It was originally called “Gibbet Island” which was a reference to the gallows used to execute pirates, criminals, and mutinous sailors on it. After the last hanging in 1839, it took the name of its last private owner – Samuel Elllis. The first immigrants were processed on Ellis Island on Read more
It was named the Spanish Flu because Spain was neutral in WWI and thus did not have press censorship. Their newspapers reported freely on it, especially after King Alfonso XIII got ill. We still don’t know where it originated. Possibilities are Kansas, the Western Front, or China. China seems most Read more
The bride was dressed in her home by relatives. She wore a fire-colored veil and simple white smock. Her hair was separated into six tufts and arranged with a spearhead and held by ribbons. A sacrifice of an animal was made. The couple would sign the marriage contract and dowry Read more
I just got done reading “From Here to Eternity” by James Jones. It is set in 1941 and one of the things that stuck out for me was the incredibly low prices mentioned in the book. No wonder those soldiers drank so much, liquor was very cheap. And yet, in Read more
After spending four decades collecting stories to tell in class and the last year researching new stories for this site, it is amazing that there are still more out there. History is so entertaining! This story is one I learned of just today. It’s about an incident that occurred on Read more
Here are a few examples of how insane Nero was. He fought in the arena as a gladiator against wild animals, but they were all drugged, so he was not in any danger and could not lose. He hired a group of youths to follow him around and applaud. The Read more
In 1968, King was shifting his movement towards a coalition of poor African-Americans and whites. He was planning another march on Washington to be called the Poor People’s Campaign. He took time off from the planning, against the advice of some of his advisers, to support a sanitation workers’ strike Read more
One of the worst jobs for Roman slaves was working in a laundromat (fullonica). Human urine was used in the cleaning process. The shops had big pots outside for people to contribute their urine. In other words, men (and women?) would pee in them. Urine has ammonia in it. Clothes Read more
There were three basic types of artillery used by American forces in WWII. Guns or cannons were low trajectory, high velocity weapons that were used for direct fire. Tanks were armed with them. Mortars were used to lob small shells.. Howitzers, like in the picture, were high trajectory, medium velocity Read more
Cato the Elder was a famous Senator in Rome. His famous demand that “Carthage must be destroyed” led to the Third Punic War and the fulfillment of his dream. One day a friend remarked to him: “It’s a scandal that no statue has been erected to you in Rome! I Read more