# Things worth remembering



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

*Dick Cole, the last veteran of a World War Two bombing raid on Japan in retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor, has died. He was 103 years old.*The famed Doolittle raid was named for then Lt Col Jimmy Doolittle, who led the first US strikes against Japan during the war in 1942. Retired Lt Cole was Lt Col Doolittle's co-pilot in the lead plane. The raid, which included 16 B-25 bombers and 80 crew members, helped boost morale after Pearl Harbor.​
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47875466


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

3 years later USA killed about 150,000 civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki starting a trend of slaughter in Asia which continues to this day.


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

No matter what one thinks of the a-bombs, and I am not one who finds the way they were used legitimate, it's the sort of overly sweeping statements that work against their purposes - since you are forgetting say the Nanjing massacres in 1937, or the general history of violence in China, later events in Cambodia etc. But these remarks are moving away from the rules of the forum & I won't be commenting any further.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

joen_cph said:


> No matter what one thinks of the a-bombs, and I am not one who finds the way they were used legitimate, it's the sort of overly sweeping statements that work against their purposes - since you are forgetting say the Nanjing massacres in 1937, or the general history of violence in China, later events in Cambodia etc. But these remarks are moving away from the rules of the forum & *I won't be commenting any further*.


Too late chum, you just have.

Best to keep in line with the thread title hey?


----------



## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

And by dropping those 2 horrific bombs, we saved at least Tens, but more likely probably Hundreds of thousands more lives on both sides, by ending the war. Indeed, "Things Worth Remembering."

V


----------



## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Boludo said:


> 3 years later USA killed about 150,000 civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki starting a trend of slaughter in Asia which continues to this day.


How to derail a thread.


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Today, in 1815, Mt. Tambora in Indonesia erupted explosively, causing widespread devastation and an ash plume that plunged much of Southeast Asia into darkness. The explosion was heard over a thousand miles away, where it was mistaken for cannon fire.

Worth remembering: Never stand too close to an exploding volcano.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

On this day in 1972 seventy nations, including the United States and the Soviet Union, signed an agreement banning biological warfare.

Pity for the 3 million Vietnamese and US veterans that chemical weapons weren't banned too.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

On this day in 1981 Bobby Sands was elected as MP to Westminster. He passed on within a month.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

DaveM said:


> How to derail a thread.


Well you don't have to remember them if you don't want to.


----------



## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

On this day in 1985 I drank a cup of PG Tips Tea. Fast forward to now and I'm also drinking a cup of tea, but a different brand! 

What are the chances of that?


----------



## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

KenOC said:


> *Dick Cole, the last veteran of a World War Two bombing raid on Japan in retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor, has died. He was 103 years old.*The famed Doolittle raid was named for then Lt Col Jimmy Doolittle, who led the first US strikes against Japan during the war in 1942. Retired Lt Cole was Lt Col Doolittle's co-pilot in the lead plane. The raid, which included 16 B-25 bombers and 80 crew members, helped boost morale after Pearl Harbor.​
> https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47875466


The Doolittle raid was a big event during the War because the Japanese were having one success after another and the Americans weren't at the time. Japan was shocked and deeply embarrassed that they had been bombed. They decided to expand the protective perimeter around their country and Doolittle was a hero. Few thought that such large-scale bombers could takeoff from an aircraft carrier, but Doolittle showed that it was possible. It's one of the great stories of the War and so was the victory of the U.S. Navy at Midway after the U.S had learned how to decipher the Japanese military code and Japan had tried to set a trap for the Americans. It was the first naval defeat that Japan had suffered in 300 years. Both events did wonders for US morale.


----------



## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Boludo said:


> Well you don't have to remember them if you don't want to.


I'll remember that the tragedy of the Pacific campaign of the 2nd World War was so complex that only an unawareness of the history that led to the act that brought it to an end could explain such a pithy out-of-context comment about the event.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

DaveM said:


> I'll remember that the tragedy of the Pacific campaign of the 2nd World War was so complex that only an unawareness of the history that led to the act that brought it to an end could explain such a pithy out-of-context comment about the event.


Well that's a start.


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Today, in 1961, Yuri Gagarin of the USSR became the first person to orbit Earth. His Vostok 1 capsule completed one orbit in 108 minutes. He landed safely in Kazakhstan after parachuting from his capsule during its descent, as planned.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

On this day 100 years ago British troops open fire on unarmed peaceful demonstrators in Amritsar, India, killing 350.


