attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938. The attacks were carried out by SA stormtroopers and civilians and presaged the Holocaust. Upon his arrival in Prague, Heydrich sought to eliminate opposition to the Nazi occupation by suppressing Czech culture and deporting and executing members of the Czech resistance. He was directly responsible for the Einsatzgruppen, the special task forces that travelled in the wake of the German armies and murdered more than two million people by mass shooting and gassing, including 1.3 million Jews.
Heydrich was critically wounded in Prague on 27 May 1942 as a result of Operation Anthropoid. He was ambushed by a team of Czech and Slovak soldiers who had been sent by the Czechoslovak government-in-exile to kill the Reich-Protector; the team was trained by the British Special Operations Executive. Heydrich died from his injuries a week later. Nazi intelligence falsely linked the Czech and Slovak soldiers and resistance partisans to the villages of Lidice and Ležáky. Both villages were razed; all men and boys over the age of 16 were shot, and all but a handful of the women and children were deported and killed in Nazi concentration camps.
2
It is estimated that there were over 100,000 German deserters by the end of the war.
“Arrested in civilian clothes on June 3, 1942, when he attempted to slip out of occupied France, the German sailor was court-martialed for desertion and condemned to execution by firing squad. Baumann's death sentence eventually was commuted to a long prison term and he spent the rest of World War II in a German penal camp before being liberated by Soviet troops.”
“Although Baumann survived Nazi justice, the war pursues him to this day: in the anonymous letters accusing him of cowardice; in the German legal system, which still considers him a convicted felon; in the recurrent nightmares of being led in shackles by his executioners.”
“Baumann has devoted the final years of his life to battling what he -- and a growing number of German historians and politicians -- see as the unfair stigma attached to those who rejected Hitler's war by fleeing.”
“Of an estimated 22,500 German soldiers sentenced to death for desertion, approximately 15,000 were shot or guillotined. More than 5,000 others were condemned for "defeatism" or "subversion of national defense," offenses that included denouncing Adolf Hitler or decrying the war. Of those who escaped execution, all but a few hundred perished in prison or have died in the five decades since the war ended.”
“In an emotional debate that is part of a broader anguish over why so few Germans resisted Hitler's Third Reich, the Bonn Parliament failed to find common ground this fall in reevaluating the legal status of deserters. Baumann and his supporters want a general annulment of sentences by Nazi military courts. They also want formal government recognition that such punishments were unjust because they were meted out by a corrupt, illicit judicial system.”
“But German military justice in the Third Reich was animated by Hitler's dictum: "The soldier can die, the deserter must die." As fortune turned against the Wehrmacht, with catastrophic defeats at Stalingrad, in North Africa and Normandy, desertion became epidemic despite draconian efforts to curb it.”
"It's estimated that by the end of the war there were far more than 100,000 deserters," Haase said.”
“At least some who fled were clearly propelled by righteous, even heroic, impulses. Stefan Hampel, for example, burned his army uniform after witnessing the murder of Jews in Byelorussia and joined a Polish resistance group in Lithuania, according to Haase's research. Setting out for Switzerland to alert the International Committee of the Red Cross to the genocide in Eastern Europe, Hampel was arrested and condemned to death, but survived the war.”
“Countless others fell victim to drumhead courts-martial, which, irrespective of evidence or judicial due process, capriciously convicted those suspected of malingering. Hans von Luck, a highly decorated Wehrmacht colonel now living in Hamburg, recounted dispatching a sergeant to a rear motor pool in the last months of the war only to have the man accused of desertion by a roving judge advocate and summarily shot. Such "flagrant injustice," in von Luck's words, was not uncommon.” ·
Most Nazi’s were not Evil, they were scared. Hitlers Bodyguard The Schutzstaffel or Black Shirts was the embodiment of Terror. Evil personified. The Man responsible for this was not Hitler, it was Heydrich.
The Hangman of Prague
The tall blond blue eyed SS Commander answered only to Himmler and Hitler. He looked a true Aryan for Hitler’s Master Race ideology, rumours about Jewish ancestry in his own family made him even more ruthless, he created The Police State as deputy head of The SS. Known as Himmler’s Brains, he was the mastermind of The Holocaust. The Man with the Iron Heart was head of The Gestapo the secret police that terrorised any German they seen as an Enemy of The State.
From Dachau the SS rehabilitation camp, he signed the Death warrant in the meeting of The Final Solution. His master plan he presented to Hitler of the complete extermination of The Jewish people of Europe. The many work camps all dotted around the German & Polish countryside and out of sight like Buchenwald & Auschwitz became Death camps. After his assassination by British trained Czech resistance it enraged The Nazi’s into Industrialised Murder on a scale The World had never seen.
