An Ounce

 Two of the greatest challenges in war are (1) getting your weapon to hit what you are aiming at, and (2) destroying what you hit. 

Over time, great improvements have been made in the boom part. Well tested and proven explosives, fuses, and triggers have made assuring the ‘bang’ part of a weapon is quite predictable. Thus, if you could put the bomb somewhere close, there was a good chance the target was destroyed. 

Refining the accuracy part – hitting what you are aiming at - has been an interesting, and in some ways, a more challenging progression.

So, some brilliant folks had a few ideas to more precisely put the explosives where they needed to be. There were competing ideas. One was to employ advancing technology like radar, and later-on GPS and lasers. A competing concept was using tested and proven biological technology trained to zero in on the target. That is to say, installing, or integrating, a ‘lab rat’ (or something like it) into the weapon that was trained to ‘fly’ the payload directly into the target - or in this case a pigeon.

https://cyberneticzoo.com/bionics/1940-project-pigeon-1948-project-orcon-b-f-skinner-american/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pigeon
https://www.military-history.org/feature/pigeon-guided-missiles.htm
https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_690069
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/bf-skinners-pigeon-guided-rocket-53443995/ 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

 In 1943, the Nazi’s had taken brutal control of Rome, Italy – as a result of the fall of Mussolini earlier in the summer. And the Nazi’s were systematically emptying the Jewish ghetto’s, and shipping the former residents in railroad box cars to concentration camps and their deaths.

Somehow, a few slipped away, and took refuge in Fatebenefratelli Hospital, on a tiny island in the middle of Romes Tiber river – situated just across from one of the Jewish Ghettos. And at the hospital, these refugees were fortunate to find a few allies. Allies with courage – advocates that at the risk of their own lives, and the lives of their own families - were willing to help.

But, how could all these people, moving through the hospital over about a year, be kept from the prying eyes, and probing questions of the Nazi’s? 

Well, an ingeniously whacky plan was quickly hatched. The physicians uncovered– or invented - a rare, malignant, contagious, disfiguring, painful, and torturous malady. A new one. One that wasn’t yet in the medical books. It was called Syndrome K. 

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/to-save-jews-and-keep-nazis-away-these-doctors-invented-a-fake-infectious-disease/ 

https://qz.com/724169/an-italian-doctor-explains-syndrome-k-the-fake-disease-he-invented-to-save-jews-from-the-nazis 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

 Things Change - 
The past is full of Surprises -
And the future will be too...

For Example: In the past, the barber shop was the place where there was always someone with some high quality and sharp instruments and good, steady hands. (Still is)
But not so long ago at the barber shop, you could be a spectator to a tooth extraction –
Minor surgeries –
And if you were really lucky, maybe even an amputation!
There wasn’t much else going on, so yes – this kind of stuff drew a crowd of onlookers.
No kidding – if things had gone just a bit differently it would be your barber doing your appendectomy, removing your tonsils, heck maybe some open heart or a little cosmetic surgery! 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

A uniuqe story of a character you ought to know, but you probably don't. THere is a twist to this story that will suprize you.

Khutulun, a remarkable Mongolian warrior, horseman, and undefeated wrestler, was a great-grandchild of Genghis Khan. Born to Kaidu Khan, a descendant of the third son of Genghis 

Khutulun, born sometime around 1260 AD. And raised with 14 brothers. When they were young, they spent their time riding, perfecting their skills with the bow, fighting, and learning the art of battle. And as a part of that, Khutulun became a highly proficient wrestler in the traditional Mongol style. 

Also See  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khutulun 

https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/wrestling/article/3100842/forget-mulan-meet-khutulun-mongolias-undefeated 

https://historynavigator.org/2017/12/01/the-undefeated-khutulun/ 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

 Did you know that every British tank, from WW2 on, has a tea kettle in it? 

The British and their tea have a powerful relationship. It is part of a well-known and celebrated cultural institution. The Brits discovered tea hundreds of years ago, during the early 1600s, in China. And – over the centuries - for many, it has become a defining element of being British. And this tradition is one they have shared worldwide.

Afternoon tea was customarily accompanied by polite and positive conversation. It happened regardless of the circumstances or the people you were with. Conflict, worry, and insult were simply not proper. One might be in battle or at home in the lap of luxury. With friends and family, strangers, or even enemies. When it is time for tea, you take time - and brew some tea. 

A requisite part of British identity and tradition around it is empire was Tea - even a part of its armed conflicts. So much so, that British tanks are designed and fitted with a kettle in the crew compartment. 

 Well, they do. And there is a reason – so let’s explore a little – 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

In 1998 a discovery of over 1200 bones and fragments in a 3-foot by 3-foot basement room. The bones were discovered during a renovation of the home by a workman – who noticed a thighbone sticking up out of the ground. Their location: 36 Craven Street, London. A home in which Benjamin Franklin boarded for several years prior to the American Revolution. At that time the home belonged to Margaret Stevenson and her daughter Polly. 

