26 February 2021 - THE St. FRANCIS DAM FAILURE of 1928

 

THE St. FRANCIS

 DAM FAILURE of 1928

G'day folks,

The St. Francis dam failure is considered one of the worst civil engineering catastrophes in American history. 

 

Built between 1924 and 1926, St. Francis Dam was a curved concrete gravity dam that was meant to help meet Los Angeles’ growing need for water regulation and storage. It was located about 30 miles (50 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Several cracks and leaks were observed in the dam and its abutments but they were dismissed as normal by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the general manager and chief engineer of the dam, William Mulholland.

 

On March 7, 1928, the reservoir was filled to capacity for the first time. After an inspection, Mulholland proclaimed it safe. Five days later, on March 12, the dam catastrophically failed. The resulting flood killed hundreds and swept away thousands of acres of fertile land. The disaster was largely blamed on poor design and the use of poor quality concrete, which allowed water to undermine the dam's foundations. It goes without saying that it also marked the end of Mulholland’s career.

 

Clancy's comment: A sad disaster for hundreds who probably didn't see it coming.

 

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19 February 2021 - Construction Failure At Charles De Gaulle Airport

 

Construction Failure At 

Charles De Gaulle Airport

 

G'day folks,

Many countries have experienced great construction disasters, even Australia. Here is one that occurred in France, and it's a wonder more were not killed.

Not long after the inauguration of the Charles de Gaulle airport, in May 2004, a big portion of the roof of Terminal 2E collapsed, killing 5 people and injuring many more. The terminal building was a 1475 ft (450 m) long elliptical tube constructed of concrete rings. According to the official investigation report, a number of design failures were not caught during construction, which resulted in the collapse, namely a lack of redundant supports, poorly placed reinforcing steel, weak outer steel struts, weak concrete support beams, and low resistance to temperature fluctuations. 

 

 The structure was rebuilt with a metal framework and reopened in the spring of 2008.

 

Clancy's comment: Wow, it's a whopping structure. Happy travels, eh?

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27 January 2021 - GREAT QUOTES WORTH READING

 

GREAT QUOTES WORTH READING

G'day folks,

Welcome to some top quotes to inspire you.

 

Clancy's comment: Hope they have inspired you. Many of these are perfect for politicians, but they probably wouldn't understand them. 

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18 February 2021 - JACKIE KENNEDY - FACTS AND QUOTES

 

JACKIE KENNEDY 

- FACTS AND QUOTES -

G'day folks,

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was born under the name Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, on July 28, 1929. Before becoming the wife of John F. Kennedy and the First Lady of the United States, she was a reporter-photographer at the Washington Times-Herald, and notably covered the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1952. 

 

In 1952, Jacqueline met Kennedy who was then a popular congressman from Massachusetts, and two years later, on September 12, 1953, the couple got married.

When Kennedy was elected in 1960, Jacqueline became the youngest First Lady in 80 years, at the age of 31. But she wasn’t outstanding just because of her age. During her short time at the White House, Jackie Kennedy became one of the most popular first ladies. She was admired for her fashion sense, facility in language, and beauty. Parents named daughters after Jacqueline, and even the president once jokingly introduced himself to reporters as “the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris” (alluding to the immense popularity of his wife during their tour in France in 1961).

Of course, one cannot talk about Jacqueline, and not mention the tragedy of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. She oversaw the late president’s funeral, using many of the details of Abraham Lincoln’s funeral a century earlier. Her quiet dignity and the sight of her two children standing beside her at the funeral are well remembered and brought a wave of appreciation from all over the world. Following Kennedy’s funeral, Jacqueline and her two children disappeared from the public eye.

She remarried in 1968, to Aristotle Onassis. On May 19, 1994, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died at the age of 64. Her elegance, grace, and inner strength are still an inspiration for many to this day. These are some of the former First Lady’s most memorable words.

Clancy's comment: She certainly had an interesting life.

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12 February 2021 - THE BEAUTY OF TULIPS

 

THE BEAUTY 

OF TULIPS

G'day folks,

There are many beautiful flowers in the world, but few have ever competed with the abundance and pure beauty that the tulip represents. This gorgeous and colorful flower has many festivals in its honor held around the world. Because it can be grown in so many bright colors, it makes for some beautiful celebrations.

Colorful fields of tulips as far as the eye can see. These were shot in British Columbia, Canada. Many places around the world celebrate tulip festivals. These fragrant and beautiful flowers used to be so popular that a phrase was coined: "Tulip Mania".

In 17th century Holland, tulips were so important that you could measure someone's social status by the exotic tulips they cultivated. At the peak of this 'tulip mania', individual exotic tulips would be sold for more than ten times the annual salary of a skilled worker.

Purple and red, green and pink. A celebration of colors. Not all tulips are fragrant, but all of them can be eaten, and indeed during WWII and the 1944 Dutch famine, people survived by eating tulips and sugar beets.

At one point, the tulip was the most expensive flower in the world. At one point during the height of Europe’s tulip mania, a single Viceroy tulip bulb was purchased for two lasts of wheat, four lasts of rye, four fat oxen, eight fat swine, 12 fat sheep, two hogsheads of wine, four casks of beer, two tons of butter, a complete bed, a suit of clothes and a silver drinking cup!

The Canadian Tulip Festival, which claims to be the world’s largest tulip festival, is a major event held annually each May in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. During World War II, the Dutch Royal Family took refuge in Canada. Princess Margriet of the Netherlands was born at Ottawa Civic Hospital in 1943, and the Canadian government declared the land to be extraterritorial. This was done to ensure that the princess would have Dutch citizenship. Every year since, Queen Juliana and the royal family after her death have sent tulip bulbs for the festival.

Clancy's comment: Magnificent colours.

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