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Today in 1970 Apollo 13 suffered a catastrophic failure on the way to a lunar landing. Two days and 200,000 miles out an oxygen tank exploded, crippling the service module, limiting power, cabin heat, and potable water, and requiring makeshift repairs to the carbon dioxide removal system. The spacecraft skimmed close above the lunar surface and returned safely home after six days, inspiring a pretty darned good movie.


----------



## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

Yes, it was a VERY good movie.

V


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

KenOC said:


> Today in 1970 Apollo 13 suffered a catastrophic failure on the way to a lunar landing. Two days and 200,000 miles out an oxygen tank exploded, crippling the service module, limiting power, cabin heat, and potable water, and requiring makeshift repairs to the carbon dioxide removal system. The spacecraft skimmed close above the lunar surface and returned safely home after six days, inspiring a pretty darned good movie.


And the name of the movie is?


----------



## SuperTonic (Jun 3, 2010)

Fritz Kobus said:


> And the name of the movie is?


Apollo 13
......................


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

On this day in 2004, in a historic policy shift, President George W. Bush endorsed Israel’s plan to hold on to part of the West Bank in any final peace settlement with the Palestinians; he also ruled out Palestinian refugees returning to Israel.


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

On this day in 1521, the trial of Martin Luther over his teachings began during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. The proceedings were disrupted by violent protests over the food served at lunch. (just kidding about that last...)


----------



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

joen_cph said:


> No matter what one thinks of the a-bombs, and I am not one who finds the way they were used legitimate, it's the sort of overly sweeping statements that work against their purposes - since you are forgetting say the Nanjing massacres in 1937, or the general history of violence in China, later events in Cambodia etc. But these remarks are moving away from the rules of the forum & I won't be commenting any further.


True and unlike the Germans, the Japanese haven't apologised for their actions.


----------



## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

KenOC said:


> On this day in 1521, the trial of Martin Luther over his teachings began during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. The proceedings were disrupted by violent protests over the food served at lunch. (just kidding about that last...)


And in 1527-29, he wrote perhaps his most famous hymn: "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" translated to the English version "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" circa 1826, the theme subsequently used in Mendelssohn's Reformation Symphony (#5) in 1830 and in other works.


----------



## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

Einstein died today, 64 years ago


----------



## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Things worth remembering?

Sorry, can't think of any!

Btw, this is another hilarious thread. Thanks guys, I needed a laugh.

Any thread that namechecks Martin Luther and Bobby Sands is comedy gold.


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Barbebleu said:


> Things worth remembering?
> 
> Sorry, can't think of any!


One try: cake can be good.


----------



## Potiphera (Mar 24, 2011)

Robert Schumann went completely berserk on Feb. 27, 1854, when he threw himself into the Rhine in a suicide attempt. He was rescued by some passing fishermen, and at his own request he was taken to an asylum in Endenich. Clara, aided by their loyal friend Brahms, did all that was possible to bolster Schumann's spirits but to no avail. He died on July 29, 1856.


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

1775: Today the American revolutionary war began with the battles of Lexington and Concord, both in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The first shots were fired in Lexington about sunrise. There were significant casualties on both sides, but overall the British got the worse of things.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

On this day in 1961 US interference in a sovereign country is successfully repelled:

On April 17th a 1,500 CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles invade southern Cuba at the "Bay of Pigs" by the 19th 118 are killed and 1,202 are captured by Cuban forces. President Kennedy inherited the operation from US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and approved the operation but it has to be one of the worst planned and executed covert invasions in modern times poorly thought out, as Cuban and Soviet Forces knew almost to the day where and when the operation would occur.


----------



## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Boludo said:


> On this day in 1961 US interference in a sovereign country is successfully repelled:
> 
> On April 17th a 1,500 CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles invade southern Cuba at the "Bay of Pigs" by the 19th 118 are killed and 1,202 are captured by Cuban forces. President Kennedy inherited the operation from US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and approved the operation but it has to be one of the worst planned and executed covert invasions in modern times poorly thought out, as Cuban and Soviet Forces knew almost to the day where and when the operation would occur.


Yes, and Kennedy fired Allen Dulles for his part in this Bay of Pigs fiasco, a man chosen by Johnson who suspiciously shows up on the Warren Commission to investigate the Kennedy assassination, and as a CIA operative was likely part of the assassination plan himself.


