On June 23, 1868, American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for a typewriter. Sholes invented the QWERTY keyboard. Along with Samuel W. Soule, Carlos Glidden and John Pratt, Sholes has been contended as one of the inventors of the first typewriter in the United States. — Today: Part 1 of a three-day series, with some useful oral history, from my mother.
On June 22, 1633, Galileo Galilei was coerced by Pope Gregory XV to recant his belief in heliocentrism–that the Earth orbits the Sun. The Vatican did not concede that it was wrong until October 31, 1992. — Today, another review by our tireless Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.
Today is the summer solstice–the day with the most hours of daylight, for our readers in the northern hemisphere. With this many daylight working hours, I’m confident that today was productive, in your gardens! — June 21st is the birthday of Rex Applegate. Pictured. He was born June 21, 1914 and died July 14, 1998. He was the author of Kill or Be Killed. Applegate was the friend and mentor of SurvivalBlog’s Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: …
Today is the anniversary of the death of novelist Vince Flynn. (Born April 6, 1966, died June 19, 2013.) His death at age 47 was a loss to the literary world. And June 20th is the birthday of Audie L. Murphy. He was born in 1925. He died in a plane crash on May 28, 1971. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any …
June 19, 1834 was the birthday of Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon. He died 31 January 1892. He was a British Particular Baptist preacher. SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day …
June 18th is birthday of Pastor Douglas Wilson. Born in 1953, he is the pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho and a prodigious author of books and articles on Reformed theology. — I had to delete a product suggestion from yesterday’s Recommendations of the Week column, post facto. The link was to an Internet vendor that sells DAK canned hams, in pairs. When I created that link about six days ago, they were priced at $8.50 per pair. But as of Wednesday, they had jumped to $37 per pair. So it seems that my warning of an imminent price …
Today is the birthday of musician Red Foley (born, 1910, died September 19, 1968). His patriotic song Smoke on the Water topped the music charts for 13 weeks in late 1944 and early 1945, and charted for 24 weeks. This song, which describes the doom of tyrants, would be considered quite politically incorrect these days. June 17th is also the birthday of novelist John Ross, who was born in 1957. He is best known as the author of the novel Unintended Consequences. And June 17th is the birthday of Libertarian economist Harry Browne. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present …
On June 16, 1980 the movie The Blues Brothers debuted in Chicago. It was very successful in its theatrical release, and has had a cult-like following as a home video. — I just heard that the folks who run Naturally Cozy (one of our long-time writing contest sponsors) is re-launching their Privy Paper business. They sell massive rolls of TP, stacked in 5 gallon plastic buckets. This is a brilliant idea that saves a tremendous amount of storage space. SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this …
On July 15th, 1888, the Bandai Volcano erupted on the Japanese island of Honshu killing hundreds and burying many nearby villages in ash. While Honshu is in an area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, this eruption was surprising. The volcano had erupted only four times in the 1,000 years prior and none had been particularly deadly. However, this eruption was different. The rumblings started just after 7 a.m. Within 30 minutes there was an explosion on the north side of the mountain and over the next two hours there were dozens of explosions giving villagers very little time to …
During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution on June 14th, 1777, stating that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” The national flag, which became known as the “Stars and Stripes,” was based on the “Grand Union” flag– a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also had 13 red and white stripes. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes …
On June 13, 1983, after more than a decade in space, Pioneer 10– the world’s first outer-planetary probe– left the solar system. The next day, it radioed back its first scientific data on interstellar space. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models. A Gunsite Academy Three Day …
On June 12, 1987, during a visit to the divided German city of Berlin, President Ronald Reagan publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.” — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used …
John Wayne, the iconic American film actor, died on June 11th, 1979. While John Wayne is probably best known for his westerns like True Grit, The Shootist, and Fort Apache, we remember him most for his roles in The Alamo and The Green Berets, both of which reflected his patriotic, conservative leanings. — The Theater of the Absurd in Seattle, Washington is morphing, daily. The latest news is that a 7-block district has been declared the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ). The Seattle Police Department meekly and obligingly evacuated and abandoned a precinct police station, leaving these communist hooligans to …
Some Observations on Recent Events: This whole kneeling thing (most recently in the Capitol rotunda) is getting over-played. In my estimation kneeling positions are apropos only for praying, proposing marriage, or for shooting. I am happy to extend a hand of friendship anyone of any skin tone, or any religion, if they show mutual respect for law and reason. And I would give my life, fighting for the rights of others to assemble publicly, to speak out, and to seek redress for grievances. That is where I draw the line: Protesting?: Yes. Looting?: No. I submit only to Lord Jesus …
On June 9, 1940 Norway surrendered to the invading German army, during World War II. The citizenry was then quickly disarmed by the Nazis, so resistance was limited. (The invaders had access to the Norwegian police gun registration lists.) To limit reprisals by the Germans, King Hakkon the 7th ordered that only Norwegian troops operating from offshore should overtly resist the Nazis. The “H7” logo became the ubiquitous symbol of resistance in occupied Norway. — We’re Back Online! SurvivalBlog was unavailable for several hours yesterday afternoon and evening (June 8, 2020) due to a server migration—from one server rack to …
