Archive for the ‘History’ Category

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“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 407

Wednesday, May 12th, 2021

It has been about two weeks since I’ve done any gun crankery, so I think the cycle has come around again. Today, let’s talk about a subject that is close to my heart, and that certain people are probably tired of hearing me go on about: the pre-1964 Winchester.

Target Suite covers the pre-64 Model 94 versus the post-64 Model 94.

My own Model 94 is a 1963. I only have one of those.

“WINCHESTER 70 ‘PRE-‘64’: what’s the BIG deal?”

“WINCHESTER MODEL 70: Past & Present Rifles”.

And finally: “Winchester Model 70 Post 64 Review”.

I’m lucky enough to have temporary custody of three Model 70 rifles: one in .270 Winchester that appears to be from 1951, one in .30-06 that seems to be from 1937, and one in .308 that, as best as I (and the guy at Cabela’s) can tell was early 1964 production.

(I haven’t written off for history letters on any of these: the dates are based on the serial number tables in Roger Rule’s The Rifleman’s Rifle (affiliate link), a book I recommend if you have any interest in the Model 70. Yes, I know, the price is enough to give you the leaping fantods, but I think it’s a great book. And not just because I would get a small kickback if you bought it.)

Posted in Books, Guns, History | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 406

Tuesday, May 11th, 2021

I want to post some more safety related videos, but it feels too early for that. I am tempted to make “Safety Saturday” a thing. But I probably won’t, for reasons.

In the meantime, how about some cars?

No, the other ones. At least a couple of folks seemed to like that General Tire promo video I posted a while back (how can you go wrong with children and firearms?) so here’s something from DuPont: “Facts About Tires”.

Bonus #1: “Why the Ford Model A is the best American car ever made.”

I don’t know that I would call it the “best American car”. But there is something pleasing about the looks, you can work on it yourself…

Bonus #2: Speaking of working on it yourself, back in the day, my dad changed his own oil. And he always put STP into his cars. These days, you don’t hear much about STP. (At least, not the oil treatment. Maybe more the octane booster and gas treatment. You can get all this stuff from Amazon. (affiliate link))

“The Racer’s Edge”, a promo film about the history of the STP racing teams, featuring Andy Granatelli.

Posted in Cars, History, Sports | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 405

Monday, May 10th, 2021

Military History Monday!

Here’s something that is a little more contemporary than I’ve been posting: “SAC: The Global Shield” from 1980.

Bonus: Something older, but for good reason: “The Air Force Missile Mission”, from 1959. The good reason: this is yet another military propaganda film featuring Brigadier General James Maitland Stewart.

Posted in History, Planes | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 404

Sunday, May 9th, 2021

Science Sunday!

My paternal grandmother was a teacher. There were always books and magazines around the house, many of which were appropriate for the younger set.

One book that I vividly remember (and wish I could find today) was a book published by Scholastic about the coelacanth: specifically, about how it was thought to be extinct, until a museum curator found one in the daily catch of a local fisherman.

I was fascinated by this. Still am: I haven’t found the original Scholastic book, but Samantha Weinberg’s A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth (affiliate link) is a pretty swell book, and is targeted more at the adult reader. And I think my grandmother would have endorsed this (ditto).

(I was hardly a “reluctant reader”, but I believe the kids she taught sometimes fell into that category.)

“Diving With Coelacanths”. Be warned: the people in this video are doing highly technical diving at great depth. Which means mixed gasses. Which means they sound like Donald Duck. There are subtitles: but as some of the comments point out, what’s in the subtitles doesn’t always match up with what’s actually being said.

Bonus: Another one of the Scholastic books she had lying around was a biography of Clyde Tombaugh and how he discovered Pluto.

“Reflections on Clyde Tombaugh” from NASA.

And here’s an approximately 30 minute interview with Dr. Tombaugh from 1997, shortly before his death.

Bonus #2: This is borderline science and/or technology, but I have a reason for posting this. A week ago Saturday, for some reason, we got into a discussion of auto racing and racing technology. I mentioned, but could not recall the details at the time, that there was a gas turbine powered car that competed in the Indianapolis 500, back when you could still do stuff like that. You know, before everything became standardized and homogenized and experimentation was limited…

“The Silent Screamer”, a short-ish (17 minutes) documentary about Andy Granatelli’s turbine powered car at the 1967 Indy 500.

Posted in Books, Cars, Fish, Geek, History, Sports | 2 Comments »

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 403

Saturday, May 8th, 2021

There have been a couple of incidents recently involving old guys falling off boats into the water and dying.

