Trivia 06 Jul 2017

[Dan Gall]

July 6, 1976

In Annapolis, Maryland, the United States Naval Academy admits women for
the first time in its history with the induction of 81 female
midshipmen. In May 1980, Elizabeth Anne Rowe became the first woman
member of the class to graduate. Four years later, Kristine Holderied
became the first female midshipman to graduate at the top of her class.

July 6, 1988

On this day in 1988, an explosion rips through an oil rig in the North
Sea, killing 167 workers. It was the worst offshore oil-rig disaster in
history.

The Piper Alpha rig, which was the largest in the North Sea, was owned
by Occidental Oil and had approximately 225 workers onboard at the time
of the explosion. It was located about 120 miles off the northeast coast
of Scotland. On the evening of July 6, a gas leak led to a massive
explosion and fire on the rig. A fireball 350 feet high erupted from the
platform.

July 6, 2013

Disaster - Unattended 74-car freight train carrying crude oil runs away,
rolls downhill for 11 km and derails at a speed of 100 kmh in the town
of Lac-Mégantic at approximately 01:15 EDT; the resulting fire and
explosion of multiple tank cars kills 47 people and incinerates the
centre of the town; more than 30 buildings, about half of the downtown
area, are destroyed; 2,000 people evacuated; all but three of the 39
remaining downtown buildings will be demolished due to petroleum
contamination of the townsite; millions of litres of crude leaked into
nearby water bodies; fourth-deadliest rail accident in Canadian history,
and the deadliest involving a non-passenger train. Lac-Mégantic, Québec

*****

Thought of the Day

If you treat people right they will treat you right - ninety percent of
the time.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 - 1945)

*****

Question of the Day

The hanging cluster on banana trees is known as a what?

Yesterdays Question

The banana plant's leaves are easily torn by the wind, resulting in what?

Answer

The familiar frond look