No. John Paul succeeded in 1978. Fake news.
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Incredibly pat historical occurrences
- Thread starter Tom Colton
- Start date
- Location
- NYC (né Falkirk)
- Pronouns
- he/him
If Real win will it see an upswing in republicanism in Merseyside?
1981 was in fact the year of the attempted assassination. Not sure that makes things an awful lot better, mind.
- Location
- NYC (né Falkirk)
- Pronouns
- he/him
Mandela effect on JP I?
1981 was a big year for failed assassinations with huge ramifications. John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and HM (twice).
- Location
- Derbyshire
Saw this earlier, it's unfortunately not accurate as John Paul II ruled from 1978-2005.
See above.
- Location
- Op een dag, Nederland.
- Pronouns
- she/her & ne/nem
Andrew Johnson worked as a tailor and his wife was a schoolteacher.
Lyndon Johnson worked as a schoolteacher and his wife was a Taylor.
The flawed mirror of Hubble is an unbelievable stupid story.
So once were two manufacturers of big, light space mirrors. One was Kodak, the other was Perkin Elmer. These two had manufactured such mirrors, not for NASA, but for the military (NRO) - for spy satellites to take very high resolution pictures of the Soviet Union, ironically called Key Hole (KH).
- Kodak first got a contract for the KH-8 43 inch diameter mirror.
- Then P.E got the contract for the KH-9.
- Kodak build larger and larger mirrors, 72-inch for the KH-10, then 94-inch for the KH-11, which is Hubble evil twin.
So Kodak was a clear leader, yet NASA gave the contract to Perkin Elmer - they would manufacture a 94-inch mirror for Hubble.
Ok.
Then NASA got another contract, with Kodak, requesting a backup mirror derived from the KH-11 - same diameter, 94-inch.
The NRO advised NASA that both Kodak and P.E were perfectly able to manufacture large mirrors, and most importantly, they used to test them in their factories - Kodak, in Rochester, Perkin Elmer in Danbury (for the record: they build 300 spysats or more).
Yet NASA insisted they would test the mirrors themselves. Why not ?
So Hubble mirror should NEVER had been flawed.
Yet NASA, always cautious, set the following checks
- P.E would test the mirror themselves
- NASA would test the mirror, too
- Kodak would build a backup mirror and test it
- NASA would test Kodak mirror
FOUR tests of TWO mirrors, what could possibly go wrong ?
There was of course the very remote possibility that NASA and Perkin both screwed, and send a flawed mirror into orbit. In this case, the plan was as follow
- launch a space shuttle
- catch Hubble
- bring it to the ground
- disassemble Huble to reach the flawed mirror
- bring Kodak mirror to replace it
- rebuild Hubble, relaunch it with another Shuttle.
At least Kodak believed it would happen that way but even them were confident enough P.E and NASA tests would catch any flaw on the ground, before launch.
And yet it happened.
May 1990, first Hubble picture "WTF; seems there is something very wrong with our telescope" Sure, dude. P.E and NASA had managed the perfect Murphy Law bullseye: their respectives tests had NOT caught the flawed mirror.
So here come Kodak, touting their backup mirror as NOT flawed and ready to be used - as planned.
And then NASA said "No. Bringing Hubble down to the ground - too difficult. Better to place corrective lenses in orbit". And so they did, and truth be told, it worked, albeit it was one of the most difficult mission ever flown by astronauts.
Nowadays Kodak backup , unflawed Hubble mirror sits in the National Aerospace Museum, Washington.
(facepalm)
So once were two manufacturers of big, light space mirrors. One was Kodak, the other was Perkin Elmer. These two had manufactured such mirrors, not for NASA, but for the military (NRO) - for spy satellites to take very high resolution pictures of the Soviet Union, ironically called Key Hole (KH).
- Kodak first got a contract for the KH-8 43 inch diameter mirror.
- Then P.E got the contract for the KH-9.
- Kodak build larger and larger mirrors, 72-inch for the KH-10, then 94-inch for the KH-11, which is Hubble evil twin.
So Kodak was a clear leader, yet NASA gave the contract to Perkin Elmer - they would manufacture a 94-inch mirror for Hubble.
Ok.
