On December 7, 1909, inventor Leo Baekeland [1] patented the first thermosetting plastic, Bakelite. This sparked the birth of the plastics industry. By the 1930s, the majority of tabletop radios had Bakelite cabinets.
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On this day in 43 B.C., Roman orator and politician Marcus Tullius Cicero [2] was assassinated in Formiae by soldiers under the command of Mark Antony. [3]
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December 7, 1703: The Great Storm of 1703 hit Southern England – thousands were killed, Royal Navy losses included 13 ships and around 1,500 seamen.
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On a Sunday morning in 1941, America was caught sleeping. Then there was that September morning, in 2001. Let’s pray that we don’t have any more days like those, ever again. – JWR
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Today’s feature article is by JWR.
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We are seeking entries for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest [4]. More than $935,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics [5]. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail [6] us your entry. 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.