Author Archives: andrewspaulw

The Lindbergh Kidnapping – a Real Crime of the Century

Most know aviator Charles Lindbergh famously flew his single engine plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, for 33 hours from Long Island to Paris in 1927, becoming the first to cross the Atlantic solo.

The Race for the Polio Vaccine – Salk vs. Sabin

Long before COVID, during the early 1900’s, summer was not a welcomed season for both parents and children.  For back then, summer was also ‘Polio Season.’ Children were susceptible to poliomyelitis, an incurable disease that affects the central nervous system resulting in paralysis.  Polio is a highly contagious virus that spreads from contact with waterContinue reading “The Race for the Polio Vaccine – Salk vs. Sabin”

Australia began as a British Penal Colony over 230 years ago

It’s no longer a well-hidden fact, nor even an embarrassment, that Australia was founded as the Botany Bay Penal Colony in the late 18th century.  But how exactly did an entire continent come to be settled by British convicts? Botany Bay is an inlet on the eastern coast of Australia, just south of Sidney.  InContinue reading “Australia began as a British Penal Colony over 230 years ago”

APOLLO 1 – The Forgotten First NASA Disaster

Everyone remembers the Challenger and Columbia Space Shuttle disasters. We all know the famous Apollo 11 Moon landing and the historic first steps of Neil Armstrong in 1969.  But few outside NASA recall the Apollo 1 Tragedy that happened just 2 years earlier.  On January 27, 1967, during a launch rehearsal at Cape Kennedy, aContinue reading “APOLLO 1 – The Forgotten First NASA Disaster”

Podcast: Razor Tojo – Japan’s Adolf Hitler

  Contrary to popular myth, Japan’s version of Adolf Hitler was not the Emperor Hirohito, but rather its infamous Minister of War, Hideki Razor Tojo. But who was this ruthless and powerful man so few outside Japan know of?  He rose to power in the 1930’s, began World War II in the Pacific, and wasContinue reading “Podcast: Razor Tojo – Japan’s Adolf Hitler”

Podcast: Five Reasons the Johnstown Flood Disaster should never have happened

The terrible Johnstown Flood of 1889 was more of a man-made Tsunami.  Yes, there was flooding at first. The ‘Storm of the Century‘ rains arrived in the deep Pennsylvania valley on Memorial Day, 1889. The two rivers that flanked the steel mill town began to swell.  But it wasn’t until the aging South Fork DamContinue reading “Podcast: Five Reasons the Johnstown Flood Disaster should never have happened”