Then NASA got another contract, with Kodak, requesting a backup mirror derived from the KH-11 - same diameter, 94-inch.
The NRO advised NASA that both Kodak and P.E were perfectly able to manufacture large mirrors, and most importantly, they used to test them in their factories - Kodak, in Rochester, Perkin Elmer in Danbury (for the record: they build 300 spysats or more).
Yet NASA insisted they would test the mirrors themselves. Why not ?
So Hubble mirror should NEVER had been flawed.
Yet NASA, always cautious, set the following checks
- P.E would test the mirror themselves
- NASA would test the mirror, too
- Kodak would build a backup mirror and test it
- NASA would test Kodak mirror
FOUR tests of TWO mirrors, what could possibly go wrong ?
There was of course the very remote possibility that NASA and Perkin both screwed, and send a flawed mirror into orbit. In this case, the plan was as follow
- launch a space shuttle
- catch Hubble
- bring it to the ground
- disassemble Huble to reach the flawed mirror
- bring Kodak mirror to replace it
- rebuild Hubble, relaunch it with another Shuttle.
At least Kodak believed it would happen that way but even them were confident enough P.E and NASA tests would catch any flaw on the ground, before launch.
And yet it happened.
May 1990, first Hubble picture "WTF; seems there is something very wrong with our telescope" Sure, dude. P.E and NASA had managed the perfect Murphy Law bullseye: their respectives tests had NOT caught the flawed mirror.
So here come Kodak, touting their backup mirror as NOT flawed and ready to be used - as planned.
And then NASA said "No. Bringing Hubble down to the ground - too difficult. Better to place corrective lenses in orbit". And so they did, and truth be told, it worked, albeit it was one of the most difficult mission ever flown by astronauts.
Nowadays Kodak backup , unflawed Hubble mirror sits in the National Aerospace Museum, Washington.
(facepalm)
Some good one about Jean Marie Le Pen.
First, Le Pen is from French Brittany and well, in "Breton language" Le Pen actually mean "The chief", exactly like "Il Ducce" in italian or "Das fuhrer" in german. At least Adolf and Benito CHOSE these, while Le Pen is Jean Marie family name.
Another astonishing coincidence is that one of Jean Marie Le Pen daughter (not Marine, but her sister who is mostly unknown) married a man called MARECHAL. Just like freakkin MARECHAL Pétain. First time I red that I nearly banged my head against a wall, then collapsed in uncontrollable laughter.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Maréchal
They had three children, among them Marion Marechal - Le Pen (you know, the young venenous blonde - every time I see her, I can't help thinking about Elsa Schneider, the evil girl in Indiana Jones and the last crusade (the nazi women that talk in her sleep)
Even better, Le Pen great - daughter, Marion, was once called Marion MARECHAL LE PEN but last month just dropped the "Le Pen" name in shame (yes, in shame ! ) So now she just call her MARECHAL. Really. It is kind of Mrs Hitler changing her name to Mrs Goebbels.
And finally, Jean Marie Le Pen lived to 89 (he is still alive) only to see - in the course of only the last six months
- his daughter (Marine) change the name of his political party (le Front National is dead, long live Le Rassemblement National) in shame
- his great daughter, Marion, dropping the Le Pen family name, also in shame.
Which says a lot of how TOXIC both Le Pen and his ideology and legacy have become. No one wants to touch this, not even the family.
what is even more mind -boggling is that the Front National new name was once the name of a political party led by one of fanatical antisemits in Vichy - Marcel Déat was Laval nemesis > https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rassemblement_national_populaire
First, Le Pen is from French Brittany and well, in "Breton language" Le Pen actually mean "The chief", exactly like "Il Ducce" in italian or "Das fuhrer" in german. At least Adolf and Benito CHOSE these, while Le Pen is Jean Marie family name.