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a main architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Main Security Office (including the Gestapo, Kripo, and SD). He was also Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor (Deputy/Acting Reich-Protector) of Bohemia and Moravia. He served as president of the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC, later known as Interpol) and chaired the January 1942 Wannsee Conference which formalised plans for the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question"—the deportation and genocide of all Jews in German-occupied Europe.
Many historians regard Heydrich as the darkest figure within the Nazi regime;[5][6][7] Adolf Hitler described him as "the man with the iron heart".[4] He was the founding head of the Sicherheitsdienst (Security Service, SD), an intelligence organisation charged with seeking out and neutralising resistance to the Nazi Party via arrests, deportations, and murders. He helped organise Kristallnacht, a series of coordinated attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938. The attacks were carried out by SA stormtroopers and civilians and presaged the Holocaust. Upon his arrival in Prague, Heydrich sought to eliminate opposition to the Nazi occupation by suppressing Czech culture and deporting and executing members of the Czech resistance. He was directly responsible for the Einsatzgruppen, the special task forces that travelled in the wake of the German armies and murdered more than two million people by mass shooting and gassing, including 1.3 million Jews.
Heydrich was critically wounded in Prague on 27 May 1942 as a result of Operation Anthropoid. He was ambushed by a team of Czech and Slovak soldiers who had been sent by the Czechoslovak government-in-exile to kill the Reich-Protector; the team was trained by the British Special Operations Executive. Heydrich died from his injuries a week later. Nazi intelligence falsely linked the Czech and Slovak soldiers and resistance partisans to the villages of Lidice and Ležáky. Both villages were razed; all men and boys over the age of 16 were shot, and all but a handful of the women and children were deported and killed in Nazi concentration camps.
2
It is estimated that there were over 100,000 German deserters by the end of the war.
“Arrested in civilian clothes on June 3, 1942, when he attempted to slip out of occupied France, the German sailor was court-martialed for desertion and condemned to execution by firing squad. Baumann's death sentence eventually was commuted to a long prison term and he spent the rest of World War II in a German penal camp before being liberated by Soviet troops.”
“Although Baumann survived Nazi justice, the war pursues him to this day: in the anonymous letters accusing him of cowardice; in the German legal system, which still considers him a convicted felon; in the recurrent nightmares of being led in shackles by his executioners.”
“Baumann has devoted the final years of his life to battling what he -- and a growing number of German historians and politicians -- see as the unfair stigma attached to those who rejected Hitler's war by fleeing.”
“Of an estimated 22,500 German soldiers sentenced to death for desertion, approximately 15,000 were shot or guillotined. More than 5,000 others were condemned for "defeatism" or "subversion of national defense," offenses that included denouncing Adolf Hitler or decrying the war. Of those who escaped execution, all but a few hundred perished in prison or have died in the five decades since the war ended.”
“In an emotional debate that is part of a broader anguish over why so few Germans resisted Hitler's Third Reich, the Bonn Parliament failed to find common ground this fall in reevaluating the legal status of deserters. Baumann and his supporters want a general annulment of sentences by Nazi military courts. They also want formal government recognition that such punishments were unjust because they were meted out by a corrupt, illicit judicial system.”
“But German military justice in the Third Reich was animated by Hitler's dictum: "The soldier can die, the deserter must die." As fortune turned against the Wehrmacht, with catastrophic defeats at Stalingrad, in North Africa and Normandy, desertion became epidemic despite draconian efforts to curb it.”
"It's estimated that by the end of the war there were far more than 100,000 deserters," Haase said.”
“At least some who fled were clearly propelled by righteous, even heroic, impulses. Stefan Hampel, for example, burned his army uniform after witnessing the murder of Jews in Byelorussia and joined a Polish resistance group in Lithuania, according to Haase's research. Setting out for Switzerland to alert the International Committee of the Red Cross to the genocide in Eastern Europe, Hampel was arrested and condemned to death, but survived the war.”
“Countless others fell victim to drumhead courts-martial, which, irrespective of evidence or judicial due process, capriciously convicted those suspected of malingering. Hans von Luck, a highly decorated Wehrmacht colonel now living in Hamburg, recounted dispatching a sergeant to a rear motor pool in the last months of the war only to have the man accused of desertion by a roving judge advocate and summarily shot. Such "flagrant injustice," in von Luck's words, was not uncommon.” ·
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Here are major events from history that have inflicted a devastating toll on American lives.
The awful death toll of the Civil War may never fully be known. For more than a century, the number was enshrined at 618,222 fatalities: 360,222 from the Union North and 258,000 from the Confederate South. But in recent decades, historians raised the number to an estimated 750,000 deaths, mostly blamed on the under-counting of Confederate casualties.
