The Daily Drift

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Today in History

1689		England’s “Bloodless Revolution” reaches its climax when parliament invites William and Mary to become joint sovereigns.
1807		President Thomas Jefferson exposes a plot by Aaron Burr to form a new republic in the Southwest.
1813		During the War of 1812, British forces under Henry Proctor defeat a U.S. contingent planning an attack on Fort Detroit.
1824		A British force is wiped out by an Asante army under Osei Bonsu on the African Gold Coast. This is the first defeat for a colonial power.
1863		In an attempt to out flank Robert E. Lee‘s Army of Northern Virginia, General Ambrose Burnside leads his army on a march to north Fredericksburg, but foul weather bogs his army down in what will become known as the “Mud March.”
1879		Eighty-two British soldiers hold off attacks by 4,000 Zulu warriors at the Battle of Rorke’s Drift in South Africa.
1905		Russian troops fire on civilians beginning Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg.
1912		Second Monte Carlo auto race begins.
1913		Turkey consents to the Balkan peace terms and gives up Adrianople.
1930		Admiral Richard Byrd charts a vast area of Antarctica.
1932		Government troops crush a Communist uprising in Northern Spain.
1939		A Nazi order erases the old officer caste, tying the army directly to the Party.
1943		Axis forces pull out of Tripoli for Tunisia, destroying bases as they leave.
1944		U.S. troops under Major General John P. Lucas make an amphibious landing behind German lines at Anzio, Italy, just south of Rome.
1971		Communist forces shell Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for the first time.
1979		Abu Hassan, the alleged planner of the 1972 Munich raid, is killed by a bomb in Beirut.
1982		Reagan formally links progress in arms control to Soviet repression in Poland.

The Story of General McAuliffe's Famous "Nuts!" Reply

During the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944, German forces surrounded and cut off the US Army's 101st Airborne Division under the command of Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe. The Americans were vastly outnumbered and outgunned. The Germans appeared to be in a position to annihilate them.
General Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz sent a message under a flag of truce, urging McAuliffe to surrender. McAuliffe's legendary reply was simple: "Nuts!"
And with that, the great orator and general Anthony McAuliffe became a symbol of American grit. Now you can read the full story of this incident as related by Kenneth J. McAuliffe, Jr., General McAuliffe's nephew.
He explains that General McAuliffe was initially confused by the message. He thought that the Germans wanted to surrender to him, not the other way around:

The Division Operations Officer, Lt. Col. Harry Kinnard recalled that McAulliffe initially asked, "They want to surrender?" Moore told him, "No sir, they want us to surrender." McAulliffe arose and erupted in anger, which shocked those looking on. He took the paper, looked at it, said "Us surrender, aw nuts!" and dropped it on the floor. Maj. Jones was dismissed. McAulliffe then left the Headquarters to go congratulate a unit on the Western perimeter that had successfully taken out a German road block earlier that morning.

Once that was cleared up, Gen. McAuliffe composed his full response:

December 22, 1944
To the German Commander,
N U T S !
The American Commander

Col. Bud Harper, one of McAuliffe's regimental commanders, then escorted the German emissaries back to their lines:

The two blindfolded German officers were then driven, again by a roundabout route, back to their entry point at the Kessler farm. At the farm, the group was rejoined by PFC Premetz. The blindfolds were removed and the Germans opened and looked at the reply. They asked, "What does this mean?" They obviously didn't understand the American slang. Harper and Premetz discussed how to explain it. Harper suggested, "Tell them to take a flying s**t!" Premetz thought about it, then straightened up, faced the Germans and said, "Du kannst zum Teufel gehen." He told Harper it meant "You can go to Hell." Then Harper said, "If you continue to attack, we will kill every goddamn German that tries to break into this city." Henke replied, "We will kill many Americans. This is war." Harper then said, "On your way Bud, and good luck to you." After Henke translated, the major acknowledged. They saluted and the Germans started to walk away. Harper angrily called out to them, "If you don't know what I am talking about, simply go back to your commanding officer and tell him to just plain, 'Go to Hell'." After Henke translated, the major got angry and stormed off.

Rollermania!

