Walter Wednesdays - April 12, 2023
Welcome back to Walter Wednesdays, we hope you had a fantastic week! Thank you for reading!
The Brothers of Odd
The new Brothers of Odd website is up! A hub for all of our projects including Walter Wednesdays can be found here.
Speaking of Tweaking - Tweaker of the Week
Speaking of Tweaking back in 2016 a man was arrested in Georgia, that’s right not Florida this time, for smoking meth at a Waffle House and carrying a knife and a book bag of other drugs. Now, I’ve been to Waffle House a good bit and meth and knives are expected of a Waffle House, especially the meth. But, the story does not end there. When police arrived shortly after 4 a.m., they found Jacob Worthington, 25, wearing clown clothes. Worthington went to Waffle House at four in the morning dressed as a clown to smoke meth. In his book bag, police found weed, mushrooms, LSD, a digital scale, and a “small bag of white powder.” Worthington was arrested on four drug-related counts including possession and intent to sell.
When an American Battleship Flooded Itself on Purpose
April 19, 1917 - A German U-boat surfaces, preparing to sink the merchant ship Mongolia but before the U-boat can fire, shots ring out and land around it. The first American shots of World War I were fired. The USS Texas was escorting Mongolia and successfully deterred the German attack. The USS Texas spent the remainder of the war sailing with Britain’s Grand Fleet escorting convoys. On March 10, 1919, she again made history when she became the first battleship to launch an airplane.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Texas escorted allied convoys across the Atlantic to destinations such as Panama, Sierra Leone, and the United Kingdom. During Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, Texas broadcasted General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Voice of Freedom” speech and fired 300 shells in supporting fire.
The USS Texas would then make history again when she took part in Operation Overlord; D-Day. On June 6, 1944, she fired 255 shells in only thirty-four minutes off the coast of Normandy. As allied forces landed on the beaches, Texas almost beached herself moving closer to the shore to support them. She was originally stationed 12,000 yards offshore and moved to just 3,00 yards from the beach. Even after getting as close as possible, the ship’s massive 14-inch guns still could not fire as far inland as the troops on the beaches needed. So, her crew flooded her hull, which lowered her starboard side and raised the port side by two degrees, providing just enough elevation for her guns to complete the firing mission, giving the allied forces on the beaches the cover they needed to continue moving inland.
Art Piece - Emberlynn Coltrane
News Briefings
Chile - Chile’s congress overwhelmingly approved a bill to reduce the work week from forty-five hours to forty hours on Tuesday. This is the second time Chile has reduced its workweek, the first was in 2005 lowering it from forty-eight to forty-five hours.
Philippines - On Tuesday, American and Filipino forces launched their largest combat exercises in decades across the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. The drills take place after Washington has repeatedly warned China over its increasingly aggressive actions such as circling Taiwan with fighter jets.
North Korea - Kim Jong-Un vowed to enhance his nuclear arsenal in more “practical and offensive” ways after his rival’s “frantic” military exercises.
Ukraine-Russia War - On Monday, more than 200 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers returned home after a prisoner swap. 106 Russian soldiers were released from Ukrainian custody in return for 100 Ukrainian prisoners from Russia.
On The Bright Side - Retired Cats
Stray and abandoned cats that should be enjoying their golden years are safe and comfortable at the Shropshire Cat Rescue in Shrewsbury, England. “The shelter was intended to create an area for cats who were too elderly or had ongoing health conditions that needed regular treatment and monitoring to live out their days in comfort,” explains volunteer vet Susie. Housing seventeen cats, the gated community has well-kept gardens and mini cottages with a litter tray, bed, food, water bowls, and various toys in each cottage. Volunteers take time to look after the cats and once a month local kids read to the cats.
Comedy Corner
Today in History
In 1204, the Fourth Crusade invaded Constantinople and occupied it the following day.
In 1864, the American Civil War began with the attack on Fort Sumter.
In 1900, President William McKinley signed the Foraker Act which gave Puerto Rico limited self-rule.
In 1917, Canadian forces successfully took Vimy Ridge from the Germans.
In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the execution of members of the Chinese Communist Party,
In 1934, the Auto-Lite strike began leading to a five-day melee between 6,000 strikers and the Ohio National Guard.
In 1937, Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine at Rugby, England.
In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died; Vice President Harry Truman took his place.
In 1945, The U.S. Ninth Army crossed the Elbe River reaching Tangermünde, fifty miles from Berlin.
In 1955, the polio vaccine was declared safe and effective.
In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into outer space.
In 1970, the Soviet submarine K-8 sank in the Bay of Biscay four days after a fire, the K-8 was carrying four nuclear torpedoes.
In 1981, the first Space Shuttle, Columbia, was launched on the STS-1 mission.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton was cited for contempt of court for making intentionally false statements.
In 2014, the Great Fire of Valparaiso killed sixteen and displaced nearly 10,000 people.
"The quickest way to get a raise is to change jobs." - My Economics Professor