That higher figure, if it stands, represents 2.5 percent of the total U.S. population in the 1860s. If a similar war were fought today, it would claim more than 7 million American lives. The death and suffering inflicted by the Civil War is unequaled in U.S. military history.
2
The 1918 flu claimed an unfathomable 50 to 100 million victims worldwide, including an estimated 675,000 Americans. Wrongfully labeled the “Spanish flu,” the first confirmed case of this virulent strain of influenza was actually a U.S. Army cook stationed in Kansas in March of 1918. Spring fatalities from the 1918 flu were similar to the seasonal flu, but after the virus followed troop deployments overseas during WWI, it resurged in the fall with deadly vengeance. October of 1918 was the worst single month of the pandemic, claiming almost 200,000 American lives.
3
In 1981, doctors began reporting mysterious cases of rare types of pneumonia and cancers among predominately gay men in New York and California. The condition, which was later found in blood transfusion recipients and intravenous drug users, was given a name by the CDC in 1982: acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS.
Thanks to safe sex campaigns and the advent of powerful antiretroviral therapies, HIV infections and AIDS deaths plummeted in the late 1990s, but AIDS-related deaths in the United States have held steady at between 10,000 and 15,000 a year. It’s believed that roughly 700,000 Americans have died during the more than 30-year span of the AIDS epidemic.
Researchers soon identified the virus responsible for AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus or HIV), but doctors struggled to treat the crippling symptoms of the disease, which included rapid weight loss, painful sores and susceptibility to lethal cases of pneumonia. At its peak in 1995, the AIDS epidemic claimed more than 50,000 American lives each year.
Unlike the seasonal flu, which is most dangerous to the very old and very young, the 1918 strain cut down otherwise healthy men and women in the prime of life. Movie theaters and social gatherings were shut down to stem the spread of the virus, and face masks were mandatory in places like San Francisco, but without a vaccine the virus was left to run its deadly course by mid-1919.
Here are major events from history that have inflicted a devastating toll on American lives.
The awful death toll of the Civil War may never fully be known. For more than a century, the number was enshrined at 618,222 fatalities: 360,222 from the Union North and 258,000 from the Confederate South. But in recent decades, historians raised the number to an estimated 750,000 deaths, mostly blamed on the under-counting of Confederate casualties.
That higher figure, if it stands, represents 2.5 percent of the total U.S. population in the 1860s. If a similar war were fought today, it would claim more than 7 million American lives. The death and suffering inflicted by the Civil War is unequaled in U.S. military history.
2
The 1918 flu claimed an unfathomable 50 to 100 million victims worldwide, including an estimated 675,000 Americans. Wrongfully labeled the “Spanish flu,” the first confirmed case of this virulent strain of influenza was actually a U.S. Army cook stationed in Kansas in March of 1918. Spring fatalities from the 1918 flu were similar to the seasonal flu, but after the virus followed troop deployments overseas during WWI, it resurged in the fall with deadly vengeance. October of 1918 was the worst single month of the pandemic, claiming almost 200,000 American lives.
3
In 1981, doctors began reporting mysterious cases of rare types of pneumonia and cancers among predominately gay men in New York and California. The condition, which was later found in blood transfusion recipients and intravenous drug users, was given a name by the CDC in 1982: acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS.
Thanks to safe sex campaigns and the advent of powerful antiretroviral therapies, HIV infections and AIDS deaths plummeted in the late 1990s, but AIDS-related deaths in the United States have held steady at between 10,000 and 15,000 a year. It’s believed that roughly 700,000 Americans have died during the more than 30-year span of the AIDS epidemic.
Researchers soon identified the virus responsible for AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus or HIV), but doctors struggled to treat the crippling symptoms of the disease, which included rapid weight loss, painful sores and susceptibility to lethal cases of pneumonia. At its peak in 1995, the AIDS epidemic claimed more than 50,000 American lives each year.
Unlike the seasonal flu, which is most dangerous to the very old and very young, the 1918 strain cut down otherwise healthy men and women in the prime of life. Movie theaters and social gatherings were shut down to stem the spread of the virus, and face masks were mandatory in places like San Francisco, but without a vaccine the virus was left to run its deadly course by mid-1919.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Shortest Land Border between 2 countries
Botswana – Zambia : 155 m (509 ft) near Kazungula
2
When she first came to the world’s attention in 1957 she was dubbed “Muttnik” by U.S. journalists
It was a Soviet space dog who became one of the first animals in space, and the first animal to orbit the Earth. Laika, a stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, was selected to be the occupant of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 that was launched into outer space on 3 November 1957.
3
An explosion aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise kills 27 people in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on January 14, 1969. A rocket accidentally detonated, destroying 15 planes and injuring more than 300 people.