The police became involved as a matter of policy. And the authorities dated this rather large cache of remains to be a bit over two hundred years old - from the time Franklin was living in the home. 

It was determined that the bone pile found in Ben Franklin’s residence belonged to at least 28 individuals, 6 of whom were children, and 43 various animals. Could it be that Ben Franklin - this American founding father – was a serial killer? …. If he was, he worked at a scale that would have made Jack the ripper envious. 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

 Cats have a strong presence in human society and in our history. The Cat held a sacred place with the Pharaohs in Egyptian history. The pagans also looked upon the cat with great respect.

But there was a time in history when that balance between humans and felines was destabilized – and it didn’t go well for the humans.
In one interpretation of events, beginning in the early 1200s, the cat found itself on the wrong side of Pope Gregory the 9th. He had a real problem with felines. Most especially black ones. The Pope published an edict declaring that cats were bad. So bad that they carried with them the spirit of the Devil with them – and they could not be trusted.

Many of the folks got pretty committed to the ‘kill the evil cat’ cause.
Problem is, in the real world, when you kill the predator, the natural result is that the prey explodes in population. In this case the prey whose life expectancy and numbers dramatically increased were mice, and rats … who carry fleas, that also carry the plague. 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

 What happened? How did Brailsford turn things around for the British Cycling Team such that a very marginal group of blokes on bikes progressed to true and legitimate competitors. And then to the topping of the cycling throne? In a word – he didn’t do much. 

 

https://hbr.org/2015/10/how-1-performance-improvements-led-to-olympic-gold 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/oct/20/marginal-gains-tarnished-bradley-wiggins-dave-brailsford 

https://www.limelight.consulting/hub/articles/principle-of-marginal-gains-coach-improves-everything-by-one-percent 

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/23/how-to-be-mentally-tough-use-the-1percent-marginal-gains-rule-says-performance-expert.html 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

It was Sunday night, October 30th, 1938, when we first learned that aliens had invaded at Grover's Mill in New Jersey. This report came over the radio airwaves on the CBS Mercury Radio Theater on the Air. 

According to the news dispatches aired, local law enforcement was informed, and curious folks had come to look. The local radio station arrived with a reporter who was able to report live from the scene to describe everything. The first alien spacecraft crashed into the surface of the earth, and for a time it sat quiet. 

It was just a curiosity, until the aliens emerged to wreak havoc on the peaceful citizens. In their advance the aliens left nothing alive, and nothing but a barren smoldering wasteland in their wake. 

Then 60 minutes after it began, the radio play, The War of the Worlds ended, as the invading Martians were rapidly killed off by a simple virus, they had no defense for – and the earth was safe again. 

 The next morning, the Newspapers were filled with reports of mass panic and nationwide hysteria by those who caught the radio program the night before. 

But did it?

Also See:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/madisonmcgee/people-are-sharing-the-wildest-historical-events-that-are    -    item 7

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/infamous-war-worlds-radio-broadcast-was-magnificent-fluke-180955180/

https://youtu.be/Xs0K4ApWl4g?si=YgGS1lG85YgBt-LB

https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2013/threatened-by-radio-newspapers-exaggerated-war-of-the-worlds-panic/

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

What do you think? If you put a five-foot nothin’, less than 100 lb. woman armed with only her bare hands, up against a full-grown, 700 pound hungry polar bear, who would win the fight? 

If one were to match any human up against a polar bear, the human would have little to no chance of surviving. Unless the human has a high-powered rifle, a sufficient amount of ammo, and can hit what they are aiming at. 

It did not turn out as expected when one polar bear made a bad choice and skulked into a little village in the northernmost region of North America. It was looking for a snack, maybe? Then, It began sizing up a 7-year-old boy. But when the 7-year-old's mom noticed the bear - and it was on. 

 

https://www.espn.com/outdoors/general/news/story?id=2338668 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mother-fights-off-polar-bear-to-save-children-1.625164 

https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/polar_bear_no_match_for_fearsome_mother_in_ivujivik1/ 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

Have you ever noticed someone who just looks very different? Maybe it’s a noticeable scar, or strange hair color, or that they are just really out of place, or odd. 

Worse yet, have you paid attention to the proclamation of some ‘authoritative expert’ that a particular physical attribute is a true sign of beauty? … Then looked in the mirror to see if you possess it? Or worse, done the mirror check to look for what someone else told you was unattractive. 

Our society has moved to a point where folks are constantly comparing themselves to the standard that they are convinced represents real beauty and attractiveness - and finding themselves unable to measure up to that ideal. So, needlessly, they opt for surgery, or spend huge amounts of time and money trying to get that look. 

