Today in History: Nov. 2

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

Howard Hughes hated the nickname, the “Spruce Goose,” given to his enormous flying boat, which was made out of a wood composite because of aluminum restrictions imposed on industry during World War II.

The plane was to be the product of a collaboration between Henry Kaiser of Kaiser Steel and Hughes to produce an aircraft strong enough to carry many fully equipped troops or a couple fully equipped tanks across the Atlantic. A U.S. government contract for three planes was issued to the two industrialists in 1942. Designs were developed, models were made, materials were tested to replace the aluminum that would otherwise be required for the body of the plane.

By 1944, Kaiser withdrew from the project, frustrated by Hughes’ perfectionism. The military contract was re-written to just one plane. Further designs were drawn up and revised. The war ended, which did not close the contract, and work on the enormous plane continued. Each piece of the wood composite that made up the plane was hand-ironed by employees of the company in Wisconsin that had developed the formula for it.
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The Latest Delay for Shawkan

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

A journalist’s job is to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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The trial of the photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid (“Shawkan”) was postponed once again today, November 1, this time until November 19, 2016. I sent inquiries to several sources this morning with the request for any details about today’s hearing. No one has yet replied.

Anyone following Shawkan’s case can see that the waiting is wearying. Look at the photo at top. It was taken today, November 1. The trial itself is trial enough for Shawkan, who is a photojournalist who was arrested in a general roundup of a protest in August 2013.

Thus the next court appearance for Shawkan will be Saturday, November 19, in Cairo, Egypt. It will be the latest chapter in a three-year saga, a Kafkaesque tale that should not be taking place at all. I published this article yesterday about this tale of a journalist trapped in a story:
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Today in History: November 1

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

“I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof.”—President John Adams

On this date in 1800, President John Adams moved into the newly built, but still unfinished, White House. The rooms were damp and drafty. He arrived unannounced with two aides to see the building.

The historian David McCullough describes The White House in 1800: “The immense house was still unfinished. It reeked of wet plaster and wet paint. Fires had to be kept blazing in every fireplace on the main floor to speed up the drying process. Only a twisting back stair had been built between floors. Doors were missing. … Later, supper finished, Adams climbed the backstairs candle in hand and retired for the night.”

During his second day in his new reidence, he wrote a letter to his wife, Abigail, which included the above words, which were cut into the mantlepiece of the State Dining Room during the administration of Franklin Roosevelt, and remain there.
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