I’m not making fun of them: mad props to these guys for being out there. But, as Lawrence put it: “Important safety tip: try not to fall off the boat.”

From the National Safety Council, circa 1972: “Find a Float”.

Bonus #1: in honor of the late Bobby Unser, “Hazards of Mountain Driving”.

Bonus #2: “Blasting Cap Danger” brought to you by the “Institute of Makers of Explosives” circa 1957.

I remember when I was young and reading “Boy’s Life”, every now and then they’d have a public service advertisement depicting various types of blasting caps and warning young Boy Scouts not to mess with them. My question was: why? Was there a real problem with people just leaving blasting caps lying around for kids to find?

Posted in 1970s, Boats, Cars, Explosives, History, Safety | 1 Comment »

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 402

Friday, May 7th, 2021

Two videos on unrelated topics today. One short-ish, one admittedly long.

Short-ish: This is an episode of the old “True Adventure” TV show called…”Serpent Cult”, about snake handling religion in Kentucky. I possibly could have put this in last week’s travel entry, but it didn’t feel right there.

I actually kind of like the host’s introduction. When was the last time you heard someone on TV say:

  • I was brought up religious.
  • I believe in people’s right to worship as they please.
  • I have a point of view on this, but I’m not going to force it on anybody else.

Long (about 70 minutes): “Raid on the Northfield Bank: The James-Younger Gang Meets Its Match”.

I wanted to link this for two reasons:

1. There’s a pretty good movie that the Saturday Night Movie Group watched not too long ago: “The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid”, which you can find on YouTube with a carefully crafted search or on Amazon (affiliate link). I don’t believe it is exactly historically accurate, but…

2. Massad Ayoob in “American Handgunner” actually devoted an “Ayoob Files” column to the “Great Northfield, Minnesota Bank Robbery”, concentrating on the role of armed citizens.

(I have also read, and can recommend, the book Ayoob cites: Shot All to Hell by Mark Lee Gardner. (Affiliate link.))

Posted in Books, History, Movies, Religion, Reptiles, Snakes | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 401

Thursday, May 6th, 2021

Travel Thursday!

Do you like kids? Do you like trains? Do you like kids on trains?

“Big Trains Rolling”, from the Association of American Railroads. This dates to either 1946 or 1955: YouTube contradicts itself.

Is it just me? Am I an old man? Or do those two kids seem awfully young to be taking a train trip alone?

Bonus: I can’t believe I haven’t used this one, but it doesn’t come up in a search, and I had it bookmarked…

“Wings to Guatemala” from those wonderful folks at Pan Am.

Posted in History, Trains, Travel | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 400

Wednesday, May 5th, 2021

This popped up in my feed, and you know I had to post it here: “TRS-80 Color Computer: Radio Shack’s $399 Micro from 1980!”

It me. Mine had 4K of memory: not 4 GB, or 4 MB, but 4,096 8-bit bytes of memory, and used cassette tape for storage.

Bonus #1: I’m marginal about using this one, but it calls back to an earlier blog entry: “The Norco Shootout, 40 Years Later”.

Not officially part of the content here, but: the “Behind the Badge” channel posted the Norco documentary in one (54 minute) chunk. I linked to that in my previous Norco post, but that version divides the video up into three chunks.

Bonus #2: Here’s something we hope you really like (especially you, RoadRich): a video on “Use of Force” from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).

Bonus #3: This is short, but I thought it was worth putting up here. Simon Sinek on “The Most Toxic Person In The Workplace”.

Posted in Cops, Geek, History, Law, Leadership | 2 Comments »

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 399

Tuesday, May 4th, 2021

And now for something completely different.

“The Lumberman”, a 1971 film from the good folks at Encyclopedia Brittanica. It was part of a series called “Our Changing Way of Life”.

Bonus #1: When was the last time you thought about rice? For me, it was last night. But I am somewhat food obsessed.

Phil Robertson says “America Doesn’t Know How to Cook Rice Anymore”.

In addition to Romans 12:13, I am also reminded of Luke 24:42, where the risen Jesus appears to the apostles and asks, “Hey, you guys got any food up in here?” ‘Cause you never know when Jesus might show up, and who wants to be placing an order from Domino’s while Jesus is hanging around?

(If it comes to that, though, I have to warn you: the Bible is very clear that just introducing the delivery guy to Jesus is no substitute for a tip. You still need to tip your delivery driver, and I’d suggest 25% under normal circumstances. Do you really want Jesus to think you’re a cheapskate?)

(Also, if it comes to that: Jesus likes the meat lover’s pizza, or whatever your local equivalent is. Acts 10:15: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”)

Walter White Alton Brown discusses his “fast and foolproof” method for rice cooking.

