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John Glenn on the 50th Anniversary of His Historic Flight
Earthlings count down to 50th anniversary of the first American flight to orbit the Earth © 2012 NOLA.com. All rights reserved. Published: Saturday, February 18, 2012, 10:00 AM By The Associated Press The Associated Press John Glenn fever has taken hold in the U.S. once again. Three days before the 50th anniversary of his historic flight, the first American to orbit the Earth addressed employees at Kennedy Space Center. The NASA auditorium was packed Friday with hundreds of workers hoping to see the space legend. NASA, via The Associated Press Astronaut John Glenn was photographed Feb. 20, 1962, during his space flight in the Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft, weightless and…
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History of French Franc
6-century history of French franc ending on last day to change former money to euros http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/71659–6-century-history-of-french-franc-ending-on-last-day-to-change-former-money-to-euros PARIS – Six centuries after the first one was minted and a decade after they went out of circulation, the last French francs are being exchanged for euros, severing France’s final link to its former national currency. However, the franc’s end also comes as its replacement, the euro, suffers its worst crisis since its creation. The Banque de France set a deadline of the close of business Friday for French savers to exchange whatever leftover franc notes they’ve kept socked away in drawers or under mattresses, whether held onto intentionally as souvenirs or simply…
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Jesus’s Tomb
Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008 Jesus ‘Tomb’ Controversy Reopened By Tim McGirk/Jerusalem When the Discovery Channel aired a TV documentary last year raising the possibility that archeologists had found the family tomb of Jesus Christ in the hills behind Jerusalem, it caused a huge backlash among Christians. The claim, after all, challenged one of the cornerstones of Christian faith — that Jesus, after his crucifixion, rose bodily to heaven in his physical form. The Lost Tomb of Jesus, made by Hollywood director James Cameron and Canadian investigative journalist Simcha Jacobovici, was shown only once on Discovery. Britain’s Channel 4 canceled its own plans to air the documentary, which reexamines an archeological…
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History of Valentine’s Day
The Seedy, Scandalous History of Valentine’s Day http://news.discovery.com/history/history-valentines-day-121302.html By Rossella Lorenzi | Mon Feb 13, 2012 04:26 PM ET Forget roses, chocolates and candlelight dinners. On Valentine’s Day, that’s rather boring stuff — at least according to ancient Roman standards. Imagine half-naked men running through the streets, whipping young women with bloodied thongs made from freshly cut goat skins. Although it might sound like some sort of perverted sado-masochistic ritual, this is what the Romans did until 496 A.D. Indeed, mid-February was Lupercalia (Wolf Festival) time. Celebrated on Feb. 15 at the foot of the Palatine Hill beside the cave where, according to tradition, the she-wolf had suckled Romulus and…
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Galileo Roman Inquisition
Feb 13, 1633: Galileo in Rome for Inquisition On this day in 1633, Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome to face charges of heresy for advocating Copernican theory, which holds that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Galileo officially faced the Roman Inquisition in April of that same year and agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence. Put under house arrest indefinitely by Pope Urban VIII, Galileo spent the rest of his days at his villa in Arcetri, near Florence, before dying on January 8, 1642. Galileo, the son of a musician, was born February 15, 1564, in Pisa, Italy. He entered the University…