Today, this unreasonable concern that we might be unattractive is causing serious issues for our mental wellbeing, by convincing people they are ugly – or that everyone thinks they are ugly, not worthy, or alone because of that. 

It is so bad that some see no other way out but to take their own lives. 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

 At 3:15 PM on January 26th, 1972, fight 367, a DC-9, took off from Copenhagen. About 45 minutes later, everything changed for the 28 passengers and crew. 

Vesna Vulovik ( Vez-nah Vah-low-vek) was in a place she wasn’t intended to be. But her employer got her mixed up with a different Vesna on the roster. She could have declined the assignment from JAT Airways, the Yugoslavian State airline, where she worked as a flight attendant. But, Vesna Vulovik decided to take the mistaken assignment, as she was excited to travel to Denmark.
 
At the time, Eastern Europe was not all the safest place to be. Croatian terrorists had been active, and causing trouble for Yugoslavia, since the early 60s. Commercial airliners had been one of the Croatians targets for bombings and hijackings – especially the State Airline, JAT. 

Like most of us, at just 23, Vesna Vulovik was immortal. Who worries about things like that when you are young. She was a determined young lady wanting to live a great life. And being a flight attendant was going to help her get what she was after. 

 

 Other Sources:

https://www.deseret.com/23890083/longest-fall-survived-vesna-vulovic 

https://www.damninteresting.com/vesnas-fall/ 

https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/vesna-vulovic/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulovi%C4%87 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

There are a few songs that have lyrics that nobody seems to be able to decipher. And, you might be surprised to find out just how ridiculously far efforts to find their meanings went. 

We’re not necessarily talking those songs that have a word or two, here or there, that you can’t quite figure out.                         

Because, there are those where you can understand every word – but the message is an enigma. Even when super fans can tell you they know what the words Truly mean. Perhaps the meaning is known only to the composer – or maybe there is any logic to them– the words just sound good together. 

And then – there are those where the artist mushes up the words and phrases so much, you can’t be sure they are speaking words. 
 

https://www.buzzfeed.com/madisonmcgee/people-are-sharing-the-wildest-historical-events-that-are  Item 11 

https://vault.fbi.gov/louie-louie-the-song/louie-louie-the-song/view 

Additional Reference:
 

Richard Berry, speaking in an interview, revealed the lyrics he wrote were meant to be the lamentations of a love sick sailor, from the Caribbean, talking to a bartender named Louie as follows: 
“Louie Louie, me gotta go. 
A fine little girl, she wait for me. Me catch the ship across the sea. I sailed the ship all alone. I never think I’ll make it home. 
Louie Louie, me gotta go. 
Three nights and days we sailed the sea. Me think of girl constantly. On the ship, I dream she there. I smell the rose in her hair. 
Louie Louie, me gotta go. 
Me, see Jamaican moon above. It won’t be long me see me love. Me take her in my arms, and then I tell her I never leave again. 
Louie Louie, me gotta go.” 

(By Richard Berry. Copyright 1957-1963 by Limax Music Inc.) 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

There are occasions when the stars align and bring a little light to even a difficult circumstance. Sometimes it hard for us to see. We get lost in the problem at hand. We focus on righting the wrong. Or, we might just walk away trying to forget the whole thing. But, if and when, we turn and take it in – as it is – there is often a sparkle of brilliance to be found.

This is just such a story. At the end of this episode, you’ll hear one of the lesser known, and more poignant aspects, of what came to pass on a day never to be forgotten.

https://www.ussutah1941.org/baby-nancy.html     
https://stationhypo.com/2022/12/14/a-baby-girl-is-entombed-on-the-uss-utah-at-pearl-harbor/         
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2022/07/21/baby-pearl-harbor/       

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

There are times when people are faced with very difficult problems. And the way they choose to deal with their challenges provide lessons for us to learn from. 

And as this story concludes, you’ll learn a laudable lesson from our history from a lesser-known moment during the War of 1812. 

The people of the Town of (lou-uhs), spelled Lewes, Delaware, found themselves in quite a pickle. It was April 6th, 1813. A sizeable British flotilla arrived off the coast. They dropped anchor and fired 2 shots over the town – Just to get everyone’s attention. 

Shortly after their demonstration of firepower, one of the ships launched a skiff. And, under a white flag, several British officers came ashore – to - talk. They had a message from Commodore James Beresford, the commanding officer of the flotilla. His pronouncement was pretty simple and succinct. “We will blast your town to pieces and kill everyone in it, unless you provide us with supplies”. 

Find out how the hardy New Englanders responded to the threat!

