The collecting of military patches has become a popular hobby in the last few decades. Some people collect because they were in the military, and some because they are curious about the military or a certain war. If you are going to start collecting or have already, it is important to know how the patches are made and how to tell a real one from a fake one.

The oldest record of platinum use is as an inlay in ancient Egypt. However, the Egyptians though it was a variation of electrum, (a natural blend of gold and silver.) Native Americans used it for centuries in small decorative objects. Platinum was unknown to Europeans until Spanish discovered it in Columbia. The Spanish called it platina, meaning little silver.

In 1946 Lionel produced an array of outfits similar to those in their prewar catalogs. Among these offerings were 23 sets. This broad spectrum of sets allowed Lionel to offer outfits at several prices, with the least expensive outfit retailing for only $24.95, while the deluxe outfit was $85.00.

1946 was the debut year of many new designs, unlike the previous year which only rehashed previously produced products.

A flack jacket is a form of protective clothing in the design of a vest. It is used to provide protection from shrapnel and other indirect low velocity projectiles. The flack jacket was originally developed by the Wilkinson Sword company during World War II to help protect the Royal Air Force air personnel from flying debris and shrapnel. The jacket consisted of manganese plates sewn into a waistcoat made of ballistic nylon- a material engineered by the DuPont Company.

Edge tools are among the earliest tool forms, with surviving primitive axes dated to 8000 B.C.. Early axes were made by "wrapping" the red hot iron around a form, yielding the eye of the axe. The steel bit, introduced in the 18th century, was laid into the fold at the front and hammered into an edge. The side opposite the bit was later extended into a poll, for better balance and to provide a hammering surface.

It's true, practice does make perfect. However, sometime practice gets dull, and predictable. Even coaches get board doing the same thing over and over. My suggestion, look for new drills to do, or coaches, get creative and make up your own. If you are not the creative type, then I have two drills that might help your infield out, and save you the time of trying to come up with something new.

It's baseball season, and you are ready for it. You bought a new bat, dusted off the cleats, and oiled the glove. You drilled, grounder after grounder, only to follow it by fly ball, after fly ball. When the fielding drills were over, you moved on to the batting cages. You have hit so many balls that you could probably tag a slider in your sleep.

The concept of riverine forces was not new to Southeast Asia. During the Indochina War of 1946-54, French forces created the Dinassauts, which were combat organizations designed to operate in the hostile environment of Vietnam's waterways. These employed a variety of modified landing craft in the fire support and stop and search roles. When the first South Vietnamese Naval units were established in 1955, their River Assault Groups (RAGs) took over the equipment.