October | 2025 | Hidden History
3 posts published by Lenny Flank during October 2025| Hidden History
3 posts published by Lenny Flank during October 2025| Hidden History
In the early years of the 19th century, the fledgling science of “astronomy” was confronted by something called “Olbers’ Paradox”, named after the 19th-century German astronomer who stated it. Ever since humans have been humans, they have looked at the night sky and wondered “What is out there?” and “How did all this get here?” Many … Continue reading The Olbers Paradox→| Hidden History
Who owns the rights to colonize Mars? Who has the right to build research stations on the Moon? Who owns the mineral rights to asteroids? Is outer space just a lawless free-for-all? Mars &nbs…| Hidden History
It is sometimes said that the Japanese language does not have any swear words—no direct equivalents to English cursing like “fuck you” or “piece of shit”. That is technically true, mostly. For deep historical and cultural reasons, swearing in Japanese is entirely different from swearing in English—in Japan it’s not really the actual words themselves … Continue reading Swearing and the Japanese Language→| Hidden History
The Boeing 707 set the standard for jet passenger airliners. Boeing 707 photo from WikiCommons| Hidden History
The Mars Pathfinder probe landed on Mars on July 4, 1997. It carried the small rover named Sojourner. In 1990, as the Cold War abruptly ended, President George HW Bush was looking for a “peace dividend”. With large-scale military conflict no longer a threat, Bush moved to slash the military budget (which had bloated under … Continue reading Mars Pathfinder→| Hidden History
In the late 19th century, the anarchist movement carried out a number of political assassinations, which they called “propaganda of the deed”. By the latter half of the 19th century, political movements in Europe were at a crossroads. A wave of anti-monarchy and pro-democracy rebellions had swept the continent in 1848, but they had all … Continue reading Propaganda of the Deed→| Hidden History
One of the conspirators in the John Wilkes Booth plot to kill President Abraham Lincoln is buried in Florida. Or, at least, part of him is. Lewis Thornton Powell &…| Hidden History
Ardipithecus ramidus is one of the most complete hominid skeletons found so far, and the earliest one to be unequivocally accepted as a bipedal human ancestor. In 1981, a group of paleontologists who had been working at the fossil site in the Middle Awash area of Ethiopia made a side trip to prospect another potential … Continue reading A Closer Look At: Ardipithecus ramidus→| Hidden History
The Growler was one of several post-WW2 submarines that were specially designed to carry nuclear-armed cruise missiles.| Hidden History
The Mexican Wolf, which is now virtually extinct in the wild, has become the subject of an intense captive-breeding effort. The Gray Wolf, Canis lupus, once ranged over most of North America. Once settlers began to flood across the New World, however, farmers and ranchers viewed the wolf as not only a threat to their … Continue reading Mexican Wolf Conservation→| Hidden History
The Barbel class of submarine was the last diesel-powered attack sub built by the US, as a backup in case nuclear power proved to be unsuitable. . The “Blueback” on exhibit at the Oregon Museum of …| Hidden History
Ardipithecus kadabba fossils photo from WikiCommons| Hidden History
The history of the domestic cattle goes back at least 10,000 years. The fourth most-numerous mammal on Earth| Hidden History
[NOTE: I re-run this diary every year.] The Christmas Truce of 1914 was one of the most famous events to come out of the First World War. Some have called it the last gasp of the chivalric age of p…| Hidden History
In 1939, the United States began work on a colossal motor vehicle to be used for exploration and field work in Antarctica. Antarctic Snow Cruiser in 1940 ph…| Hidden History
An epidemic of “Horse Flu” in 1872 virtually shut down the US economy and paralyzed the entire country. A horse buggy, the primary means of transportation in 1872| Hidden History
In 1957, a B-36 nuclear bomber accidentally dropped a Mark 17 hydrogen bomb while landing at Kirtland Air Force Base just outside of Albuquerque NM. Mark 17 hydrogen bomb, on display at the Nationa…| Hidden History
Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference based their strategy on two ideas; the idea that nonviolent civil disobedience, in the tradition of Thoreau and Gandhi, was the o…| Hidden History