The Enterprise was the first-ever nuclear-powered aircraft carrier when it was launched in 1960. It has eight nuclear reactors, six more than all subsequent nuclear carriers. The massive ship is over 1,100 feet long and carries 4,600 crew members.
At 8:19 a.m. on January 14, a MK-32 Zuni rocket that was loaded on an F-4 Phantom jet overheated due to the exhaust from another vehicle. The rocket blew up, setting off a chain reaction of explosions. Fires broke out across the deck of the ship, and when jet fuel flowed into the carrier’s interior, other fires were sparked. Many of the Enterprise’s fire-protection features failed to work properly, but the crew worked heroically and tirelessly to extinguish the fire.
In all, 27 sailors lost their lives and another 314 were seriously injured. Although 15 aircraft (out of the 32 stationed on the Enterprise at the time) were destroyed by the explosions and fire, the Enterprise itself was never threatened.
The USS Enterprise was repaired over several months at Pearl Harbor and returned to action later in the year.
Shortest Land Border between 2 countries
Botswana – Zambia : 155 m (509 ft) near Kazungula
2
When she first came to the world’s attention in 1957 she was dubbed “Muttnik” by U.S. journalists
It was a Soviet space dog who became one of the first animals in space, and the first animal to orbit the Earth. Laika, a stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, was selected to be the occupant of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 that was launched into outer space on 3 November 1957.
3
An explosion aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise kills 27 people in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on January 14, 1969. A rocket accidentally detonated, destroying 15 planes and injuring more than 300 people.
The Enterprise was the first-ever nuclear-powered aircraft carrier when it was launched in 1960. It has eight nuclear reactors, six more than all subsequent nuclear carriers. The massive ship is over 1,100 feet long and carries 4,600 crew members.
At 8:19 a.m. on January 14, a MK-32 Zuni rocket that was loaded on an F-4 Phantom jet overheated due to the exhaust from another vehicle. The rocket blew up, setting off a chain reaction of explosions. Fires broke out across the deck of the ship, and when jet fuel flowed into the carrier’s interior, other fires were sparked. Many of the Enterprise’s fire-protection features failed to work properly, but the crew worked heroically and tirelessly to extinguish the fire.
In all, 27 sailors lost their lives and another 314 were seriously injured. Although 15 aircraft (out of the 32 stationed on the Enterprise at the time) were destroyed by the explosions and fire, the Enterprise itself was never threatened.
The USS Enterprise was repaired over several months at Pearl Harbor and returned to action later in the year.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Somniloquy
Sleep talking , or somniloquy, is the act of speaking during sleep. It's a type of parasomnia -- an abnormal behavior that takes place during sleep. It's a very common occurrence and is not usually considered a medical problem.
2
Pretty Nose was Arapaho, though in some sources she is referred to as Cheyenne.[4] She was identified as Arapaho on the basis of her red, black and white beaded cuffs.[1][A]
Pretty Nose took part in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876 with a combined Cheyenne/Arapaho detachment.[5]
Pretty Nose's descendant, Mark Soldier Wolf, became an Arapaho tribal elder who served in the US Marine Corps during the Korean War. She witnessed his return to the Wind River Indian Reservation in 1952, at the age of 101. At the time he reported her wearing cuffs that he said indicated she was a war chief.[1]
Pretty Nose was portrayed in the 2017 novel The Vengeance of Mothers: The Journals of Margaret Kelly & Molly McGill by Jim Fergus
3
Phyllis Nan Sortain "Primrose" Pechey (26 February 1909 – 27 December 1994), better known as Fanny Cradock, was an English restaurant critic, television chef and writer.[1] She frequently appeared on television, at cookery demonstrations and in print with Major Johnnie Cradock who played the part of a slightly bumbling hen-pecked husband.
Somniloquy
Sleep talking , or somniloquy, is the act of speaking during sleep. It's a type of parasomnia -- an abnormal behavior that takes place during sleep. It's a very common occurrence and is not usually considered a medical problem.
2
Pretty Nose was Arapaho, though in some sources she is referred to as Cheyenne.[4] She was identified as Arapaho on the basis of her red, black and white beaded cuffs.[1][A]
Pretty Nose took part in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876 with a combined Cheyenne/Arapaho detachment.[5]
Pretty Nose's descendant, Mark Soldier Wolf, became an Arapaho tribal elder who served in the US Marine Corps during the Korean War. She witnessed his return to the Wind River Indian Reservation in 1952, at the age of 101. At the time he reported her wearing cuffs that he said indicated she was a war chief.[1]
Pretty Nose was portrayed in the 2017 novel The Vengeance of Mothers: The Journals of Margaret Kelly & Molly McGill by Jim Fergus
3
Phyllis Nan Sortain "Primrose" Pechey (26 February 1909 – 27 December 1994), better known as Fanny Cradock, was an English restaurant critic, television chef and writer.[1] She frequently appeared on television, at cookery demonstrations and in print with Major Johnnie Cradock who played the part of a slightly bumbling hen-pecked husband.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
The Sook Ching massacre is a bloody event which took place in both Malaysia and Singapore after the defeat of the British army.
