Showing results by author "Dan Lewis" in All Categories

At the close of World War II, the victorious Allies split Germany into four parts—one controlled by France, another by the United Kingdom, another by the United States and another by the Soviet Union. And Berlin, although it was embedded within the Soviet-controlled sector, was itself divided into four similarly managed parts.

ATMs – short for automated teller machines – have become a ubiquitous feature in the lives of most people in developed nations.

On the evening of December 2, 1984, a chemical manufacturing plant in Bhopal, India owned by Union Carbide began leaking toxic gas into the residential areas surrounding the plant, and the resulting tragedy is considered one of the worst such disasters in history.

In 1875, two men from Wisconsin convinced P.T. Barnum, the famed showman, to join their business – a circus. Barnum's job was to lend his name to the product and, ultimately, his wisdom as well, and the circus became known as "P.T. Barnum's Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Hippodrome."

In 2013, Mamoru Samuragochi was nearing his 50th birthday and was at the peak of his fame. A talented composer, Samuragochi was near the top of the list if you needed an original score for a video game and was widely regarded as a leading talent in the realm of digital composition. He was also well known for composing a symphony about the Hiroshima bomb, which quickly became one of the more popular classical music pieces in Japan.

Sometime in the summer of 1933, a couple in Trinidad – it's unclear if they were ever married – went through a particularly nasty breakup. The woman, Caroline, believed her partner to be less-than-faithful; his reputation for philandering and carousing was more than she could handle, especially given that she had just given birth to twin boys six months prior. Caroline decided to return to Germany, where she – a practicing Roman Catholic – had grown up.

Learn about New York City's decades-long pinball ban – and resulting black market – on this episode of Now I Know. Fiorello LaGuardia was elected mayor of New York City in 1933, and, on January 1st of the following year, took office. One of his first acts as mayor was to crack down on mafia activity, especially mob-owned slot machines, seeing them as a direct line into the coffers of organized crime.

Baseball, like many other sports, requires good hand-eye coordination. This is especially true if you're trying to hit a pitched ball with a bat – for instance, a 75-mile-per-hour fastball (which is fast for amateurs, but comically slow if you're a Major League pitcher) reaches home plate in less than a second.

In the 1971 book The Lorax, the incomparable Dr. Seuss tells the story of an environmentally conscious monster (the Lorax) and his efforts to protect Truffula trees (a fictional species) from an industrialist named the Once-ler who is chopping them down.

Libraries are, increasingly, more than just books—they're repositories of information, and all that knowledge is made open to the public. You can scan decades-old magazines now stored on microfiche, check out CDs and DVDs (and even vinyl and VHS tapes, if you have a device that can play them), and you can surf the internet with reckless abandon.

In 1918, the United Kingdom passed the Representation of the People Act, resulting in a major overhaul of the U.K.'s voting system.

In 1973, author Sidney Sheldon published the book The Other Side of Midnight, centering on a love triangle between an American World War II pilot, the lover he takes while stationed in France, and the woman back home whom he abandons her for after the war is over.

The building located at 33 Thomas Street in Manhattan – like many buildings in Manhattan – is tall. But at 550 feet, it isn't all that tall by New York City's standards – it doesn't even crack the top 100.

Today, the United States celebrates the fake holiday known as Groundhog Day. The tradition, which dates back to the 18th or 19th century, is pseudoscience, but probably the harmless variety. People gather around in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, waiting for a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil to emerge. (And yes, there are other Groundhog Day groundhogs, too, but Phil's the OG, assuming the "G" stands for "groundhog".)

In the fall of 1994, the United States was introduced to a new tool in the world of crime solving and prosecution – DNA evidence. The O.J. Simpson trial had captured the nation's – if not much of the world's – attention, and a large part of the trial's outcome hung on DNA. At the time, the use of DNA evidence was still emerging, and the science wasn't well understood – or trusted – by juries.

How does one keep a billion-dollar airport from cracking? Learn about San Francisco's groundbreaking solution to the seismic problem on this episode of Now I Know. The San Francisco Bay area is home to an extraordinary number of earthquakes. According to Earthquake Track, for a one-year period ending on March 24, 2016, the San Francisco Bay area experienced more than 650 earthquakes of magnitude 1.5 or greater – more than a dozen earthquakes a week.

Approximately 100,000 public safety communicators go to work each day. They answer millions of 9-1-1 calls, dispatch first responders, handle administrative calls, and document information in the background, often going unnoticed and underappreciated. This podcast explores the work of these frontline heroes and offers insights into the industry. Part training, part venting, and always from the heart, episodes will dive into topics of interest to those working in the industry, review research on various related topics, and present observations of the host, guests, and listeners.

If, right this second, you want to watch a TV show or movie, your choices are immense. That choice extends beyond the specific program you wish to watch, too – you also have many ways to obtain that content.

Welcome to The Atlantic Crossover Podcast! We're three Brits from 3 different corners of the British Isles who have a fascination with all North American Sports! With our main focuses being NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. Along with some College Sports and MLS. Be sure to check us out each week! With our Live show and recordings happening each Wednesday on Twitch and Youtube at 20:00 UK time, 15:00 EST, 12:00 PST. You can catch us on all social media with our handles below: Facebook: @The Atlantic Crossover Twitter: @TACrossover Instagram: @theatlanticcrossover Twitch: @The Atlantic Crossover (https://...

Happy 2 Health has been created to aid in the understanding of mental health through normalising conversations about thoughts, feelings, emotions and the impact that this can have on our physical health.  Danny, Dan and Ben aim to help people around the world to promote positive mental health and wellbeing through using exercise as a form of therapy. This podcast delves into some interesting current topics going on in society today, as well as getting key insights from some of the UK’s most successful businessmen and women. Follow Happy 2 Health Podcast through the following platforms:...