America’s Lost Funeral Trains | The Forgotten Tradition

It is without a doubt that the United States of America, in this current day and age, has the largest, most advanced and most powerful military on the planet. But given that the US is constantly developing new aircraft to full specific roles, making older aircraft obsolete, what happens to these old planes? Once a particular type of plane is no longer needed as a newer and more advanced model has come to take its place, where do the old ones go? Across the country, there are locations known as airplane graveyards where these aircraft go to be either scrapped, sold, maintained or just kept dormant. However, the most famous and the largest of these complexes is the Airplane Graveyard at the Davis-Monthan Base in Tucson, Arizona, which is commonly known as the Boneyard. At this location, there are thousands of planes stationed here, with many of them at their final resting place. The Tucson Boneyard is also a massive tourist attraction and even a pop culture icon, featuring in several popular movies such as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Can't Buy Me Love, both of which were filmed on location. But how did the Tucson Boneyard become so crucial to American aircraft disposal and what types of planes have been stored here in the past or there currently?

23 Juli 202219min

The Space Needle is a 605-foot-tall observation tower that has been a landmark tourist attraction in Seattle, welcoming more than 60 million visitors since it opened on April 21, 1962. It cost 4.5 million to build and precisely 400 days to construct. The Space Needle is a modernistic totem of the Seattle World's Fair. Edward "Eddie" Carlson saw the potential of a Space Age tower as a symbol for the fair and the Seattle skyline. in 1999, the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board approved the designation of the Space Needle as a "historic landmark." The assignment was made official on April 19th by the Seattle City Council.

21 Juli 202215min

The Portland Underground, commonly called the "Shanghai Tunnels," was a series of bar and hotel basements linked to each other and the Willamette River docks by an intricate system of tunnels under the city streets. "Shanghaiing" refers to the capture and sale of able-bodied men to ship captains needing extra crew. Victims were drugged with opiates, kidnapped while intoxicated, or knocked unconscious. Oral tradition has kept the history of the Portland Underground alive. Today, 150 years after Shanghaiing began you can still view the secrets of the past by visiting the tunnels.

16 Juli 202215min

U.S. Route 66, also known as the Will Rogers Highway, was one of the original highways constructed by the U.S. Highway System in 1926. Route 66 is over 90 years old and definitely, a road less traveled. There are plenty of weird attractions to be seen along this iconic road that starts in Chicago and ends in Los Angeles. While much of Route 66 has disappeared following its decommissioning as a major American highway in 1985, there remains plenty of evidence to be seen and cherished by historical and pop-cultural lovers. Large chunks of Route 66-related memorabilia have been preserved at the Route 66 Association Hall of Fame and Museum.

14 Juli 202220min

With a naval tradition as old as the nation itself, the United States Navy has a very storied history. And for many vessels, the end of their journey lies in the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facilities, located all across the country. One of these facilities, located in Bremerton, Washington, has several storied ships that we will explore today.

9 Juli 202221min

Compared to other cities in the United States, New York City is often said to have the best drinking water in the country in terms of its cleanliness, pH level and even its taste. But this high quality of water is not easy to come by, and New Yorkers only have this luxury due to a complex and intricate water supply system that pulls in water from the surrounding upstate areas. Run by the New York City Board of Water Supply, the entire system involves three massive aqueducts, three main tunnels, three controlled lakes, over 20 reservoirs and various other structures such as smaller aqueducts, waterways and treatment plants. Overall, it is an obvious marvel of engineering achievement, but unbeknownst to most, the six major reservoirs that were created in the 20th century came at a heavy price. The land which was required to build these reservoirs was already inhabited but numerous albeit, sparsely populated, farm towns in the upstate area. But the need for water in New York City seemed to outweigh the opinions of a few small farming communities and so these towns were relocated. Now, the land is completely underwater at the bottom of each of these reservoirs. But what remains of these flooded towns and how exactly did this area go from being small rural towns into a vast body of water?

7 Juli 202223min

When the 4th of July rolls around each year, the first images that probably come to mind are barbeques in your backyard, everything themed in the colors of red, white and blue, American flags everywhere and loud fireworks blasting off once the sun sets. But while you're participating in one of those hotdog-eating contests or watching a patriotic war movie, have you ever wondered why we Americans celebrate this day and hold it in such high regard? The 4th of July, or Independence Day, is one of many American Federal Holidays. But even still, Independence Day is far more widely known, more celebrated and frankly, more important than all these other days to most Americans. And the reason for this is because of what this holiday represents for this entire country. The reason for celebration was the passage of the Declaration of Independence way back on July 4th, 1776 which not only officially created the United States of America as a sovereign nation, but it also laid out many of the values by which this new country would be built upon. Without the 4th of July, those other holidays simply wouldn't exist. However, there is much more to the story than that, and in order to fully understand the significance of Independence Day as well as what led to it becoming the holiday that it is today, one must dive deep into the illustrious history which surrounds this American day of festivity.

4 Juli 202219min

The Florida Keys have the Seven Mile Bridge, a part of the 110-mile long Ocean Highway that connects the remote Keys to the mainland. On this drive, you will travel over a truly incredible feat of engineering that, at one point, was the longest continuous concrete bridge in the world. This Bridge has been through a lot. The original bridge, or what the locals like to call the "Old Seven," consisted of precast concrete and steel girders that enabled it to be constructed within marshland and the sea. However, a series of hurricanes, storms, and saltwater led to its destruction, thus necessitating certain repairs. For this reason, a new and modern bridge had to be constructed to weather the previous engineering faults and meet the increasing vehicular needs of the Keys. Its construction was described as an engineering milestone that has encouraged bridge-building.

2 Juli 202212min