The Japanese soldiers rounded up young Chinese men onto trucks and drove them for execution. The massacre took place from 18 February to 4 March 1942 at various places in the region. The operation was overseen by the Kempeitai secret police.
During negotiations with Singapore, the Japanese government rejected demands for reparations but agreed to make a 'gesture of atonement' by providing funds in other ways.
Officially Japan claims that fewer than 5,000 deaths occurred, while Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister, said "verifiable numbers would be about 70,000". In 1966 Japan agreed to pay $50 million in compensation, half of which was a grant and the rest as a loan. They have yet to make an official apology.
Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of Singapore was also sent for execution until he managed to convince a Japanese soldier that he needed to take some of his belongings. Of course he didn’t return to the truck because he would have been a dead man and the history of Singapore would have been very much different.
2
How many bullets does a soldier carry in a war or battle?
Paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne were required to carry 210 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition. That’s 7 30 round magazines. One in your weapon, and 6 more in two magazine pouches.
Most that I served with carried an additional magazine pouch with 3 30 round magazines, for a total of 300 rounds.
We also distributed ammunition among your platoon members. So, in addition to your ammo load, you might carry a 60mm mortar round, a few belts of linked 5.56 for the SAW light machine gun, or a belt of 7.62 mm for the machine guns.
The 82nd has a rare requirement that they maintain sustained combat for 3 days without resupply.
Ammunition is like insurance. You don’t carry ammunition for your average engagement, you carry it for the worst case scenario.
3
Whch University has educated more USA Presidents?
a) Harvard
B) Yale
c) Princeton
Answer to #3
Harvard
Eight U.S. presidents went to Harvard, starting with John Adams, followed by John Quincy Adams, both Roosevelts, and John F. Kennedy, who received 6 undergraduate degrees from Harvard University. Barack Obama, George Bush, and Rutherford Hayes attended Harvard Law and Business schools.
Yale
As it turns out, five US presidents have attended Yale University. They all had slightly different experiences, which makes sense because they all grew up during different eras.
Princeton
U.S. former presidents James Maddison and Woodrow Wilson attended Princeton University.
Woodrow was in fact the only U.S. president to obtain a PhD degree and was also the 13th president of Princeton University before being elected as president of the United States. Woodrow also taught politics and law at Princeton, where he earned his undergraduate degree. Today, Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs is named after him.
John F. Kennedy also attended Princeton University for a short time before transferring to Harvard. Several vice presidents attended Princeton University, including Aaron Burr, George M. Dallas, and John C. Breckinbridge.
The Sook Ching massacre is a bloody event which took place in both Malaysia and Singapore after the defeat of the British army.
The Japanese soldiers rounded up young Chinese men onto trucks and drove them for execution. The massacre took place from 18 February to 4 March 1942 at various places in the region. The operation was overseen by the Kempeitai secret police.
During negotiations with Singapore, the Japanese government rejected demands for reparations but agreed to make a 'gesture of atonement' by providing funds in other ways.
Officially Japan claims that fewer than 5,000 deaths occurred, while Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister, said "verifiable numbers would be about 70,000". In 1966 Japan agreed to pay $50 million in compensation, half of which was a grant and the rest as a loan. They have yet to make an official apology.
Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of Singapore was also sent for execution until he managed to convince a Japanese soldier that he needed to take some of his belongings. Of course he didn’t return to the truck because he would have been a dead man and the history of Singapore would have been very much different.
2
How many bullets does a soldier carry in a war or battle?
Paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne were required to carry 210 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition. That’s 7 30 round magazines. One in your weapon, and 6 more in two magazine pouches.
Most that I served with carried an additional magazine pouch with 3 30 round magazines, for a total of 300 rounds.
We also distributed ammunition among your platoon members. So, in addition to your ammo load, you might carry a 60mm mortar round, a few belts of linked 5.56 for the SAW light machine gun, or a belt of 7.62 mm for the machine guns.
The 82nd has a rare requirement that they maintain sustained combat for 3 days without resupply.
Ammunition is like insurance. You don’t carry ammunition for your average engagement, you carry it for the worst case scenario.
