2 August 2017

Nissen hut

[nis-uh n]

noun

1. a prefabricated, tunnel-shaped shelter made of corrugated metal and having a concrete floor; Quonset hut: first used by the British army in World War I.

Origin of Nissen hut

1915-1920; after Lieutenant Colonel Peter N. Nissen (1871-1930), Canadian military engineer who invented it

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for Nissen hut

Historical Examples

Our first discovery was a Nissen hut in a dank field on the eastern outskirts.
Pushed and the Return Push
George Herbert Fosdike Nichols, (AKA Quex)

In fact, the room was very much of the shape and size of a Nissen hut.
The Escaping Club
A. J. Evans

Camblain l’Abb was not a large place, so we were cramped for room, and a Nissen hut had to be built for “C” mess.
The Great War As I Saw It
Frederick George Scott

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Today’s quote

The world wasn’t a more tolerant place when I was a young man. Rather, they simply sidestepped all the issues.

– William S. Burroughs

On this day

2 August 216BC – 2nd Punic War, Battle of Cannae, in which Hannibal defeats the much larger Roman army.

2 August 1776 – the United States Declaration of Independence officially signed by 56 Congressional delegates who were not present on 4 July 1776, when 34 Congressional delegates signed and ratified it.

2 August 1934 – the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed in the United States, levying $1 on commercial dealers of cannabis. It did not outlaw cannabis, but included hefty penalties if the Act was violated, namely five years imprisonment and a $2,000 fine. The Act was repealed in 1970.

2 August 1964 – the first Gulf of Tonkin Incident in which North Vietnamese troops fired on a US destroyer, the USS Maddox (the second incident allegedly occurred on 4 August 1964). The incident gave rise to the US Congress passing the ‘Gulf of Tonkin Resolution’ – officially the ‘Southeast Asia Resolution – which eventually led to the Vietnam War.

2 August 1997 – death of William Seward Burroughs, otherwise known as William S. Burroughs or William Lee, Beat Generation author, painter, spoken word performer. The beat generation rose to prominence in the 1950s and experimented with innovation in art, style, rules and drugs. Burroughs work includes Junkie, Queer, and Naked Lunch. Born on 5 February 1914 .