Yesterday, the news broke that Britt Allcroft, the woman responsible for making the Thomas & Friends TV show possible, had died on Christmas day of 2024 at the age of 81. To the Thomas community, this is a big loss. We are talking about Thomas the Tank Engine, for those not in the know. Britt …
Continue reading “RIP Thomas & Friends Creator Britt Allcroft”
This is the 300th week of this blog! I’ll return to the subject of the first blog I wrote on 28 April 2019, trains. After this week I’ll go to a posting schedule of less than once a week. It’s going to be a busy semester ahead and although I really enjoy writing about something …
Continue reading “Dallas High Speed Train & Other High-Speed Rail Projects”
On Wednesday of last week, Puerto Rico was hit by Hurricane Ernesto, a former tropical storm that strengthened to Category 1 status. The hurricane resulted in storm surge, heavy rainfall, and winds of up to 74 mph (119 kph) striking the US territory. On Wednesday night, 540,000 Puerto Ricans did not have electricity. By Friday …
Continue reading “Hurricane Ernesto Wreaks Havoc in the Caribbean”
The word “nihilism” today refers to a belief that all values and existence itself is meaningless. It also refers to overwhelming cynicism towards the world or extreme skepticism towards everything. The word has been in the English language for a surprisingly short amount of time. The stem word of nihilism comes from the Latin word …
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In the late 1800s, many of the growing American cities suffered from a woeful state of public transport. The streets were terribly congested, and fights often broke out in the areas most prone to traffic jams. One potential idea to alleviate the traffic congestion was to build a railway underground. One challenge of building underground …
Continue reading “New York’s 19th-Century Pneumatic Experiment: Its first Subway”
The Panama Canal is a well-known corridor through central American that allows the cheap transportation of goods from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean. Opened back in 1914 and preceded by the Panama Canal Railway in the 1800s, this water channel through a narrow strip of central America is key to delivering goods for the global …
The nature versus nurture debate on the nature of human intelligence and many other traits is nothing new. Yet in the early decades of the 20th century, the scale was tipped largely in favor of the nature side. Most psychologists believed that intelligence was entirely heritable and that environment did not matter. A child born …
Continue reading “Iowa Orphans and the Nature of Intelligence”
In 2018, Brightline became the first private intercity passenger service to open in the US in over 100 years. This rail line with its distinct yellow-patterned trains began on a 70-mile (112-km) stretch of track between Miami and West Palm Beach. The operation soon expanded to cover Fort Lauderdale, Aventura, and Boca Raton. In September …
Two major times in US history when women’s movements fought to enact a significant change in women’s standing in society were the fights for suffrage and the battle over the Equal Rights Amendment. On both occasions, the passage of the constitutional amendment required a significant shift in the nation’s values. In addition, there were women’s …
Continue reading “Comparing the Movements for Women’s Suffrage & the Equal Rights Amendment”
Worldwide, one in eight people have a mental disorder such as depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety. In the US, major depressive disorder affects around 7.1% of the population, and around 18.1% of Americans have anxiety disorders. There is much money to be made from giving out medication for these mental health issues. Without insurance, a 30-day …
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