3
Whch University has educated more USA Presidents?
a) Harvard
B) Yale
c) Princeton
Answer to #3
Harvard
Eight U.S. presidents went to Harvard, starting with John Adams, followed by John Quincy Adams, both Roosevelts, and John F. Kennedy, who received 6 undergraduate degrees from Harvard University. Barack Obama, George Bush, and Rutherford Hayes attended Harvard Law and Business schools.
Yale
As it turns out, five US presidents have attended Yale University. They all had slightly different experiences, which makes sense because they all grew up during different eras.
Princeton
U.S. former presidents James Maddison and Woodrow Wilson attended Princeton University.
Woodrow was in fact the only U.S. president to obtain a PhD degree and was also the 13th president of Princeton University before being elected as president of the United States. Woodrow also taught politics and law at Princeton, where he earned his undergraduate degree. Today, Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs is named after him.
John F. Kennedy also attended Princeton University for a short time before transferring to Harvard. Several vice presidents attended Princeton University, including Aaron Burr, George M. Dallas, and John C. Breckinbridge.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
She drank whiskey, swore often, and smoked handmade cigars. She wore pants under her skirt and a gun under her apron. At six feet tall and two hundred pounds, Mary Fields was an intimidating woman.
Mary lived in Montana, in a town called Cascade. She was a special member of the community there. All schools would close on her birthday, and though women were not allowed entry into saloons, she was given special permission by the mayor to come in anytime and to any saloon she liked.
But Mary wasn’t from Montana. She was born into enslavement in Tennessee sometime in the early 1830s, and lived enslaved for more than thirty years until slavery was abolished. As a free woman, life led her first to Florida to work for a family and then Ohio when part of the family moved.
When Mary was 52, her close friend who lived in Montana became ill with pneumonia. Upon hearing the news, Mary dropped everything and came to nurse her friend back to health. Her friend soon recovered and Mary decided to stay in Montana settling in Cascade.
Her beginning in Cascade wasn’t smooth. To make ends meet, she first tried her hand at the restaurant business. She opened a restaurant, but she wasn’t much of a chef. And she was also too generous, never refusing to serve a customer who couldn’t pay. So the restaurant failed within a year.
But then in 1895, when in her sixties, Mary, or as “Stagecoach Mary” as she was sometimes called because she never missed a day of work, became the second woman and first African American to work as a mail carrier in the U.S. She got the job because she was the fastest applicant to hitch six horses.
Eventually she retired to a life of running a laundry business. And babysitting all the kids in town. And going to baseball games. And being friends with much of the townsfolk.
This was Mary Fields. A rebel, a legend.
2
LONDON (Reuters) - He came, he sawed, he conquered. One hundred years ago on Sunday, illusionist P.T. Selbit put a woman in a box on the stage of London's Finsbury Park Empire and sawed right through the wood, creating a magical classic.
Now, 100 years on, magicians from around the world will be getting together online this weekend to celebrate the centenary of that landmark performance.
"This took off and became the most influential and the most famous illusion, in my opinion, that there's ever been," said magician and historian Mike Caveney who is writing a book on the illusion.
"The magician wasn't doing this trick to an inanimate object. He was doing it to a human being, which raised it up to a whole new level."
In the original version, the saw went through, the box was opened and the person emerged unharmed.
Down the years magicians developed refinements, with the two halves pulled apart. Celebrity magician David Copperfield came up with his own version "The Death Saw" where he was the one tied down to a platform as a giant rotary blade sliced him in two.
Sometimes he actually got injured, Copperfield said in an interview filmed for Sunday's online event.
"I got cut a few times by the blade because the blade was a little bit off, you know, stages are different every theatre you have," Copperfield said.
The London-based Magic Circle organisation will host the celebrations with a live streamed-event on Facebook from 1800 GMT on Sunday.
Guests will include Debbie McGee, the wife of the late British TV magician Paul Daniels, who will describe the many times she survived the procedure.
—
She drank whiskey, swore often, and smoked handmade cigars. She wore pants under her skirt and a gun under her apron. At six feet tall and two hundred pounds, Mary Fields was an intimidating woman.
Mary lived in Montana, in a town called Cascade. She was a special member of the community there. All schools would close on her birthday, and though women were not allowed entry into saloons, she was given special permission by the mayor to come in anytime and to any saloon she liked.
But Mary wasn’t from Montana. She was born into enslavement in Tennessee sometime in the early 1830s, and lived enslaved for more than thirty years until slavery was abolished. As a free woman, life led her first to Florida to work for a family and then Ohio when part of the family moved.
When Mary was 52, her close friend who lived in Montana became ill with pneumonia. Upon hearing the news, Mary dropped everything and came to nurse her friend back to health. Her friend soon recovered and Mary decided to stay in Montana settling in Cascade.
