Vlad III was born on Nov. 8, 1431 in Transylvania (part of modern Romania). Vlad was the son on Vlad II Dracul. The “Dracul” referred to his membership in a military fraternity called Order of the Dragon created by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund to face the Ottoman Empire. Vlad Read more
Lafayette “Lafe” Pool was born to a Texas farm family in 1919. When he graduated from high school, he attempted to enlist in the Navy. His twin brother was taken, but he wasn’t because of an eye injury. He went to college, but in 1940 he joined the Army. Read more
Will Rogers was born in Indian Territory in what is today Oklahoma. The date was Nov. 4, 1879. He considered himself to be a Cherokee American. He liked to say: “My ancestors didn’t come over on the Mayflower, but they met the boat.” A good student, he dropped out Read more
The biggest Presidential election upset occurred on Nov. 2, 1948. The incumbent was Harry Truman. He had succeeded Franklin Roosevelt and was attempting to be elected on his own. Success seemed inconceivable. His approval ratings were so low that the Democratic Party tried to dump him. Party leaders asked Read more
Draco was a celebrated reformer in Athens. His strict code of laws gave us the word “draconian”. There is a famous anecdote that has a citizen reproaching Draco for the strictness of his laws. “How do you justify the death penalty for stealing a head of cabbage?” Draco: “I Read more
On the night of Oct. 30, 1938, America was invaded by Martians. Over the next couple of hours, the aliens killed millions and conquered Earth, but then germs (today it would be fast food) killed them because they had no immunity. Naturally, many people listening to news reports on Read more
The first use of Native Americans as code-talkers was in WWI. The Germans were intercepting and decoding Army messages. An officer overheard two Choctaw Indians talking in their language and had an idea. They and several other Choctaw were assigned to deliver messages in their language. Machine gun became Read more
Eddie Rickenbacker had an incredible life. He was a famous race car driver and raced in the Indianapolis 500. He enlisted in the Army when the US entered WWI. He was Gen. John Pershing’s personal driver until he talked him into allowing him to join the air corps. He Read more
The stray tuxedo cat must have thought it was lucky when it was picked up off a street in Paris and put in the French space program. Good food and a safe place to live. It, along with 13 other strays, was a candidate for first cat in space. Read more
Heraclitus is one of the great Greek philosophers. He is best known for his belief that the world is constantly changing. His most famous quote was: “no man ever steps into the same river twice”. According to legend, at the end of his life he was suffering from dropsy Read more