Camels, Cheese Monopolies, and the First Woman to Fly

Camels, Cheese Monopolies, and the First Woman to Fly On 4 June 1855, Major Henry C. Wayne boarded the USS Supply in New York harbour with orders to sail to Egypt and buy camels for the United States Army. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis had convinced Congress that camels, not horses, were the answer to moving supplies across the arid American Southwest. The animals performed brilliantly in field trials, but the soldiers hated them, the horses panicked, and the Civil War ended the experiment before it could prove itself. Decades later, feral camels still wandered the Arizona desert. Seventy-one years earlier, on 4 June 1784, Élisabeth Thible became the first woman to fly in a free hot air balloon, travelling four kilometres over Lyon whilst singing operatic arias. In 1411, King Charles VI of France, who occasionally believed he was made of glass, granted Roquefort-sur-Soulzon an exclusive cheese-ripening monopoly that remains protected today. On 4 June 1913, suffragette Emily Davison stepped onto the Epsom Derby racetrack and was struck by the King’s horse; she died four days later, never seeing the voting rights she fought for. And in 1996, the Ariane 5 rocket exploded 37 seconds into its maiden flight due to a software conversion error, a £500 million lesson in reusing code without checking the specifications. Chapters The Army’s Camel Problem In 1855, Major Henry C. Wayne sailed to Egypt to buy camels for the US Army. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis believed camels could solve the problem of moving supplies across the hot, dry American Southwest where horses struggled. Wayne selected dromedaries and Bactrian camels, which performed well in trials from Texas to California. The soldiers, however, hated them. Horses panicked, mules refused cooperation, and handlers found the animals difficult and unpredictable. The Civil War ended the programme, and some camels were released into the wild. The same date in 1784 saw Élisabeth Thible become the first woman to fly in a free hot air balloon over Lyon, singing opera at 1,500 metres. In 1411, Charles VI of France granted Roquefort-sur-Soulzon a cheese-ripening monopoly still protected today. On 4 June 1913, suffragette Emily Davison was fatally struck by the King’s horse at the Epsom Derby; she died before women gained the vote in 1918. In 1996, the Ariane 5 rocket exploded 37 seconds after launch due to a software error that cost £500 million. Links https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/camels-in-the-american-west.htm https://www.history.com/news/camels-us-army-experiment https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/first-woman-fly https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elisabeth-Thible https://www.roquefort.fr/en/history/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/davison_emily.shtml https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jun/04/emily-davison-death-suffragettes https://www.esa.int/Safety_Security/Ariane_5_Flight_501_Failure https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15120484-900-too-fast-too-furious/