February 5 is celebrated in Ukraine as the Day of the State Special Service of Transport, in the world – the Day of Erudite and the World Day of Reading Aloud. This day also went down in history with a number of significant historical events that are worth mentioning.
Day of the State Special Transport Service
This is a professional holiday of people who ensure the stability and functioning of the transport infrastructure of Ukraine. They repair railway tracks, build bridges, clear debris and restore transport routes. Their work is especially important in times of war, when the rapid reconstruction of roads ensures uninterrupted supply and evacuation.
The service has officially been in existence since 2004, but its units have a longer history with railway troops. During the war, they restored hundreds of kilometers of infrastructure, working in extreme conditions. Their activities include not only repair work, but also demining of territories and organization of evacuation transportation.
Interesting facts
The State Special Transport Service has a military structure and is subordinate to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
During the full-scale war, its specialists restored dozens of bridges and thousands of kilometers of tracks.
The service not only repairs infrastructure, but also participates in international peacekeeping missions.
Its staff is involved in liquidation of the consequences of emergency situations, in particular after natural disasters.
During active hostilities, it was they who helped evacuate people by rail transport.
Erudite Day
This is a holiday for those who love knowledge, constantly expand their horizons and skillfully apply the acquired information. This day reminds us that intelligence and curiosity are not only natural abilities, but also the result of continuous learning and self-development.
Scholars have always been important figures in society. They have extensive knowledge in various fields, easily find solutions to complex problems and can support a conversation on any topic. In the era of information technology, erudition becomes even more important, because critical thinking and the ability to analyze huge streams of data become necessary skills.
Interesting facts
The term “erudite” comes from the Latin “eruditus”, which means “educated”.
World-famous scholars such as Leonardo da Vinci, Voltaire or Isaac Newton left a huge legacy in various fields of science and art.
It is estimated that approximately 10,000 hours of study and practice are required to become an expert in a particular field.
You can develop erudition by reading, traveling, learning new languages and communicating with interesting people.
In today’s world, the cognitive skills possessed by erudites become especially important due to the large amount of information and the need for its rapid processing.
World Read Aloud Day
Every year on the first Wednesday of February, the world celebrates an interesting and rather young holiday – World Read Aloud Day. This day reminds of the power of the word and the importance of shared reading for the development of culture, education and personality.
The initiator of this holiday was the international organization LitWorld in 2010. Its main goal is to popularize the culture of reading, especially among children, and draw attention to the problem of illiteracy in the world. Reading aloud promotes better assimilation of information, expands vocabulary and develops emotional intelligence.
Interesting facts
Reading aloud has been proven to help children develop speech and imagination faster.
In many cultures, the oral transmission of stories has been the primary way of preserving knowledge for centuries.
Reading aloud is used in therapy for people with speech and memory disorders.
Research shows that reading together helps strengthen bonds between people and fosters empathy.
In some countries, public reading marathons are held, where books are read continuously for several days.
World Read Aloud Day is a great opportunity to pick up a book and share its story with others, regardless of age or preference!
Historical events on this day
1585 year – In Lviv, the Assumption Stauropygian Brotherhood was founded, which played an important role in the development of Ukrainian culture, education and book printing.
1597 year – In the Japanese city of Nagasaki, 26 early Japanese Christians were executed by order of the ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi. They were crucified as a warning to the followers of Christianity, which was then considered a threat to the shogunate.
1818 year – After the death of Charles XIII, the new king of Sweden and Norway became Charles XIV Johannes, who before that was Marshal of France Jean Baptiste Bernadotte. He founded a dynasty that still rules in Sweden.
1861 year – Inventor Coleman Sellers received a patent in Philadelphia (USA) for the kinematoscope – a device that became one of the predecessors of the movie projector.
1913 year – In Lviv, in the hall of the Ukrainian People’s House, all Ukrainian academic societies organized a big academic ball, which became an important event in the cultural life of the city.
1917 year – In Mexico, the current constitution was adopted, which was the first in the world to enshrine social rights, including the right to work and education.
1919 year – In Germany, the first scheduled passenger airline in Europe was launched between Berlin and Weimar, which was opened by Deutsche Luft-Reederei GmbH.
1924 year – The British BBC radio station began transmitting accurate time signals from the Greenwich Observatory, which was an important step in the standardization of time.
1928 year – The German chemist Adolf Windaus first synthesized vitamin D, the deficiency of which is the cause of rickets.
1935 year – In New York, the organizers of professional boxing decided to limit championship fights to 15 rounds, which was an important step in the development of the safety of this sport.
1977 year – In the Soviet Union, the leaders of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, Mykola Rudenko and Oleksa Tykhoi, who advocated human rights and democracy in the Ukrainian SSR, were arrested.
1992 year – Ukraine officially established diplomatic relations with Norway, expanding its international relations after gaining independence.
1999 year – Former boxing world champion Mike Tyson was sentenced to a year in prison for assaulting two people after a traffic incident.
Hiram Stevens Maxim: a genius of gunsmithing and invention
Hiram Stevens Maxim was born on February 5, 1840 in the American city of Sangerville in the family of a farmer, a man who made invention his profession. During his lifetime he created many useful mechanisms, including machines for extracting illuminating gas, automatic fire extinguishers, regulators for gas burners, improved dynamos, electric motors, and batteries. He received numerous patents for new types of switches, electric meters and other technical developments.
However, he made the main discovery after emigrating to England. It was there that he developed the world’s first automatic machine gun. Legend has it that the idea came to him as a child, when he, while hunting a bear, realized that the recoil of a gun is a waste of energy that can be put to good use.
