Around 9 P.M. on Feb. 27, 1933, Hans Flotter witnessed a man on a balcony of the Reichstag building in Berlin. The man was carrying something on fire. Flotter called the police. A policeman went into the building and shot at a man moving around in it. The man Read more
On this day in 1804, Lewis and Clark left on their famous expedition. Here are some interesting facts about it. Before reaching the Rockies they ran out of food in the winter and had to eat their tallow candles. The Nez Perce had opportunities to ambush and wipe them out, Read more
According to legend, baseball was invented on June 12, 1839 by Abner Doubleday. One problem was that Doubleday was busy with his studies at West Point in 1839. Doubleday went on the participate in the Civil War where he was at Fort Sumter when it was bombarded. He rose Read more
Today is the birth day of my favorite Founding Father. Joseph Warren was the only one who died for independence. Everyone has heard of Sam Adams, John Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere. They were all Boston patriots that gave the British hell, but none died for what they believed Read more
Going into 1954, Sen. Joseph McCarthy was at the height of his power, but his attempts to ferret out communists in the government had born little fruit. As head of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, McCarthy was able to call up numerous suspected communists to testify. Proof was Read more
The Middle Ages is infamous for its “medieval justice”. There were various methods for determining an accused’s guilt or innocence. Trial by compurgation involved the accused and the accuser getting as many people to swear an oath in your favor. Whoever got the most supporters won the case. I’m Read more
Once upon a time, the U.S. lost 34 men in a war that it did not participate in. In 1967, the Israelis launched the pre-emptive 6 Days’ War against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Pres. Lyndon Johnson kept the U.S. neutral even though the U.S. had sympathy for Israel. An Read more
It’s June 6 so I wanted to do a post on D-Day. Since it is such a well-known event, I tried to think of an anecdote that was not familiar to most. Be careful what you wish for. I decided to look into the story behind Robert Capa’s famous Read more
When Rome was besieged by the Etruscans, Gaius Mucius Cordo volunteered to assassinate the Etruscan king Porsena. Mucius snuck into the Etruscan camp in disguise and managed to enter the king’s tent. Unfortunately, he mistook the king’s scribe for the king and killed the wrong man. He was immediately Read more
During its early years, Rome conquered cities around it. The wars were bloody. To avoid more bloodshed, an agreement was made with the next foe. It was agreed that instead of sending their armies to do battle, they would pick their three best warriors and the trios would fight Read more