A Brief History On April 19, 2021, the aptly named Ingenuity became the first man-made aircraft to fly on any planet other than Earth. Digging Deeper A helicopter powered by a solar battery, Ingenuity is able to fly in the thin atmosphere of Mars, only about .6% as dense as on Earth.  Weighing in at about four pounds, Ingenuity has amassed over two hours of airtime in 71 flights by January 19, 2024.  Ingenuity has travelled over 10 miles of surface distance at a max height of 79 feet with a max speed of 22.4 mph. Transported to Mars with…

A Brief History On April 18, 1518, Bona Sforza d’Aragona, Duchess of Bari and Rossano, became Queen consort of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania when she became the second wife of Sigismund the Old, the reigning King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Digging Deeper In the way of convoluted European monarchies, history is replete with international marriages that put foreigners on the throne of any given country, and sometimes lack of a suitable heir to a throne caused a search for foreign candidates to rule. Not only do we see the English throne occupied by Danes, Normans,…

A Brief History On April 17, 1912, Russian Imperial soldiers fired on a crowd of protesting goldfield workers in Siberia that were upset about the arrest of their strike committee.  Perhaps 270 striking workers were killed and a similar number wounded.  Such brutal treatment ultimately led to the Russian Revolution and the formation of the USSR, a self-described “workers’ paradise.” Digging Deeper Soviet authorities, especially the Cheka secret police, killed protesting and striking workers on a grand scale, both by gunning down workers and by executing arrested workers.  Killings of disgruntled workers and soldiers included drowning as well as shooting!…

A Brief History On April 16, 1947, the SS Grandcamp, a French freighter carrying 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate blew up at the dock in Texas City, Texas, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.  Obviously, such a huge blast was a disaster, killing close to 600 people and injuring 5,000 more. Digging Deeper The giant blast set off explosions and fires in the surrounding area, causing further destruction and mayhem.  A two ton anchor from the unlucky ship was hurled over a mile and a half from the scene!  The larger, five ton anchor, was launched a half…

A Brief History On April 15, 1955, McDonald’s hamburger and fast-food chain claims their founding by Ray Kroc in Illinois when he opened a franchise restaurant of the hamburger stand brand founded by Richard and Maurice McDonald in California.  Since Kroc made McDonald’s the fast-food giant that it is, it is not surprising he would use the date of his involvement as the “founding” date. Digging Deeper Some interesting McDonald’s facts include: Mickey D’s has over 40,000 locations in at least 119 countries. The runners up in most fast-food locations is Subway, followed by Starbucks, KFC, and Burger King. McDonald’s…