Another astonishing coincidence is that one of Jean Marie Le Pen daughter (not Marine, but her sister who is mostly unknown) married a man called MARECHAL. Just like freakkin MARECHAL Pétain. First time I red that I nearly banged my head against a wall, then collapsed in uncontrollable laughter.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_MaréchalThey had three children, among them Marion Marechal - Le Pen (you know, the young venenous blonde - every time I see her, I can't help thinking about Elsa Schneider, the evil girl in Indiana Jones and the last crusade (the nazi women that talk in her sleep)
Even better, Le Pen great - daughter, Marion, was once called Marion MARECHAL LE PEN but last month just dropped the "Le Pen" name in shame (yes, in shame ! ) So now she just call her MARECHAL. Really. It is kind of Mrs Hitler changing her name to Mrs Goebbels.
And finally, Jean Marie Le Pen lived to 89 (he is still alive) only to see - in the course of only the last six months
- his daughter (Marine) change the name of his political party (le Front National is dead, long live Le Rassemblement National) in shame
- his great daughter, Marion, dropping the Le Pen family name, also in shame.
Which says a lot of how TOXIC both Le Pen and his ideology and legacy have become. No one wants to touch this, not even the family.
what is even more mind -boggling is that the Front National new name was once the name of a political party led by one of fanatical antisemits in Vichy - Marcel Déat was Laval nemesis > https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rassemblement_national_populaire
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In the days of Vichy, Maréchal Pétain got himself a national anthem as savior of France (no kidding) https://2ndww.blogspot.com/2009/08/marechal-nous-voila_27.html
The catchphrase was "Maréchal, nous voilà" which more or less translates as "Maréchal, here we come to you" but in French "me voilà" also mean "here I come"
So here's my favorite running joke about Le Pen
Le Pen get to a railway station to pick up his stepson, Samuel Maréchal. Unfortunately for him, the station platform is crowded, he forget in which wagon.
And then all of sudden Le Pen see his stepson in the crowd, but his stepson is going in the opposite direction, evidently not seeing him.
So what does Le Pen do ?
well, what we would all do.
He raises his right arm (and wave his hand)
He shouts the person name very loud, above the noise.
Which translates as (drums rolling...)
"MARECHAL, ME VOILA !!!" (hey Maréchal, here I come !)
...and then policemen hear that, and throw Le Pen in prison for promoting Vichy infamous memory (plus doing the infamous nazi salute)
(runs for cover)
The catchphrase was "Maréchal, nous voilà" which more or less translates as "Maréchal, here we come to you" but in French "me voilà" also mean "here I come"
So here's my favorite running joke about Le Pen
Le Pen get to a railway station to pick up his stepson, Samuel Maréchal. Unfortunately for him, the station platform is crowded, he forget in which wagon.
And then all of sudden Le Pen see his stepson in the crowd, but his stepson is going in the opposite direction, evidently not seeing him.
So what does Le Pen do ?
well, what we would all do.
He raises his right arm (and wave his hand)
He shouts the person name very loud, above the noise.
Which translates as (drums rolling...)
"MARECHAL, ME VOILA !!!" (hey Maréchal, here I come !)
...and then policemen hear that, and throw Le Pen in prison for promoting Vichy infamous memory (plus doing the infamous nazi salute)
(runs for cover)
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How Kourou launch complex escaped a major disaster - by a hairbreadth and pure luck.
October 1989. The Loma Prieta earthquake strikes California, killing many people and badly damaging Loral company satellite plant. Including a satellite to be launched on Ariane flight 36, in February 1990.
Thanks to Ariane flexibility, the Ariane 40 that was to carry the Loral satellite, alone, was turned into a 44L, with twice as much engines on stage 1. Another satellite was added, for a now double-launch.
Meanwhile the construction of that peculiar Ariane core has already started in Les Mureaux, near Paris. And at this moment, a metalurgist working on a coolant tube of a Viking engine of that Ariane, puts a cloth in the tube, and go on weekend.
He warned nobody that his cloth was there, but
- the cloth was bright red
- it would catch atention of his coleagues
- but what's more, he planned to go to work the next monday, and as such he would personnally remove the cloth, so nothing of this would ever matter.
And then, during the weekend, he fell ill, and so on Monday he wasn't there so he didn't removed the cloth, and nobody knew nor checked, because he was a reputed, reliable metalurgist.
So the cloth stuck into the coolant tube, and the tube went to the Viking, the Viking on Ariane 44L, and then to Kourou.
...
