Fotopátračka.cz

On the 6 September 1943, a US Army truck collided with a Brisbane City Council Tram, whilst driving on the incorrect side of the road on Beaudesert Road at Moorooka, Brisbane, resulting in one of the worst road accidents in Australia during World War 2. The tram involved in the incident was a “drop-centre” car. … Continue reading Truck/tram crash – Brisbane, 1943

On the afternoon of the 17th of December 1917, a 3 Sqn AFC Royal Aircraft Factory RE8 observation aircraft, flown by Lieutenant J. L. Sandy, with Sergeant H. F. Hughes as observer, was ranging an 8-inch howitzer battery firing at the German lines. The RE8 came under attack by six Albatros DVa scouts of Royal Prussian Jasta 29 between Deulemont and Armentieres.  The … Continue reading Ghost in the machine – the final flight of an RE8 in World War 1

Steven Kubacki was a 23 year-old college student at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Described as adventurous and outgoing, Kubacki had a love for outdoor adventures, particularly skiing. One day in February 1978, Kubacki went for at a ski at Lake Michigan’s Saugatuck Dunes State Park. When he didn’t return, a search was started. His skis … Continue reading What am I doing here? – the strange case of Steven Kubacki

Having discovered that I share the exact birthday with a famous performer (see below), I thought it would be interesting to see what other interesting things happened on the 23rd of December. 1888 – Suffering from severe depression, Vincent Van Gogh cut off the lower part of his left ear with a razor in Arles, … Continue reading December 23, 1964 (Oh, What a Night)

The “Back To The Future” trilogy was one of the most successful movie series of all time. Writer/producer Bob Gale and director Robert Zemeckis own the rights to the franchise and have stated they will never make a fourth instalment, and will block any sequels, reboots, or remakes not made by them. However, a few years … Continue reading Back To The Future IV

Railway tracks beside the sea, although delightful for passengers, can cause problems to engineers. Folkestone Warren between Folkestone and Dover in the SE of England is an example, though it was the strata rather than the sea that caused the problem on the 19th of December 1915. Folkestone Warren is six miles of crumbling chalk … Continue reading Slip Sliding’ Away

It was the scientific breakthrough of the century, or certainly appeared to be. On the 23rd of March 23 1989, two respected chemists, B. Stanley Pons, professor of chemistry at the University of Utah, and his colleague Martin Fleischmann of the University of Southampton in England, announced in a press conference that they had replicated … Continue reading Pouring cold water

On the morning of May 26 1932, as Londoners read the “Evening Standard” newspaper, they saw a large advertisement for a new-fangled product – the yo-yo. While yo-yos can be traced back to ancient times, manufacturing of the toy had started in the late 1920’s in the United States. Now they were being introduced into … Continue reading What a Fool Believes

In June 1931, Lieutenant Hubert George Chevis, a young British Army Artillery officer, was occupying a bungalow on the Blackdown Camp, near Aldershot. He also kept a family house in London in which his wife and two children resided during the week while he was on duty, and the family was reunited at the bungalow … Continue reading You’re a dead duck! 

By 1944, the war in the Pacific had turned against Japan. Combining the pressure of naval superiority, the ability to land large armies at key locations, and a steadily growing strength of air power, American forces and their Allies closed in on Japan. Submarines cut the island nation off from the resources in its far-flung … Continue reading Up, Up and Away

In the December 21 2025 post “Jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire”, I mentioned DB Cooper, who hijacked a Northwest Airlines Boeing 727, and after collecting a $200,00.00 ransom, parachuted from the aircraft somewhere between Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, never to be heard from again. Today’s story is about someone who … Continue reading Take the money and run