Author: Michael Hodges
99 Degree Luftballons
On this day in 1927, a gust of wind pushed the airship USS Los Angeles into an almost vertical position as it was moored to a mast at NAS Lakehurst. The crew tried to right the airship by climbing the keel towards the tail before it settled back down with only minor damage and no…
A Republic, if you can keep it.
Happy Independence Day!
“Hey Siri… add toothpaste to my shopping list..”
Ending Father’s Day by using my daughter’s toothpaste because apparently I’ve run out and didn’t have another in the cabinet. 🤔🤷♂️
The Steagles
71 years ago today, with World War II underway and 640 NFL players serving leaving a number of teams with depleted rosters, the NFL approved The Pittsburgh Steelers – Philadelphia Eagles merger.While the league’s official record book refers to the team as the “Phil-Pitt Eagles-Steelers Combine,” the unofficial nickname that would stick was “The “Steagles.”
Memorial Day
The rifle is affixed with a bayonet and inverted, signifying that the Soldier went down fighting. The boots signify the Soldier’s last march onto the battlefield. Dog tags are imprinted with the Soldier’s name and hung from the rifle so their identity will never be forgotten. The helmet is placed atop the rifle representing what…
Catch me if you can!
This photo was taken in April of 1985 over the Irish Sea by Adrian Meredith who was flying in a Royal Air Force Tornado fighter jet and it’s the only photo of a Concorde flying at supersonic speed. Even though the Tornado is capable of matching the Concorde’s cruising speed, it could only do it…
Notable Freemasons: Edward Jenner
Edward Jenner (b. 1749; d. 1823) was an English physician who was a contributor to the development of the smallpox vaccine. The practice of vaccination was popularized by Jenner, and since then has been used vigorously to prevent several diseases. The terms vaccine and vaccination are derived from Variolae vaccinae (smallpox of the cow), the…
The 1963 Flying Fury
Naval Aviation history you probably never knew about…In 1978, while in port at Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines, some folks from RVAH-1 “captured” a 1963 Plymouth Fury and brought it back on board the USS Enterprise, CVN-65. The Sailors marked up the Fury to represent the Squadron and the ship. Then when they…
Cruise Control
Ralph R, Teetor, of Hagerstown, Indiana, where he was a member of Hagerstown Lodge, was blinded in an accident at the age of 5, but he never let his loss of sight stop his ingenious work in the filed of engineering. One of his inventions used today by countless numbers of motorists on the highway…