The cloth blocked cooling, obviously, from liftoff, so the Ariane veered off course right from the moment it lifted off. In fact the rocket barely cleared the launch tower, by a couple of meters, leaving black smears all over the place.
And the rocket veered of course further, and had to be detonated by range safety, and it took six months of a very paranoid inquiry to find the ugly, stupid truth about the whole thing.
The inquiry report noted that, had the freakkin' clothed engine been part of a the originally planned Ariane 40, with only half the number of engines (4 instead of 8) then the loss of thrust would have been 1/4 instead of 1/8. The rocket would have collided with the launch tower, and shovered the pad with toxic storable propellants (good luck cleaning hydrazine, remember Mark Watney feelings about the things ?) and a massive fireball.
And finally just look at this page.
http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/bs-2x.htm
The V36 backup satellite went to an Atlas, and - you guess what happened next the Atlas blew up.
As for the unfortunate satellite damaged by the Earthquake, it survived and was repaired only to be lost in the mishap.
The entire story is unbelievable. It is Murphy Law, cubed.
Imagine the faces at Arianespace "oh well, we nearly lost the ELA-1 launch pad. To a fucking cloth."
Imagine the faces at Loral "we worked on night shifts to repair our satellite damaged by an Earthquake, only to lose it on a rocket explosion"
Imagine the faces of the owners of the other satellite "fortunately we had build a backup. But no more freakkin Ariane. Let's go for an Atlas, far more reliable." Yeah, sure, dude.
(Laughing like an idiot just by typing that last sentence)
October 1989. The Loma Prieta earthquake strikes California, killing many people and badly damaging Loral company satellite plant. Including a satellite to be launched on Ariane flight 36, in February 1990.
Thanks to Ariane flexibility, the Ariane 40 that was to carry the Loral satellite, alone, was turned into a 44L, with twice as much engines on stage 1. Another satellite was added, for a now double-launch.
Meanwhile the construction of that peculiar Ariane core has already started in Les Mureaux, near Paris. And at this moment, a metalurgist working on a coolant tube of a Viking engine of that Ariane, puts a cloth in the tube, and go on weekend.
He warned nobody that his cloth was there, but
- the cloth was bright red
- it would catch atention of his coleagues
- but what's more, he planned to go to work the next monday, and as such he would personnally remove the cloth, so nothing of this would ever matter.
And then, during the weekend, he fell ill, and so on Monday he wasn't there so he didn't removed the cloth, and nobody knew nor checked, because he was a reputed, reliable metalurgist.
So the cloth stuck into the coolant tube, and the tube went to the Viking, the Viking on Ariane 44L, and then to Kourou.
...
The cloth blocked cooling, obviously, from liftoff, so the Ariane veered off course right from the moment it lifted off. In fact the rocket barely cleared the launch tower, by a couple of meters, leaving black smears all over the place.
And the rocket veered of course further, and had to be detonated by range safety, and it took six months of a very paranoid inquiry to find the ugly, stupid truth about the whole thing.
The inquiry report noted that, had the freakkin' clothed engine been part of a the originally planned Ariane 40, with only half the number of engines (4 instead of 8) then the loss of thrust would have been 1/4 instead of 1/8. The rocket would have collided with the launch tower, and shovered the pad with toxic storable propellants (good luck cleaning hydrazine, remember Mark Watney feelings about the things ?) and a massive fireball.
And finally just look at this page.
http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/bs-2x.htm
The V36 backup satellite went to an Atlas, and - you guess what happened next the Atlas blew up.
As for the unfortunate satellite damaged by the Earthquake, it survived and was repaired only to be lost in the mishap.
The entire story is unbelievable. It is Murphy Law, cubed.
Imagine the faces at Arianespace "oh well, we nearly lost the ELA-1 launch pad. To a fucking cloth."
Imagine the faces at Loral "we worked on night shifts to repair our satellite damaged by an Earthquake, only to lose it on a rocket explosion"
Imagine the faces of the owners of the other satellite "fortunately we had build a backup. But no more freakkin Ariane. Let's go for an Atlas, far more reliable." Yeah, sure, dude.
(Laughing like an idiot just by typing that last sentence)
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Good Lord.
I just realized that we have yet to discuss the weirdest historical coincidence in all American history.
