Popular Mechanics

IBM releases the first computer hard disk drive, the 2,000-pound-plus, refrigerator-size IBM 305 RAMAC, which introduces magnetic disk storage. In a landmark December 1968 demonstration, later known as The Mother of all Demos, engineer Douglas Engelbart illustrates the use of lots of recent technologies in conjunction with each other, including: on-screen windows, hypertext, graphics, file linking, revision control, video conferencing, the computer mouse, and word processing. It's the first supercomputer to successfully implement vector processors, a system that allows a single operation to quickly be performed on a large set of data, which is reflected in its speed of 160 MFLOPS—or 160 million floating-point operations per second. Multi-Tool Word, the precursor to the Microsoft Word text-editing program, makes its debut as free copies are bundled with the November issue of PC World.

The airfield, the Tonopah Test Range, was previously the home of the F-117A stealth fighter when it was a secret Air Force program. According to The War Zone, the objects were detected in and around a series of hangars at the Tonopah Test Range. One possibility: We're looking at a new type of warplane, designed and built in secret, and now operated from the Tonopah Test Range. In the mid 1980s, the U.S. Air Force built and operated 56 F-117A stealth fighters in total secrecy, with word getting out only after a fatal crash in California.

Plus, it arrives just in time to order as a holiday gift for your favorite grill master (Monday, December 16 is the last day that Prime members can get free shipping and receive items before Christmas day). All of these deals range from 40 percent off to 62 percent off, so whether you’re looking for a new portable grill, smoker, or just some accessories, you’ll get them at great prices now instead of waiting until summer. Though it requires a 20-pound propane tank, the grill itself only weighs 22 pounds, so it’s small enough to transport to the park or campground while still offering a total output of 20,000 BTU. Gift them one of Cuisinart’s discounted accessories such as a sauce pot with a basting brush, stuffed burger presses, a melting dome, or a complete 14-piece stainless steel grill tool kit.

It was half past eight on the first morning of Operation Desert Storm when three Tornados streaked across clear sky. The jets had just refueled high above Saudi Arabia and now sped towards their target, a gigantic airfield near Iraq’s southern border