Bonus #2: Okay, the quality on this isn’t great, but it is short. And this is the “Month of Mayberry” according to MeTV. Don Knotts advertising the Dodge Tradesman van.

Posted in 1970s, Food, History, Religion, TV | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 398

Monday, May 3rd, 2021

Military History Monday!

I have another doctor’s appointment early this afternoon, and didn’t have a chance to set this up yesterday, so I’m being shorter than usual today.

“Target Toyko”:

…the story of the first bombing raid on Tokyo by B-29 Superfortress bombers of the U.S. Army Air Forces flying out of Saipan. B-29 crews are followed from their training staging at Grand Island, Nebraska to their bombing embarkation point on the island of Saipan. From there, the B-29 attack on the Nakajima aircraft plant outside Tokyo is depicted.

Extra bonus: the narrator is Ronald Reagan.

Bonus #1: “Position Firing”, an animated 1944 Army Air Corps film about hitting moving targets.

Extra bonus: “Trigger Joe” is voiced by Mel Blanc.

Bonus #2: “Arctic Mission”. This is yet another Bell System (actually Western Electric) propaganda film, but I think it more appropriately belongs here: it covers the construction of the DEW Line, and specifically deals with the difficulties of construction and transport above the Arctic Circle.

Posted in History, Planes | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 397

Sunday, May 2nd, 2021

Science Sunday!

Have you ever asked yourself, “Self, I wonder how light bulbs are made?” Specifically, incandescent lights, not LED bulbs: the latter are probably also interesting, but that’s not today’s subject.

Really, how often do you think about light? I’ve been thinking about it a fair amount recently: throughout the whole history of man, we have really only had the ability to control lighting for about 150 to 170 years now. If you want to get an idea of what things were like in the days before, pull a Samuel Pepys. Go into the smallest windowless room in your house (a bathroom is fine) with a book and a candle. Light the candle: just one candle, because candles cost money in Pepys day. Now try to read the book. Now imagine doing that every night for the rest of your life.

This is a vintage GE documentary about the making of their “Mazda” brand light bulbs.

The name was used from 1909 through 1945 in the United States by GE and Westinghouse. Mazda brand light bulbs were made for decades after 1945 outside the US. The company chose the name due to its association with Ahura Mazda, the transcendental and universal God of Zoroastrianism whose name means light of wisdom in the Avestan language.

Bonus #1: Perhaps I am fudging the definition of “science” a bit here, but you’ve heard the expression “build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door”, right?

“West Germany vs. East Germany Mouse Traps. Mousetrap Monday”.

Also, this gives me a chance to retell the classic Soviet joke (which I think was used in “Chernobyl”): “What’s as big as a house, burns 20 liters of fuel every hour, puts out a shitload of smoke and noise, and cuts an apple into three pieces? A Soviet machine made to cut apples into four pieces.”

Bonus #2: Let’s get back to something that is at least a close approximation to science. Plus bonus fun!

“Shaking Buildings Over a Mile Away!” from “Tech Ingredients”. Basically, this involves igniting decently large amounts of hydrogen mixtures.

“Let’s bring everything in soon so if the cops come there’s nothing here.” That’s my kind of science.

Bonus #3: I wanted to do some biology last week, but compromised. Here’s something that comes closer to what I wanted to do: a 1954 film about the virtues of antibiotics.

Posted in Geek, History | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 396

Saturday, May 1st, 2021

Today, some more fun bait for FotB RoadRich!

“Don’t Tell My Wife”. This is a promo film for Piper from sometime in the 1960s. The husband decides he wants to learn to fly…and so does his wife. But neither one wants the other to know.

The man and woman sit in wingback chairs in an elegant living room with a large fireplace. Each is reading a flying manual hidden by a newspaper.

Interestingly, Piper has a YouTube channel, but there’s not a whole lot of historical videos there.

Bonus #1: This is one of the few Piper historical videos: “The Classic Piper Cub”.

Bonus #2: This is a vintage Boeing promo film for the 707 Stratoliner, concentrating on the passenger cabin design.

A mock-up of the cabin (apparently built a bit roomier than the actual aircraft by designer TEAGUE) was unveiled in New York City in 1956. The mock-up appears throughout the film.
The cost of the mock-up was about $500,000, and included overhead service units, seatback trays, and target reading lights. The New York Times’ Richard Witkin compared the cabin to the “reception room of a high-stepping ad agency”.
Not surprisingly, the public’s fascination with the new jet was so intense that meals were even served to “passenger” visitors aboard the mock-up using the innovative meal trays.

Posted in History, Planes | Comments Closed

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