Everyone, I would like you to meet Wilmer McLean.
Mr. McLean was a Virginian grocer and farmer who lived to the north of the town of Manassas, along the Bull Run Creek. On the morning of July 21, 1861, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard commandeered McLean's house as a military headquarters, but then, in the process of eating lunch, the house came under violent shelling from Union artillery in one of the opening acts of the First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run. Over the course of the day, the bitterest fighting of the battle would take place either on or around McLean's property; in one notable case, the brigade led by Thomas Jackson would make its famous stand that earned them and their commander the nickname of "Stonewall" just in front of his house.
In the aftermath of the battle and subsequent military campaigns, McLean came to the conclusion that his business, property, and life were in danger if he continued to stay where he was (this may have had something to do with the Second Battle of Manassas/Bull Run fought just to the north), so he moved as far to the southwest as he could manage and still remain in Virginia in early 1863.
A little county seat called Appomattox Court House.
On the morning of Palm Sunday, April 9, 1865, McLean was out on the town attending church and running errands when he was stopped by a staff officer of General Lee's headquarters, seeking a suitable house for a major meeting. McLean offered his house, which was soon occupied by General Lee and much of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's high command. A short time later, Union General Ulysses S. Grant and his staff joined them. And there in the parlor room of McLean's house, Lee surrendered his army to Grant.
Thus, it can be said that the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, one of the most epic fratricidal bloodlettings of modern history, began and ended on the property of a middle-aged grocer with a combover.
I just realized that we have yet to discuss the weirdest historical coincidence in all American history.
Everyone, I would like you to meet Wilmer McLean.
Mr. McLean was a Virginian grocer and farmer who lived to the north of the town of Manassas, along the Bull Run Creek. On the morning of July 21, 1861, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard commandeered McLean's house as a military headquarters, but then, in the process of eating lunch, the house came under violent shelling from Union artillery in one of the opening acts of the First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run. Over the course of the day, the bitterest fighting of the battle would take place either on or around McLean's property; in one notable case, the brigade led by Thomas Jackson would make its famous stand that earned them and their commander the nickname of "Stonewall" just in front of his house.
In the aftermath of the battle and subsequent military campaigns, McLean came to the conclusion that his business, property, and life were in danger if he continued to stay where he was (this may have had something to do with the Second Battle of Manassas/Bull Run fought just to the north), so he moved as far to the southwest as he could manage and still remain in Virginia in early 1863.
A little county seat called Appomattox Court House.
On the morning of Palm Sunday, April 9, 1865, McLean was out on the town attending church and running errands when he was stopped by a staff officer of General Lee's headquarters, seeking a suitable house for a major meeting. McLean offered his house, which was soon occupied by General Lee and much of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's high command. A short time later, Union General Ulysses S. Grant and his staff joined them. And there in the parlor room of McLean's house, Lee surrendered his army to Grant.
Thus, it can be said that the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, one of the most epic fratricidal bloodlettings of modern history, began and ended on the property of a middle-aged grocer with a combover.
Un-be-lie-va-ble. Really a unlucky man !
Then again (I probably mentionned it before, but it just blow my mind the sheer horror and cruelty of the coincidence)
A handful of survivors from Hiroshima (recent research suggest, at least a hundred of them) took shelter... in Nagasaki, and thus were nuked twice in three days. There is a small wikipedia page about them. First time I red it, I nearly banged my head against a wall, in despair. Fucking Murphy Law, really. No such thing should ever happen to anybody, not even to Adolf Hitler (or maybe, just to him but no one else).
Imagine the poor people, burned, devastated, stunned by that new unknown weapon and that horrific mushroom cloud.
They run from Hiroshima as fast as they can, jump into a train, and then one of them says "The worst is behind us. At the next train station, we will be safe" and then you hear the voice in the train that says "Next station, Nagasaki" and then you see a caption "August 8, 1945. Japan."
Dear Gosh.
I just can't think about a worse fate for anybody in history, or perhaps a person surviving the middle age Black Death to die from a cold, or smallpox, soon thereafter.
I think there is a guy somewhere that missed planes twice in a short time, and both planes crashed with no survivors. I even think it was on the same day or week.
