Tue, Apr 27, 2021
In 1939 the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a non aggression pact and agreed a division of Europe. To claim their spoils the Soviet Union launched an invasion of Finland. But the Finns were well prepared for a guerrilla war. One of their most prominent combatants was Simo Hayha who averaged over five kills per day, including the Soviet snipers who were hunting him, until he was wounded in the final days of of the war.
Sun, May 9, 2021
Arran recounts the ill fated whaling voyage of the Essex. Rammed and sunk by a giant sperm whale, the crew survived on meager supplies for months at sea in the ship's whale boats. Eventually crew members began to succumb to starvation and the surviving crew members turned to cannibalism leaving Hermann Melville a story line for a new book.
Tue, Jul 13, 2021
Legend has it that the monkey statue at the harbor of Hartlepool England is a tribute to the sole survivor of a French shipwreck during the Napoleonic wars. The locals, having never seen, and thinking it was, a Frenchman hanged it as an enemy combatant. But there are any number of other version of the legend running all the way up to the Scottish coast. And you better be careful about which version you favor because deviations from the local story are not well received.
Thu, Aug 19, 2021
In 1978 the MS Munchen disappeared in a storm it was supposed to be capable of handling. Experts were baffled. Then in1995 the Draupner Oil Platform was struck by a rogue wave that was only expected to occur very ten to twenty thousand years. So the ESA launched project MAXWAVE using orbiting satellites to see often monster waves really occur. Their conclusion: every day.
Sun, Oct 17, 2021
During the American Revolution John Paul Jones commanding a single ship sailed to Whitehaven England intent on annihilating a fleet of 400 British ships. All was going to plan until his crew developed a thirst in the local pubs and an ungrateful stowaway raised the alarm. But Jones did manage to sink a few ship and inspire the rebel colonists.
Sun, Nov 7, 2021
Altering the whether is not a new endeavor but it's beginning to look like scientists are starting to get a handle on it. Which raises the question, is it really a good idea. After all, inducing rain just makes it fall in one place instead of another that may also need it. And then there are the side consequences.