45 Fun Photos of Roller Disco in the 1970s and 1980s

If you're old enough to remember the days of roller skating rinks in the 1970s and 1980s, complete with roller fashions, "couple skates," custom-made, iron-on, lettered t-shirts, disco tricks and other mini-wheeled madness, well then you're in luck. This wealth of photos from that era is an absolute blast from the past. With the exception of the fifth photo (that inexplicably doesn't show people on skates), many of these shots are from disco-era movies, some are promo shots of celebrities getting into the hobby, and the rest are the general public getting down and startin' something. NSFW: One photo has an overzealous scenester wearing a see-through shirt with no bra. Images: Via collection at Vintage Everyday

How People In The 1960's Thought We'd Dance In The Future

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One Out of Five Young People Would Move to a State Because Pot Is Legal There

One Out of Five Young People Would Move to a State Because Pot Is Legal There

4 of the Most Commonly Prescribed Drugs That May Be a Lot More Risky Than Pharma Is Letting On

4 of the Most Commonly Prescribed Drugs That May Be a Lot More Risky Than Pharma Is Letting On 

What Cher Just Did For The Residents Of Flint, Michigan Is Absolutely Incredible

What Cher Just Did For The Residents Of Flint, Michigan Is Absolutely Incredible

What’s happening in Flint, Michigan is beyond heartbreaking. Residents cannot drink their water due to lead contamination, but to add insult to injury, the...

Obama Declares A State Of Disgusting In Flint’s Poisoned Water

Obama Declares A State Of Disgusting In Flint’s Poisoned Water

After the state mismanaged the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, about as terribly as humanly possible,  Snyder finally got his typewriter and stamps together and requested emergency assistance from the federal government….

How the People of Flint Michigan Ended Up with Some of the Most Dangerous Tap Water in America

How the People of Flint Michigan Ended Up with Some of the Most Dangerous Tap Water in America

Why we can't help getting ripped off by con artists

One day in September 1951, Dr. Joseph Cyr, a surgeon Lieutenant of the Royal Canadian Navy, was on board a Navy ship in waters off the coast of North Korea. This was during the height of the Korean War, so when crew members spotted a small Korean junk off in the distance, they became suspicious, especially because the boat was headed straight for them. As the junk approached, the lookouts could see someone on the deck frantically waving a flag, and when the junk got closer, they saw that the men on board were more dead than alive. Their bodies had been torn apart by bullets and shrapnel. As soon as they were lifted aboard, Dr. Cyr immediately began operating on them. As the only person on the ship with medical qualifications, he spent the next 48 hours performing surgery, saving the lives of 19 men. He was hailed a hero at home, and he certainly would have received honors and a promotion from the Navy, if only they hadn’t discovered that Dr. Cyr was not a doctor and had never performed a surgical operation in his life before that day. He didn’t even have a high school degree. And his name wasn’t even Joseph Cyr, it was Ferdinand Demara. He’d stolen the identity of the real Dr. Cyr, a friend of his who knew him as Brother John Payne of the Brothers of Christian Instruction. Ferdinand Demara had been assuming false identities his entire adult life. At one time or another Demara had impersonated a "civil engineer, a sheriff's deputy, an assistant prison warden, a doctor of applied psychology, a hospital orderly, a lawyer, a child-care expert, a Benedictine monk, a Trappist monk, an editor, a cancer researcher, and a teacher." [Wikipedia]
Demara was a master con artist. Not only could he fake his way into almost any job, he could often successfully talk his way out of trouble after getting caught, and then go on to rip-off the very same people who had forgiven him the first time he got caught.
In Maria Konnikova’s new book, The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time, Ferdinand Demara stars as one of many larger-than-life con artists presented as exemplars of master manipulators of human nature. In her book, Konnikova takes a deep dive into the psychology of con artists, as well as the psychology of the trusting people they take advantage of. It’s a scary and fascinating book that reveals the methods and motives of con artists like Bernie Madoff, Jim Bakker, and Lance Armstrong, and explains why everyone is vulnerable to the con artist’s game, even other con artists, and why there isn’t much we can do to protect ourselves from getting conned.