After settling in London, Maxim rented a workshop and began working on his machine gun. Already 13 months later, the first working model appeared, and later he received a number of British and international patents for various variants of reloading due to recoil. The effectiveness of new weapons was first proven in 1893, when 50 British soldiers with four Maxim machine guns destroyed three thousand out of five thousand Zulus in South Africa in one and a half hours.
Due to its reliability and durability, the machine gun became the most popular in the world. At the end of 1899, his modified version fired 15,000 shots without serious failures. In 1900, Queen Victoria knighted Maxim for his contribution to strengthening the defense capabilities of the British Empire.
The Maxim machine gun was widely used during both world wars and numerous local conflicts. It was last recorded in action during the border conflict on Damansky Island in 1969.
In addition to weapons, Maxim also worked on the development of aircraft and made a significant contribution to the development of electrical engineering, for which he received the French Legion of Honor. At the end of his life, suffering from chronic bronchitis, he invented an inhaler. However, his idea was met with skepticism, and Maxim himself was even accused of quackery. To this he answered with bitter words: “It is easy to gain honor by building a death machine, but you should not expect respect if you try to help the suffering.”
Despite dozens of his inventions, history remembered only the “death machine”. Maxim himself sincerely believed that after the appearance of his machine gun, wars would stop. However, the reality turned out to be different.
Oleksandr Matrosov: the story of the feat
Oleksandr Matviyovych Matrosov was born on February 5, 1924 in the city of Katerynoslav (now Dnipro). His childhood was not easy: after the death of his parents, he was brought up in the Ivanovo Orphanage, where he spent five years. Before that, he studied at Dnipropetrovsk School No. 100.
Already in September 1942, Matrosov was drafted into the Red Army. He was trained at the Krasnokholm Infantry School, and after two months he was sent to the Kalinin front together with other cadets. Oleksandr was part of the 2nd separate rifle battalion of the 91st separate Siberian volunteer brigade.
On February 23, 1943 (according to other sources, February 27) during the battle for height, Matrosov showed incredible courage. He crawled up to the enemy’s zot and threw two grenades into the embrasure. However, the fire soon resumed, and then Alexander rushed forward, closing the embrasure with his own body. This act allowed his battalion to continue the attack.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 19, 1943, Oleksandr Matrosov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By order of the People’s Commissar of Defense of the USSR dated September 8, 1943, his name was assigned to the 254th Guards Rifle Regiment, and Matrosov himself was forever included in the lists of the 1st company of this unit. He is buried in the Pskov region, in the city of Velyki Luky. There are other versions of the events of that day. It is known that during the Second World War, 402 Soviet soldiers performed a similar feat.
Patti Hearst: The Story of Kidnapping and Stockholm Syndrome
On February 5, 1974, a left-wing radical group kidnapped 19-year-old Patti Hearst, the daughter of an American billionaire and newspaper magnate, in San Francisco. The girl spent 57 days in a cramped cell measuring 2 meters by 63 centimeters, the first two weeks – blindfolded, without a toilet and with a gag in her mouth.
The kidnappers demanded a ransom for the poor of San Francisco. Patti’s family organized the distribution of products in the amount of 4 million dollars, and a day before the promised release of the girl on a bail of another 2 million dollars, the unexpected happened – she publicly announced that she was joining her kidnappers. Patti took the name Tanya (in honor of Tanya Bunke – an associate of Che Guevara) and said: “Whether to remain in captivity or to use the power of S.A.O. and fight for peace? I decided to fight… I’m staying with new friends.”
Already in April, she and the group took part in an armed raid on a bank, an attack on a supermarket, carjackings, hostage taking and even in the production of explosives. She was wanted by the authorities, and on September 18, 1975, Patti was arrested along with four other gang members in an FBI sting.
The defense insisted that she was a victim of kidnapping and acted under duress, but the court handed down a sentence of 7 years in prison. Later, Patti received an early release and pardon, after which she even starred in a movie.
This case became a classic example of the Stockholm syndrome – a psychological connection between the victim and her abductor. The story of Patti Hearst remains one of the most famous cases of the influence of extreme circumstances on human behavior.
The hijacking of the ship “Faina” and the pirate saga
On February 5, 2009, Somali pirates, having received a ransom of 3.2 million US dollars, released the Ukrainian ship “Faina”. The crew consisted of 21 people: 17 Ukrainians, 3 Russians and 1 Latvian.
However, the ship’s cargo attracted special attention – more than 30 T-72 tanks, grenade launchers and anti-aircraft guns. According to the documents, the recipient was Kenya, but later the Kenyan authorities refused this information, saying that the final recipients are the rebels of South Sudan. This statement further complicated the situation. The pirates themselves announced that they do not demand a ransom, but only collect “a fine for using the territorial waters of Somalia for the illegal supply of weapons to the conflict zone.”
After paying the ransom-fine, the sailors were released. The President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko congratulated the crew on their return to freedom, after which “Faina” left for the Kenyan port of Mombasa, from where the sailors were evacuated.
This is the end of the official story. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko only noted that “the arms trade is currently under the direct control of the president and the National Security and Defense Council, which makes it difficult for the government to control these processes.”
It is interesting that the ship was seized on September 25, 2008, and a few weeks before that, from August 27 to September 9, 2008, ammunition warehouses in Lozova, Kharkiv region, exploded in Ukraine. Some assumed that “Faina” was carrying something interesting from this arsenal, although there was no official confirmation of this.