During the worst air disaster in history, when two 747s collided at takeoff and killed nearly 600 people, a handful of tourists got out of the plane and decided to size an opportunity to visit Teneriffe island. Their KLM 747 later took-off without clearance and hit another 747 (Pan-Am) at 200 mph, leaving no survivors... bar them.
In KAL-007, not only Larry McDonald died in the crash, but a bunch of U.S conservatives were onboard another 747 (KE-015) that did not got lost and made it safely to Seoul. August 1983 was anniversary of the Korean war ceasefire (30 years !) so the conservatives were going to South Korea to support them against communism.
The infamous Jesse Helms (no comment about him because only very rude words would come out of my keyboard) was aboard KE-015 but during the stop in Anchorage he went to Larry McDonald aboard the doomed aircraft and very nearly convinced him to change plane. He failed, returned the other Boeing, and did not died.
Then again (I probably mentionned it before, but it just blow my mind the sheer horror and cruelty of the coincidence)
A handful of survivors from Hiroshima (recent research suggest, at least a hundred of them) took shelter... in Nagasaki, and thus were nuked twice in three days.
There is a small wikipedia page about them. First time I red it, I nearly banged my head against a wall, in despair. Fucking Murphy Law, really. No such thing should ever happen to anybody, not even to Adolf Hitler (or maybe, just to him but no one else).Imagine the poor people, burned, devastated, stunned by that new unknown weapon and that horrific mushroom cloud.
They run from Hiroshima as fast as they can, jump into a train, and then one of them says "The worst is behind us. At the next train station, we will be safe" and then you hear the voice in the train that says "Next station, Nagasaki" and then you see a caption "August 8, 1945. Japan."
Dear Gosh.
I just can't think about a worse fate for anybody in history, or perhaps a person surviving the middle age Black Death to die from a cold, or smallpox, soon thereafter.
I think there is a guy somewhere that missed planes twice in a short time, and both planes crashed with no survivors. I even think it was on the same day or week.
During the worst air disaster in history, when two 747s collided at takeoff and killed nearly 600 people, a handful of tourists got out of the plane and decided to size an opportunity to visit Teneriffe island. Their KLM 747 later took-off without clearance and hit another 747 (Pan-Am) at 200 mph, leaving no survivors... bar them.
In KAL-007, not only Larry McDonald died in the crash, but a bunch of U.S conservatives were onboard another 747 (KE-015) that did not got lost and made it safely to Seoul. August 1983 was anniversary of the Korean war ceasefire (30 years !) so the conservatives were going to South Korea to support them against communism.
The infamous Jesse Helms (no comment about him because only very rude words would come out of my keyboard) was aboard KE-015 but during the stop in Anchorage he went to Larry McDonald aboard the doomed aircraft and very nearly convinced him to change plane. He failed, returned the other Boeing, and did not died.
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The worse air disaster in history, Teneriffe, March 28, 1977, killed 583, an appaling death toll. Well, it was the Murphy Law tunned to 11. during the entire day that ended with the diaster, every single thing that could go wrong, went perfectly wrong, until the two 747s collided.
What is completely mind blowing is that both aircrafts were at Teneriffe island secondary airfield, which was a completely wrong place that deficiencies led straight to the carnage.
So why did so many airliners packed with thousands of passengers landed in that hell hole ?
Because, on the morning, a Teneriffe freedom liberation group (terrorists, but very minor ones, no al Quaeda nor Daesh, really) detonated a small bomb at the island main airfield. Nobody died in the blast - well, at least initially.
But the main airport was shut down, and all the airliners circling above, started piling up at the shitty secondary airport.
Soon the parking was crowded, so more and more airliners parked on the taxiway, the parallel track to the main runway. Soon the taxiway was blocked, so now all those waiting airliners started a very, very dangerous business.
They started rolling down the runway, slowly, then they either made a 180 degree turn at the end, and then took-off -after the control tower cleared the runway of whoever was rolling behind them !!!!
More exactly, they had to take the runway in reverse, to avoid the mass of airliners parked on the taxiway; then take a lateral exit toward the non-crowded part of the taxiway, and taxi as usual.