----------



## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

Boludo said:


> On this day in 1961 US interference in a sovereign country is successfully repelled:
> 
> On April 17th a 1,500 CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles invade southern Cuba at the "Bay of Pigs" by the 19th 118 are killed and 1,202 are captured by Cuban forces. President Kennedy inherited the operation from US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and approved the operation but it has to be one of the worst planned and executed covert invasions in modern times poorly thought out, as Cuban and Soviet Forces knew almost to the day where and when the operation would occur.


And of which JFK took Full Responsibility for that fiasco. Perhaps the last time a sitting President took responsibility for something going horribly wrong on his watch??? Those were the days!

V


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Varick said:


> And of which JFK took Full Responsibility for that fiasco. Perhaps the last time a sitting President took responsibility for something going horribly wrong on his watch??? Those were the days!
> 
> V


I think Carter's admittedly mistaken rescue operation in Iran, operation Eagle Claw (1980), was maybe a similar case, for example. Can´t say I know much of the deails though.





 (especially 4:00 ->)


----------



## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

joen_cph said:


> I think Carter's admittedly mistaken rescue operation in Iran, operation Eagle Claw (1980), was maybe a similar case, for example. Can´t say I know much of the deails though.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for that. Yes, another case. That's why I posed the question. I wasn't sure if JFK was the last. Good on Carter for that. The man had integrity. Horrible President, but a pretty decent man.

V


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Carter is quite popular over here. That clip is very stylish, IMO, under difficult circumstances.


----------



## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Things worth remembering?

The value of pi is 3.14159


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I believe Kentucky passed a law a long time ago making pi exactly 3. More states should consider doing the same, since it simplifies things marvelously.


----------



## SuperTonic (Jun 3, 2010)

KenOC said:


> I believe Kentucky passed a law a long time ago making pi exactly 3. More states should comsider doing the same, since it simplifies things marvelously.


It was actually Indiana, and the value of pi was supposed to be something like 3.2. The law passed the Indiana state House of Representatives, but did not pass the state Senate, so it was never enacted. Here's the full story for anyone who is interested.

The Eccentric Crank Who Tried to Legislate the Value of Pi


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Today in 1509, Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

It is worth remembering that in 1930 freedom fighters in Chittagong had a partially successful uprising against the British. In the subsequent backlash the British sent thousands of troops to the region to deal with the small number of revolutionaries. 80 troops died, 12 freedom fighters, and the group was persecuted with captured members being sent to jail and deported to the Andaman Islands.


----------



## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

KenOC said:


> I believe Kentucky passed a law a long time ago making pi exactly 3. More states should consider doing the same, since it simplifies things marvelously.


Useful limerick:
'Tis a favourite project of mine
A new value of pi to assign.
I would fix it at 3
For that's simpler you see
Than is 3.14159.


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

1889: At noon today, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Rush of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed with populations of at least 10,000.


----------



## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Pat Fairlea said:


> Useful limerick:
> 'Tis a favourite project of mine
> A new value of pi to assign.
> I would fix it at 3
> ...


 Made my day! :tiphat:


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Today in 1953: Francis Crick and James Watson published "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid" describing the double helix structure of DNA. Thus began a new age, one that has only begun to fulfill its destiny.


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

An interesting one for today, from a daily e-mail I receive:
---------------------------
On today’s date in 1891, a small group of music patrons gathered at one of New York’s docks to greet the Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who had been invited to America to take part in the grand opening of a new music hall. Back then, it was just called “The Music Hall,” but over time it took on the name of the wealthy steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, who funded its construction. “Carnegie is an amazing eccentric,” wrote Tchaikovsky to his friends back in Russia. “He rose from being a telegraph boy, transformed with the passing of years into one of America’s richest men, but one who has remained a simple, modest man who does not at all turn up his nose at anyone.”

And, despite his legendary melancholic funks and chronic bouts of homesickness, Tchaikovsky admitted he found the rest of New York rather impressive: “American customs, American hospitality, the very appearance of the town, the remarkable comfort of my accommodations—this is all very much to my taste and if I were younger I would probably be greatly enjoying my stay in an interesting new country.”

On the down side, Tchaikovsky reported you couldn’t buy cigarettes on a Sunday, and it was sometimes hard to find a public bathroom when you needed one—a common complaint of New York tourists even today! “All told,” Tchaikovsky concluded, “I am a much bigger fish here than in Europe. Incidentally, Central Park in magnificent.”


----------

