[1]On September 30, 1880, American amateur astronomer Henry Draper took the first-ever photograph of the Orion Nebula. More recent images have of course been more dazzling, but Draper’s was the first.
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On this day in 1938, the short-lived Treaty of Munich was signed by Hitler, Mussolini, Daladier, and Chamberlain. This treaty forced Czechoslovakia to cede territory to Germany.
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I just heard of the death of Kris Kristofferson [2], at age 88. First known for his music, and later for his acting, he was among America’s Larger Than Life crowd. I first became aware of him as an actor when I watched the 1987 television miniseries Amerika. So now Willie Nelson is the last surviving member of The Highwaymen. Kris just made it to Heaven’s Gate [3]. (Seriously, he did become a Christian [4], and he wasn’t shy about talking about it.)
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Today’s feature article is a review by our own Tom Christianson.
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Round 114 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest [5] ends today, but we are seeking entries for Round 115. More than $900,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics [6]. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. You can start writing an entry for Round 115 and e-mail [7] it to us. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.