Her beginning in Cascade wasn’t smooth. To make ends meet, she first tried her hand at the restaurant business. She opened a restaurant, but she wasn’t much of a chef. And she was also too generous, never refusing to serve a customer who couldn’t pay. So the restaurant failed within a year.
But then in 1895, when in her sixties, Mary, or as “Stagecoach Mary” as she was sometimes called because she never missed a day of work, became the second woman and first African American to work as a mail carrier in the U.S. She got the job because she was the fastest applicant to hitch six horses.
Eventually she retired to a life of running a laundry business. And babysitting all the kids in town. And going to baseball games. And being friends with much of the townsfolk.
This was Mary Fields. A rebel, a legend.
2
LONDON (Reuters) - He came, he sawed, he conquered. One hundred years ago on Sunday, illusionist P.T. Selbit put a woman in a box on the stage of London's Finsbury Park Empire and sawed right through the wood, creating a magical classic.
Now, 100 years on, magicians from around the world will be getting together online this weekend to celebrate the centenary of that landmark performance.
"This took off and became the most influential and the most famous illusion, in my opinion, that there's ever been," said magician and historian Mike Caveney who is writing a book on the illusion.
"The magician wasn't doing this trick to an inanimate object. He was doing it to a human being, which raised it up to a whole new level."
In the original version, the saw went through, the box was opened and the person emerged unharmed.
Down the years magicians developed refinements, with the two halves pulled apart. Celebrity magician David Copperfield came up with his own version "The Death Saw" where he was the one tied down to a platform as a giant rotary blade sliced him in two.
Sometimes he actually got injured, Copperfield said in an interview filmed for Sunday's online event.
"I got cut a few times by the blade because the blade was a little bit off, you know, stages are different every theatre you have," Copperfield said.
The London-based Magic Circle organisation will host the celebrations with a live streamed-event on Facebook from 1800 GMT on Sunday.
Guests will include Debbie McGee, the wife of the late British TV magician Paul Daniels, who will describe the many times she survived the procedure.
—
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Definition Spatchcocked
A dressed and split fowl for roasting or grilling.
spatch·cocked, spatch·cock·ing, spatch·cocks
To prepare (a dressed fowl) for roasting or grilling by splitting open.
2
There are a total of 41,205 Buddhist temples (Thai: Wat) in Thailand since last update. This is confirmed, of which 33,902 are in current use, according to the Office of National Buddhism.[1] Of the 33,902 active temples, 31,890 are of the Maha Nikaya and 1,987 are of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya orders of the Theravada school, while 12 are of the Chinese Nikaya and 13 are of the Anam Nikaya orders of the Mahayana school. Two hundred and seventy-two temples, 217 of the Maha Nikaya order and 55 of the Dhammayut order, hold the status of royal temple. Royal wisungkhamasima (Pali: visuṃ gāmasīmā), official recognition of a temple's legitimacy, has been granted to 20,281 temples.
3
H-bomb lost in Spain
B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 jet tanker over Spain’s Mediterranean coast, dropping three 70-kiloton hydrogen bombs near the town of Palomares and one in the sea. It was not the first or last accident involving American nuclear bombs.
As a means of maintaining first-strike capability during the Cold War, U.S. bombers laden with nuclear weapons circled the earth ceaselessly for decades. In a military operation of this magnitude, it was inevitable that accidents would occur. The Pentagon admits to more than three-dozen accidents in which bombers either crashed or caught fire on the runway, resulting in nuclear contamination from a damaged or destroyed bomb and/or the loss of a nuclear weapon. One of the only “Broken Arrows” to receive widespread publicity occurred on January 17, 1966, when a B-52 bomber crashed into a KC-135 jet tanker over Spain.
The bomber was returning to its North Carolina base following a routine airborne alert mission along the southern route of the Strategic Air Command when it attempted to refuel with a jet tanker. The B-52 collided with the fueling boom of the tanker, ripping the bomber open and igniting the fuel. The KC-135 exploded, killing all four of its crew members, but four members of the seven-man B-52 crew managed to parachute to safety. None of the bombs were armed, but explosive material in two of the bombs that fell to earth exploded upon impact, forming craters and scattering radioactive plutonium over the fields of Palomares. A third bomb landed in a dry riverbed and was recovered relatively intact. The fourth bomb fell into the sea at an unknown location.
Palomares, a remote fishing and farming community, was soon filled with nearly 2,000 U.S. military personnel and Spanish civil guards who rushed to clean up the debris and decontaminate the area. The U.S. personnel took precautions to prevent overexposure to the radiation, but the Spanish workers, who lived in a country that lacked experience with nuclear technology, did not. Eventually some 1,400 tons of radioactive soil and vegetation were shipped to the United States for disposal.
