"On This Day...." Historical happenings on today's date (1 Viewer)

[fatness]

Happy 85th birthday John Lennon.

 

[fatness]

October 16

A shoemaker leads German soldiers in a robbery | October 16, 1906 | HISTORY

On October 16, 1906, Wilhelm Voigt, a 57-year-old German shoemaker, impersonates an army officer and leads an entire ...

www.history.com

On October 16, 1906, Wilhelm Voigt, a 57-year-old German shoemaker, impersonates an army officer and leads an entire squad of soldiers to help him steal 4,000 marks. Voigt, who had a long criminal record, humiliated the German army by exploiting their blind obedience to authority and getting them to assist in his audacious robbery.

Wearing a captain’s uniform, Voigt approached a troop of soldiers in Tegel, Germany, just outside Berlin and ordered the unit to follow him 20 miles to the town of Kopenik. After lunch, he put the men in position and stormed into the mayor’s office. Declaring that the mayor was under arrest, Voigt commanded the troops to take him into custody. He then demanded to see the cash box and confiscated the 4,000 marks inside. The mayor was put in a car, and Voigt ordered that he be delivered to the police in Berlin.

On the way to Berlin, Voigt managed to disappear with the money. Still, it took more than a few hours at the police station before everyone realized that it was all a hoax.

 

[fatness]

50 years ago, the Edmund Fitzgerald, a 'rock star' ship, sank in Lake Superior

"From 1875 to 1975, there were at least 6,000 commercial shipwrecks on the bottom of the Great Lakes," Bacon told NPR. "So that is one shipwreck a week every week for a century. That is one casualty every day for a century."

The Edmund Fitzgerald was loaded with 26,000 tons of pellets containing iron ore when it sank. To slip through the narrow Soo Locks, such ships are only 75 feet wide. "That's less than the space from home plate to first base," Bacon observed. "What's the problem with that? They can't handle rough seas." And the Great Lakes do get rougher over the winter, even more so than the ocean. Salt helps regulate and weigh down waves, so freshwater waves can become huge and erratic. The Edmund Fitzgerald was caught in a savage storm with hurricane-force winds around 100-mile-an-hour and waves up to 60 feet, crashing down on the freighter every four to eight seconds, says Bacon.

 

[beer 30]

50 years ago, the Edmund Fitzgerald, a 'rock star' ship, sank in Lake Superior

"From 1875 to 1975, there were at least 6,000 commercial shipwrecks on the bottom of the Great Lakes," Bacon told NPR. "So that is one shipwreck a week every week for a century. That is one casualty every day for a century."

The Edmund Fitzgerald was loaded with 26,000 tons of pellets containing iron ore when it sank. To slip through the narrow Soo Locks, such ships are only 75 feet wide. "That's less than the space from home plate to first base," Bacon observed. "What's the problem with that? They can't handle rough seas." And the Great Lakes do get rougher over the winter, even more so than the ocean. Salt helps regulate and weigh down waves, so freshwater waves can become huge and erratic. The Edmund Fitzgerald was caught in a savage storm with hurricane-force winds around 100-mile-an-hour and waves up to 60 feet, crashing down on the freighter every four to eight seconds, says Bacon.

RIP

 

[Don Quixote]

That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early

 

[Leroy Hoard]

That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early

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[Dennis Castro]

That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

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The Rheostatics do a fantastic version as well.