40 Years Ago

USS Belknap (CG-26) collided with USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67). Belknap burned down to her steel decks (her superstructure was made of aluminum). Eight men were killed, one of them was on the JFK. Belknap was towed to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, decommissioned, and moored there until plans and funds were arranged to rebuild her.

I knew a chief petty officer who had been on Belknap. Whenever our ship operated near an aircraft carrier, he damn near had to be sedated. It was far worse if the carrier was the JFK.

In a bit of a twist, one of the ships that came to Belknap's rescue after the collision was USS Bordelon (DD-881). Bordelon herself later collided with JFK. Bordelon's damage was deemed to be beyond economical repair, given that she was over 30 years old, and she was sold to the Iranians as a spare-parts hulk.

Squids Should Be Freaking Immortal

Coffee drinkers may have more reasons to enjoy another cup, as a large new study suggests that people who drink up to five cups of regular or decaffeinated coffee daily may be slightly less likely to die early from any cause or certain chronic conditions.

Men and women in the study who drank moderate amounts of coffee — one to five 8-ounce cups a day — were found to have a lower risk of dying over a 30-year period from heart disease, type 2 diabetes, neurological diseases and suicide compared with the people in the study who didn't drink coffee, according to the findings, published today (Nov. 16) in the journal Circulation.

The Navy runs on coffee. Running out of coffee would result in the supply officer being lynched.