And then it went from bad to worse. Captain van Zaaten was KLM star pilot, a veteran, the company idol and also very competent. Dear van Zaaten was growing frustrated and impatient that afternoon: he had spent too much time in the cockpit, by the time he would reach Amsterdam, out of this fucking island, he would be flying too long. Plus all the fuel spent on the ground. and all those passengers growing impatient, some of them have already left the ship. Bad, bad bad.
Van Zaaten took his 747 on the runway, slowly taxiing it, took his exit as planned, then made his 180 turn, ready to lift-off... and waited. Waited. Waited again. The control tower was at lost: fog settled in (goddam fog) then the radio communications went shitty.
Meanwhile another 747, a Pan-Am, did the same: taxiing slowly on the runway, then getting out of the KLM way by the freakkin' side exit.
they entered the fog.
They missed the exit.
They said "we will get out at the next exit. Tell that to the control tower, and please, tell them to tell that to the fucking KLM."
The control tower tried to tell that to KLM.
And then, a fucking larsen (audio feedback, this thing - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_feedback)
screwed their communications.
In fact the radio messages between KLM, Pan-Am and the tower, just cancelled together into a whistle. In fact the only thing from the tower message that was left was "Ok..." when the message contain was essentially "Ok, stand ready FOR lift-off, but do NO lift-off (for Christ sake !!)"
still KLM waited a little more... when all of sudden van Zaaten had enough and started rolling. alarmed, one of the crew members asked the crucial question
"Hey, wait, is it clear, the Pan Am plane ?"
(the rest is only horror)
...when the voice recorders where found amid the burning wreckage and passengers, van Zaaten answer was known. The accident report just says
"YEEAAAAAAH" (emphatically) "
(shut up and let me lift-off, silly stupid)
And boom went the two jumbos and their passengers, leaving sixty survivors in the Pan-Am, and zero in the KLM.
Now back to our Teneriffe freedom fighters that started the entire enchillada. Dear God, imagine their faces when they heard of the crash "our little bomb... killed 583 people" sure, dude. Worse than any terror attack, in the air or in the ground, or both, bar 9-11.
What is completely mind blowing is that both aircrafts were at Teneriffe island secondary airfield, which was a completely wrong place that deficiencies led straight to the carnage.
So why did so many airliners packed with thousands of passengers landed in that hell hole ?
Because, on the morning, a Teneriffe freedom liberation group (terrorists, but very minor ones, no al Quaeda nor Daesh, really) detonated a small bomb at the island main airfield. Nobody died in the blast - well, at least initially.
But the main airport was shut down, and all the airliners circling above, started piling up at the shitty secondary airport.
Soon the parking was crowded, so more and more airliners parked on the taxiway, the parallel track to the main runway. Soon the taxiway was blocked, so now all those waiting airliners started a very, very dangerous business.
They started rolling down the runway, slowly, then they either made a 180 degree turn at the end, and then took-off -after the control tower cleared the runway of whoever was rolling behind them !!!!
More exactly, they had to take the runway in reverse, to avoid the mass of airliners parked on the taxiway; then take a lateral exit toward the non-crowded part of the taxiway, and taxi as usual.
And then it went from bad to worse. Captain van Zaaten was KLM star pilot, a veteran, the company idol and also very competent. Dear van Zaaten was growing frustrated and impatient that afternoon: he had spent too much time in the cockpit, by the time he would reach Amsterdam, out of this fucking island, he would be flying too long. Plus all the fuel spent on the ground. and all those passengers growing impatient, some of them have already left the ship. Bad, bad bad.
Van Zaaten took his 747 on the runway, slowly taxiing it, took his exit as planned, then made his 180 turn, ready to lift-off... and waited. Waited. Waited again. The control tower was at lost: fog settled in (goddam fog) then the radio communications went shitty.
Meanwhile another 747, a Pan-Am, did the same: taxiing slowly on the runway, then getting out of the KLM way by the freakkin' side exit.
they entered the fog.
They missed the exit.
They said "we will get out at the next exit. Tell that to the control tower, and please, tell them to tell that to the fucking KLM."
The control tower tried to tell that to KLM.
And then, a fucking larsen (audio feedback, this thing - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_feedback)
screwed their communications.