Trump Casinos lost millions every single year that Dumbass Trump ran it (but he's still rich)

Trump Casinos lost millions every single year that Dumbass Trump ran it (but he's still rich)

Richest 1 percent now own more than the rest of us combined

Richest 1 percent now own more than the rest of us combined

Islamic State Is in the Minor Leagues of Terrorism

Why the Islamic State Is in the Minor Leagues of Terrorism

FBI anti-terrorism unit busts meth-dealing white supremacist ‘hit man’ in New Orleans

FBI anti-terrorism unit busts meth-dealing white supremacist ‘hit man’ in New Orleans

The white supremacist group “is accused of carrying out murders, attempted murders, conspiracies, arson, assaults, robberies and drug trafficking as part of an enterprise that goes back to at least 1993.”

Oregon terrorist skids off a road, flips his van — then gets cited for driving without a license

Oregon terrorist skids off a road, flips his van — then gets cited for driving without a license

A California man involved in the armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in Oregon received a citation early last Sunday morning after crashing a van.

Bundy Asshat Loses Foster Kids, Blames It On The Tyrannical Government

One of the Bundy asshats lost his meal ticket when his foster children were removed from his home.

Read full story

New Hampshire Teabagger sorry for disturbing description of how he would carry out school shooting

New Hampshire Teabagger sorry for disturbing description of how he would carry out school shooting: ‘I’d have a field day’

Yikes.

Teabagger Banned From Schools After A Statement That Will Make Your Skin Crawl

The way Teabaggers think isn’t just deplorable, it’s dangerous.

Read full story

Who Gets the Royalties for Hitler's Book?

Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf entered the public domain at the beginning of 2016, because Hitler’s been dead for 70 years. That's a long time. Who was profiting from the book’s publication all those years? And who will profit now that anyone can use it? And why would anyone want to?

(YouTube link)

According to Simon from Today I Found Out, Hitler himself made a boatload of money from the volume. After his death, the financial arrangements regarding Mein Kempf got more complicated. Read more about it at Today I Found Out.

Inside the New Book That's Giving the Koch Brothers a Heart Attack

Inside the New Book That's Giving the Koch Brothers a Heart Attack

Creationist Ken Ham Is Building A $101M Noah’s Ark In Kentucky, And He Wants You To Pay For It

$101 million Noah’s Ark rises in Kentucky — jesus-riding dinosaurs and all

When it came to the $18.25 million it was seeking in tax rebates, perhaps dog came up a bit short of expectations.
Creationist Ken Ham Is Building A $101M Noah’s Ark In Kentucky, And He Wants You To Pay For It

Australian-born Creationist Ken Ham and his fundamentalist 'christian' coven no-answers in genesis (AiG) are looking to build a $101m Ark Adventure in...

Loser charged with arson after setting fire to rug to prove he isn't 'loser'

A man from Austin, Texas, has been charged with arson after he set fire to a rug in an apartment on Thursday to make a political statement and prove he wasn't a "loser." Austin Fire crews responded to a call at the Whisper Hollow Apartments at around 7:30pm after a request from the Austin Police Department, who had received a call for a disturbance between a mother and her son.
The report says police arrived at the apartment, the officer heard a voice from inside the apartment yell "He won't let me answer the door!" and "He won't let me go!" Officers then forced entry into the apartment. According to an affidavit, Police found evidence of a small fire inside the apartment and detained Scout Anthony Thomas Hodge, 20, while waiting for the fire crews. Police say Hodge's mother was being held in a bear hug by Hodge because he said that if police were allowed inside, he would be committed to a psychiatric facility.
When the fire department arrived, they found fire debris outside the apartment. According to police, the fire was set inside and moved to the exterior by Hodge. The fire department found a hole burned in the rug, and made sure the fire was extinguished. Damage was estimated at $100. Upon questioning, police say Hodge waived his Miranda rights and told investigators he was in his room and began to get in a bad mood because of a program he was watching about politics.
Hodge said he then burned a Syria hat with a lighter and placed it on the rug, all of which was recorded on Instagram. Police say Hodge was trying to make a political statement and let people know he is not a "loser." The fire spread to the rug and caused fire damage to a larger rug underneath. When his mother began to yell at him, Hodge picked up the burning rug and placed it outside, causing fire damage to the side of the building. Hodge is charged with arson, a state jail felony, as well as unlawful restraint.