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

On occasion, you have to make a choice – and the options are all bad. Sometimes this is because you have gotten yourself into a mess – other times the mess finds you. And there are situations when it doesn’t really matter – all heck just breaks loose. 

What do you-do when the only choices left are bad ones? 

It was early in the afternoon of October 3rd, 1967, and a B-52 bomber had risen from a runway in the deserts of California. This was not your average B-52. It was still that enormous jet aircraft with a huge wingspan. The one capable of carrying an enormous and devastating load of explosives to pretty much anywhere on the planet. This one, however, wasn’t carrying any bombs. 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

Have you ever experienced one of those tender moments that hit you right in the “feels” - as they say? A time when great love, compassion, care, or concern just grabs your heart. On occasion, that feeling tickles your eyes, and tears escape. You might even notice a glow, or a sense of stepping out of time for a moment. 

There is an expression that describes it well – and there is a reality of the human anatomy that ties the emotional and the physical together. Stick around for a few minutes and I will let you in on it. 

But, be warned, we are talking about things that some don’t want to discuss, or even acknowledge. But, the insights here will justify some, and help others accept and not fear. 

If you are human, you have felt it. Even the gruffest and toughest feel it. And so do the logical, overly practical, and even clinical ones. 

Don’t worry, secret is safe with me – 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

Every once in a while, a critical event occurs. Something happens, and the possible outcomes are thrown into the air to decide how history will be written. 

For example, It’s a snowy night. And a man was driving home. The streets were wet and slick. The air cold. Between the wet and the car's dim headlights, his ability to see in front of him was poor. 

He saw a dark figure just ahead of him and hit the brakes then, almost simultaneously, a thump. Not one of those thumps where a chuck of ice flips up into the undercarriage. But instead, a solid, velocity changing whack, and decelerating vibration, that let him know he really hit something. 
 

Ok now, Same Story – Different perspective: 

A British gentleman was traveling by cab to an old friend’s apartment in New York, having been invited for a late visit. It was about 10:30 at night. Knowing he was close, but not being familiar with the area, he decided to exit the cab. He figured it would be quicker to navigate the final bit on foot, reading the address numbers. 

He found the address. He bolted to cross the street. Halfway across, he saw headlights approaching from the right. Thinking like a Brit, he instinctively believed he was in the clear, and continued across. Expecting the car to pass behind him. 

Being a visitor from London, he was accustomed to navigating a big city with its traffic. But in the darkness, he miscalculated, or has a potentially fatal brain vapor. Perhaps, for a moment, he forgot he wasn’t in London, where cars travel on the opposite side of the road. 

Without a second thought, he stepped forward directly into the path of an oncoming car. He recalled there was a sudden, violent jarring impact across his thighs and forehead. 

And then found himself on the ground. 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

Have you ever been in one of those situations? You know… You are trying to get somewhere, or accomplish a task, or find an answer … and you just feel lost, or blind. So, you stop and look for help. You try to comprehend where you are, and how to get where you need to be. But all you learn is that you can not remain where you are. So, you just keep pressing forward (or pressing in the direction that seems like forward) with no idea if you’ll find what you are looking for. 

This analogous story explores that situation. It is set in the mid 1800s. A simple farmer was trying to get home on a January evening. Dark seemed to come on earlier than normal. The sky was dim and hazy, and there was a cold bite in the air. Gratefully he was dressed for the cold, but he worried that his family might be getting low on wood for the old cook stove they used to heat their 2-room house. 

The snow began to fall, gently, like cotton. Big wet puffs drifting down and covering the mud that colored the snow and ice that had fallen a week before. It had been nice to have a day or two with temperatures above freezing – but the wet shallow mud was bothersome – and left dark stains and puddles along the track he was following to get back home. 

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

In 1955 a beautiful fire truck was manufactured in Allentown, Pennsylvania. This Mack model B-85 was a ladder truck and was of course the classic red.  

Like any classy red vehicle from the 1950s – it was, of course, a convertible! And to offset its bright red color, the truck had silver chrome bumpers, shiny silver chrome sirens, an old-fashioned signal bell mounted at the left front, and red lights all around. It is the kind of rig you could easily imagine dashing to the rescue with a Dalmatian in the center seat, lights flashing, sirens blaring, with firefighters hanging off the back. 

This awesome open-top fire truck was placed into service with the volunteer fire department in the little town of Woodsboro, Maryland – not too far from Baltimore and Washington, DC – where it became known as Truck 16. 

As the nation collectively experienced the nightmare of September 11, 2001, a call came to the Volunteer fire station in Woodsboro, Maryland. 

It was later in the day on the 11th, the towers had collapsed, the pentagon was burning, and one passenger jet had flown into the ground in an open field, just up the road in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 

“We need truck 16 now, at the pentagon, it’s the only truck that can do the job – get here – now!”  the caller said. ....

We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!