In fact the radio messages between KLM, Pan-Am and the tower, just cancelled together into a whistle. In fact the only thing from the tower message that was left was "Ok..." when the message contain was essentially "Ok, stand ready FOR lift-off, but do NO lift-off (for Christ sake !!)"
still KLM waited a little more... when all of sudden van Zaaten had enough and started rolling. alarmed, one of the crew members asked the crucial question
"Hey, wait, is it clear, the Pan Am plane ?"
(the rest is only horror)
...when the voice recorders where found amid the burning wreckage and passengers, van Zaaten answer was known. The accident report just says
"YEEAAAAAAH" (emphatically) "
(shut up and let me lift-off, silly stupid)
And boom went the two jumbos and their passengers, leaving sixty survivors in the Pan-Am, and zero in the KLM.
Now back to our Teneriffe freedom fighters that started the entire enchillada. Dear God, imagine their faces when they heard of the crash "our little bomb... killed 583 people" sure, dude. Worse than any terror attack, in the air or in the ground, or both, bar 9-11.
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von mises
"...and originated in Wales."
- Location
- Tiverton and Honiton
Not a major one, but interesting:
In the first Test match ever played, Australia beat England by 45 runs.
In the centenary Test to mark the anniversary, Australia proceeded to beat England by, you've guessed it, 45 runs.
Also, the only side ever to have lost after forcing their opponents to follow on is Australia, in 1894, 1981 and 2001.
In the first Test match ever played, Australia beat England by 45 runs.
In the centenary Test to mark the anniversary, Australia proceeded to beat England by, you've guessed it, 45 runs.
Also, the only side ever to have lost after forcing their opponents to follow on is Australia, in 1894, 1981 and 2001.
On a lighter tone: On July 8, 1982, France lost an infamous World Cup semi-final against Germany (when Harald Schumacher broke Batiston teeth)
rince, repeat in 1986 World Cup, although far less dramatic.
Exactly 16 years later, to the day, France played a semi-final, and won it, against Croatia, before winning the World Cup. In the quarter of final, Croatia had crushed Germany 3-0. Had they lost, France would have played Germany in semi-final, on July 8, 1998.
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On July 8, 1982, Germany screwed France in the world cup semi-finals. Exactly a month later, Didier Pironi crashed his Ferrari into Alain Prost Renault, crushing his legs and chance for the Formula One championship. No German involved there, except the Franco-French stupid accident happened... at Hockhenheim race track, in Germany.
So in the year 1982, Michel Platini and Didier Pironi (both French with italian names) could have been France first F1 and soccer world champion, and both ended screwed by Germany.
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I wasn't born when Apollo 11 landed, and if NASA had decided to send men on Mars, according to Von Braun 1969 plans - I would have been screwed another time.
Von Braun plan had the Mars landing either in August 1982 (I would have been four months old) or in spring 1986 (four years old, not much better).
rince, repeat in 1986 World Cup, although far less dramatic.
Exactly 16 years later, to the day, France played a semi-final, and won it, against Croatia, before winning the World Cup. In the quarter of final, Croatia had crushed Germany 3-0. Had they lost, France would have played Germany in semi-final, on July 8, 1998.
---
On July 8, 1982, Germany screwed France in the world cup semi-finals. Exactly a month later, Didier Pironi crashed his Ferrari into Alain Prost Renault, crushing his legs and chance for the Formula One championship. No German involved there, except the Franco-French stupid accident happened... at Hockhenheim race track, in Germany.
So in the year 1982, Michel Platini and Didier Pironi (both French with italian names) could have been France first F1 and soccer world champion, and both ended screwed by Germany.
---
I wasn't born when Apollo 11 landed, and if NASA had decided to send men on Mars, according to Von Braun 1969 plans - I would have been screwed another time.
Von Braun plan had the Mars landing either in August 1982 (I would have been four months old) or in spring 1986 (four years old, not much better).
The entire Formula One 1982 champiosnhip was mayhem and craziness. Every single race was crazy, in its own unique way.
https://web.archive.org/web/2018012...oct/14/remembering-1982-f1-world-championship
https://web.archive.org/web/2018012...oct/14/remembering-1982-f1-world-championship