Man fought off home intruder with his favorite frying pan

When an intruder broke into Glenn Tew’s house in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he fought back with his favorite frying pan. “The fact that he would come in and invade my our home and just do the damage he had done, I said no one should have to put up with that kind of mess,” Tex said

It was just before midnight on Thursday when Tew went to check on a noise in his den, and confronted 21-year-old Sheldon Dix as he broke through a glass door. “I hollered at him and he proceeded to come charging at me trying to knock me out, and we kinda locked horns and fell on the floor,” said Tew. Tew’s wife ran to help her husband, and tossed him the frying pan. “I think she hit him with a metal trash can a couple of times, and then once I got the frying pan I proceeded to given him a good dose of that!,” said Tew.
Police say just minutes before the break-in, Dix savagely attacked a mother who was waiting in her car at a nearby church parking lot. They said when another man saw the attack and tried to intervene, Dix starting beating on the man. The woman in the car then pulled out a handgun and shot at the attacker. "The victim in the car happened to be a concealed-permit holder. She had a legal right. She retrieved her firearm and fired off two rounds," said Fayetteville Police Lt. Tim Tew.
Lt. Tew is not related to the victims. He said the suspect fled across a parking lot and ran down the street. When he broke into the Tew home, he got a lot more than he bargained for. Glenn Tew hopes he can salvage his favorite frying pan. “The bottom is a little messed up, but I expect I can hammer it back down,” said Tew. Authorities say Dix is in police custody and under evaluation. He’s facing numerous charges.

Ocean warming has doubled in recent decades

Scientists: Ocean warming has doubled in recent decades

Ocean temperatures increased as much in the last two decades as they had in more than a century before, according to a new study. “Since the 1990s, the total amount of heat content change in the oceans is twice that of what we’d seen up until that point in the past...

Our Atmosphere Is Leaking

Our Atmosphere Is Leaking into Space

Yep, you read the headline right. Our atmosphere is leaking. That's the bad news. The good news is it's going to take a really, REALLY long time before it gets scary.

Stars out of focus show their true colors

This photo posted by NASA at APOD reminds us that stars have colors.

Captured in June from the north rim of the Grand Canyon of planet Earth, the shallow, close focus image has rendered pine needles on the tree branch sharp, but blurred the distant stars, their light smeared into remarkably colorful disks. Of course, temperature determines the color of a star. Most of the out-of-focus bright stars of Scorpius show a predominately blue hue, their surface temperatures much hotter than the Sun's. Cooler and larger than the Sun, and noticeably redder on the scene, is giant star Antares at the heart of the scorpion. In focused, telescopic views the whitish disk at the upper right would be immediately recognizable though, reflecting the Sun's light as ringed gas giant Saturn.

This Is the First Flower Grown in Space

There's a flower garden on the International Space Station. Oh, it's meant for scientific research. But the newborn results are pretty!
The project examines how different plants grow in microgravity. This orange zinnia that just bloomed is a challenge to grow in space. The experience of cultivating it will help scientists learn how to grow more challenging--and edible--plants in microgravity. UPI reports:

"The zinnia plant is very different from lettuce," Veggie project manager Trent Smith said. "It is more sensitive to environmental parameters and light characteristics. It has a longer growth duration between 60 and 80 days. Thus, it is a more difficult plant to grow, and allowing it to flower, along with the longer growth duration, makes it a good precursor to a tomato plant."

Gregarious Chimps Harbor Richer Gut Microbiomes

Gregarious Chimps Harbor Richer Gut Microbiomes

Spending time in close contact with others often means risking catching germs and getting sick. But being sociable may also help transmit “good” microbes, finds a multi-institutional study of gut microbiomes in chimpanzees. Researchers monitored changes in the gut...

Dogs really can tell how their owners are feeling

Dogs really can tell how their owners are feeling, new study shows

Animal Pictures