Meanwhile, at sea, 33 U.S. Navy vessels were involved in the search for the lost hydrogen bomb. Using an IBM computer, experts tried to calculate where the bomb might have landed, but the impact area was still too large for an effective search. Finally, an eyewitness account by a Spanish fisherman led the investigators to a one-mile area. On March 15, a submarine spotted the bomb, and on April 7 it was recovered. It was damaged but intact.
Studies on the effects of the nuclear accident on the people of Palomares were limited, but the United States eventually settled some 500 claims by residents whose health was adversely affected. Because the accident happened in a foreign country, it received far more publicity than did the dozen or so similar crashes that occurred within U.S. borders. As a security measure, U.S. authorities do not announce nuclear weapons accidents, and some American citizens may have unknowingly been exposed to radiation that resulted from aircraft crashes and emergency bomb jettisons. Today, two hydrogen bombs and a uranium core lie in yet undetermined locations in the Wassaw Sound off Georgia, in the Puget Sound off Washington, and in swamplands near Goldsboro, North Carolina.
Definition Spatchcocked
A dressed and split fowl for roasting or grilling.
spatch·cocked, spatch·cock·ing, spatch·cocks
To prepare (a dressed fowl) for roasting or grilling by splitting open.
2
There are a total of 41,205 Buddhist temples (Thai: Wat) in Thailand since last update. This is confirmed, of which 33,902 are in current use, according to the Office of National Buddhism.[1] Of the 33,902 active temples, 31,890 are of the Maha Nikaya and 1,987 are of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya orders of the Theravada school, while 12 are of the Chinese Nikaya and 13 are of the Anam Nikaya orders of the Mahayana school. Two hundred and seventy-two temples, 217 of the Maha Nikaya order and 55 of the Dhammayut order, hold the status of royal temple. Royal wisungkhamasima (Pali: visuṃ gāmasīmā), official recognition of a temple's legitimacy, has been granted to 20,281 temples.
3
H-bomb lost in Spain
B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 jet tanker over Spain’s Mediterranean coast, dropping three 70-kiloton hydrogen bombs near the town of Palomares and one in the sea. It was not the first or last accident involving American nuclear bombs.
As a means of maintaining first-strike capability during the Cold War, U.S. bombers laden with nuclear weapons circled the earth ceaselessly for decades. In a military operation of this magnitude, it was inevitable that accidents would occur. The Pentagon admits to more than three-dozen accidents in which bombers either crashed or caught fire on the runway, resulting in nuclear contamination from a damaged or destroyed bomb and/or the loss of a nuclear weapon. One of the only “Broken Arrows” to receive widespread publicity occurred on January 17, 1966, when a B-52 bomber crashed into a KC-135 jet tanker over Spain.
The bomber was returning to its North Carolina base following a routine airborne alert mission along the southern route of the Strategic Air Command when it attempted to refuel with a jet tanker. The B-52 collided with the fueling boom of the tanker, ripping the bomber open and igniting the fuel. The KC-135 exploded, killing all four of its crew members, but four members of the seven-man B-52 crew managed to parachute to safety. None of the bombs were armed, but explosive material in two of the bombs that fell to earth exploded upon impact, forming craters and scattering radioactive plutonium over the fields of Palomares. A third bomb landed in a dry riverbed and was recovered relatively intact. The fourth bomb fell into the sea at an unknown location.
Palomares, a remote fishing and farming community, was soon filled with nearly 2,000 U.S. military personnel and Spanish civil guards who rushed to clean up the debris and decontaminate the area. The U.S. personnel took precautions to prevent overexposure to the radiation, but the Spanish workers, who lived in a country that lacked experience with nuclear technology, did not. Eventually some 1,400 tons of radioactive soil and vegetation were shipped to the United States for disposal.
Meanwhile, at sea, 33 U.S. Navy vessels were involved in the search for the lost hydrogen bomb. Using an IBM computer, experts tried to calculate where the bomb might have landed, but the impact area was still too large for an effective search. Finally, an eyewitness account by a Spanish fisherman led the investigators to a one-mile area. On March 15, a submarine spotted the bomb, and on April 7 it was recovered. It was damaged but intact.
Studies on the effects of the nuclear accident on the people of Palomares were limited, but the United States eventually settled some 500 claims by residents whose health was adversely affected. Because the accident happened in a foreign country, it received far more publicity than did the dozen or so similar crashes that occurred within U.S. borders. As a security measure, U.S. authorities do not announce nuclear weapons accidents, and some American citizens may have unknowingly been exposed to radiation that resulted from aircraft crashes and emergency bomb jettisons. Today, two hydrogen bombs and a uranium core lie in yet undetermined locations in the Wassaw Sound off Georgia, in the Puget Sound off Washington, and in swamplands near Goldsboro, North Carolina.