December 6, 2012 – Miners' Day

Minersndo an incredibly important job, since we depend on metals to buildnour machines. And they do an incredibly dangerous job, too.
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Mining used to be even more dangerous a century ago…

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nApparentlynone of the people who helped set aside this day to honor miners isnauthor / Vietnam War veteran / NASA engineer Homer Hickam. He isnreally Homer Hickam, Jr., because his dad had the samenname; his dad was a miner and eventually a mine supervisor in thencoal fields of West Virginia. You can find out more about Hickam bynreading his book, Rocket Boys, or watching the movie based onnthat book, October Sky. n

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• ncoal,n which is a rock that burns, formed from the remains of partiallyn decayed ancient plants,

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• niron, 

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• ncopper,

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• ngold, 

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• nrare earth elements, 

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• nandn other minerals. 

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  nAlso on this Date:

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  nFinland’s Independence Day 

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  nSt. Nicholas Day

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  nAnniversary of the completion of the Washington Monument 

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