Interesting Things with JC #1198: "IWO JIMA" – The brutal battle for 8 square miles of volcanic rock forged legends. 70,000 U.S. Marines met hell—21,000 Japanese defenders refused surrender. 27 Medals of Honor for bravery—the most in any battle in U.S. history. Valor, sacrifice, and the flag atop Mount Suribachi became immortal.

Interesting Things with JC #1102: "Umi-Bozu" - Meet the Umi-Bozu, the ghostly sea spirits of Japanese legend. Rising from the waves, these colossal beings confront sailors with ominous demands. Discover how this haunting folklore reflects Japan’s deep respect and fear of the ocean.

Interesting Things with JC #983: "Go" - Explore the ancient and strategic game of Go, believed to be over 2,500 years old, with roots in Chinese culture. Delve into its rich history and enduring appeal as players strive to outmaneuver each other on the board.

Interesting Things with JC #186: "133rd Seabees of WW2" (Re-published) - The original Naval Construction Battalion 133 was commissioned at Camp Perry, Williamsburg, Virginia in 1943. They rebuilt the air station, docks and more in Hawaii and then they moved onto Iwo Jima landing with the first waves, suffering the largest casualties of any Seabee unit in history. The invasion of Iwo Jima began on February 19, 1945. Its important to remember, given time change and the international date line, the first waves started landing February 18th, 1945 around 7pm EST. They have yet to receive the Presidential Unit Citation for their bravery on Iwo Jima.

Interesting Things with JC #489: "Fortune Cookies" - the fortune cookie is technically not from China!

Interesting Things with JC #461: "Where Traditional Kampo Medicines of Japan Came From" - Researchers from Japan and China, led by Professor Toshihiko Matsuo of Okayama University's Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, conducted a thorough review of available Chinese, Japanese, and English literature in order to shed light on a long-standing mystery.

Interesting Things with JC #353: "Undersea Cables" - Who put them there? What do they do? Let’s take a deep dive into the history of undersea cables!

Interesting Things with JC #344: "Shizo Kanakuri" was a pioneer in Japanese marathon running and track and field. To the Japanese, he is the "father of the marathon." Interestingly, the world record marathon time he was most famous for was 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 200.379 seconds.

Interesting Things with JC #311: "Self Closing Drawer Slides" include a stationary housing, a slider, and a latch. While the housing is coupled to a cabinet or drawer, dampers are used to slow the movement of the drawer, while engaging a latch towards closure.

Interesting Things with JC #261: “Kiribati” is made up of 33 atolls, these are ring-shaped reefs or a series of islands caused by submerged volcanos. Out of the 33 islands that all straddle the equator, and only 20 are inhabited. Although it only takes up a total of 811sq kilometers, Kiribati spans a distance equal to an area that is roughly the size of India, and it's the only country to fall within the northern, southern, eastern and western hemispheres. Kiribati is the third-least visited country in the world. Around 6,000 visitors come here annually. Only the Pacific island-nations of the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu receive fewer tourists.

The A-12 was a high-altitude, Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft built for the US CIA by Lockheed's Skunk Works under project Oxcart. The plane was a one seater with a payload of 2500lbs, 101ft long with a wingspan of 55 feet (31x17 meters). Able to hold 10,590 US gal of fuel, weighing 117,000 lb (53k kg) with dual Pratt & Whitney JT11D-20B turbine engines.

In the country of Japan east of Hiroshima on the island of Okunoshima, Only a 15-minute ferry ride from the mainland, there are a thousand, of not more, extremely happy and friendly wild roaming rabbits.

Interesting Things with JC #107: “KFC, Japan, and Christmas” - In Japan, KFC is a holiday staple, with clever marketing driving $53 million in sales annually. Let's explore this unique cultural phenomenon!