After World War II ended the Naval Operations Chief, Admiral Chester Nimitz decided that there was a need for a nudge to the public in order to keep them interested in all aspects of Naval aviation so he arranged for a “flight demonstration team”.  Approximately one year later in June 1946, flying the F6F Hellcat the team performed for the first time at NAS (Naval Air Station) Jacksonville, Florida under the leadership of  Lieutenant Commander Roy Voris. Within two months they began flying their renowned diamond formation in the new F8F Bearcat.

Towards the end of the 40′s they began flying their first jets, the Grumman F9-2 Panther and with the advent of the Korean War there was an increased demand within Naval aviation so the team was dispatched to their new home in 1950 which was the USS Princeton aircraft carrier where they were the center of the Satan’s Kitten fighter squadron VF-191.

A year later they began flying the faster and new Panther, the F9F-5 and relocated to the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. They stayed in Corpus Christi where they became permanent “snow birds” and moved to the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida in 1955 where they soon began flying the Grumman F9-8 Cougar, a swept-wing aircraft. During the next 20 years they transitioned twice more to the F11-1 Tiger in 1957 and the Phantom II, a McDonnell Douglas F-4J aircraft in 1969.

At the end of 1974 the team was reorganized into the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron which allowed them to establish a commanding officer, where the first of which was Commander Tony Less, a flight leader as well as other support officers. This helped to emphasize its mission as well as having support in their recruiting efforts.

It was in 1986 during their 40th year anniversary celebrations that they presented their current aircraft, the McDonnell Douglas FA-18 Hornet; it is the first fighter/attack aircraft that now serves in our nation’s first line of defense.

The Blue Angels have performed for over 260 million fans and spectators; pretty impressive isn’t it?

(Photo by Jason Hunken, 10/8/05.)

Did you know that Marie Antoinette did not really say “Let them eat cake”? There are two other sources as to where this actually originated: one is from a woman known as Marie-Therese of Spain who is said to have uttered the phrase and the other is from an author in the 18^th century who was writing about a princess that suggested the poor people should eat brioche (similar to a sweet roll) if they did not have bread.

Photo by: Sandra Kühr

Did you know that the Great Wall of China is not the only visible man-made thing that can be seen from space? Although historian Richard Haliburton made the bold statement that it could be seen from the moon this is not true, but the myth that it is the only one that can be seen from close orbiting is still incorrect. Pictures and descriptions from astronauts have indicated that highways and airports can be seen also.

Did you know that Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb? In 1809 Humphry Davy invented an arc lamp and later Warren De la Rue actually invented the first sealed light bulb and later still in 1840 William Grove managed to light a whole room of lamps. It wasn’t until 3 patents and 8 scientists later that Edison expanded on the invention and created a cheaper and longer lasting version.

Did you know that despite popular belief humans do use more than 10% of their brains? It is true that fairly simple tasks do require a small specific amount of brain area but complicated tasks require far more as has been proven by magnetic imaging. One belief as to why this myth continues is that psychics promote the myth in order to make everyone believe that they use more brain power than everyone else.

Did you know that while you can debate whether men are actually more driven sexually than women the thought that men think about sex every 7 seconds is purely a myth? This thought has been attributed to Alfred Kinsey and his famous sex studies but even he wasn’t that specific; he simply stated that during one of his studies he found that about 97% of the men had sexual thoughts anywhere from a few times every day to several times during a month and most of those (about 54%) did fall into the daily category.

Photo by: G. Georgiev

Do you think that pigeons and other birds really will blow up if they eat rice? Since both the Simpson’s and Ann Landers have warned us against throwing rice at weddings just for this reason then it must be true, right? Wrong; no explosions due to rice consumption have ever been recorded or documented. As a matter of fact most birds actually eat rice grains as a way of keeping a healthy body mass during the cold months.

Did you know that technically Napoleon really wasn’t short? Although nicknamed “Le Petit Caporal” according to the Imperial system he was actually average height (5’6”) for the men of his country. The nickname was really given because he was said to have a respectful and friendly attitude toward the soldiers.

Some of you may be disappointed to learn that shaving/cutting hair really does not make it grow back thicker or faster. It is like seeing special effects: the hair that you can see is not alive (since the living part is under the skin) so naturally cutting it will not change its texture or how fast it grows; you are just seeing the hair at a different stage of growth.

Did you know that the Salem witches were never really burned? While there were over 150 arrests and about 20 of them were executed these accused witches were not burned at the stake. Some of the European laws did actually encourage burning after they were dead so that they may be cleansed of their witchcraft but this was forbidden in Massachusetts. All of them (except one that was crushed because they would not enter a plea) were hanged.

Did you know that there really is gravity in space? Yep, although the astronauts do seem to be weightlessly floating around in zero gravity that is not the case. The reason that space gives this impression is because the astronauts are gravitating towards Earth at the exact rate that the ships are.