An interesting historical story.
Black Tom Island is in New York harbor. In 1916, it was one of the largest munitions depots in America. On the night of July 30 a massive explosion destroyed the facility leaving a 375’ by 175’ crater. The explosion broke windows 25 miles away and popped rivets in Read more
If it wasn’t for a prostitute, we’d have one more Founding Father to idolize. Benjamin Church should be mentioned with the likes of Samuel Adams, John Hancock, John Adams, and Joseph Warren. Instead, his name is mentioned with Benedict Arnold. Church was born in Rhode Island, the son of Read more
King Martin I of Aragon (1356-1410) was suffering from a bad tummy ache. From his sickbed, he ordered that the court jester be summoned to cheer him up. When the jester arrived, his excuse for being late was: “I was in the next vineyard, your majesty, where I saw Read more
This is the supposed anniversary of the battle between the Horatii and the Curiatii in 670 B.C. It is also the anniversary of the death of Horatia. During its early years, Rome conquered cities around it. The wars were bloody. To avoid more bloodshed, an agreement was made with Read more
Pyrrhus of Epirus was one of the greatest generals of Ancient History. A distant relative of Alexander the Great, he became a king in Macedonia. He was invited to intervene in Italy to stop a rising power called Rome. His generalship brought him success at first. But his battles, Read more
Hiram Revels was born to free parents in North Carolina on Sept. 27, 1827. He became an ordained minister in 1845. During the Civil War, he helped organized two African-American infantry regiments and served as a chaplain. In 1870, he became the first black elected to Congress when he Read more
When second officer Charles Lightoller took his new position on the Titanic, he neglected to ask his predecessor for the keys to the locker where the binoculars were stored. On the fateful night, a lookout spotted the iceberg with his naked eyes. The ships engines were immediately stopped and Read more
One of the worst jobs was being a crewman on a German u-boat in WWII. Your life expectancy was poor. The death rate was around 75% and yet the submariners were volunteers. They were pampered ashore, but for the month to six months at sea, it was a life Read more
There were many copycats to Coke and usually Coke was successful in suing them out of business. In 1893, a North Carolina pharmacist named Caleb Bradham came up with “Brad’s Drink” which he renamed Pepsi-Cola to imply pepsin which was good for stomach ailments. His company went bankrupt due Read more
Garfield was shot in a railway station on July 2, 1881 by disgruntled office-seeker Charles Guiteau. One bullet glanced off his arm and the other entered his back, hit a rib, and ended up in his abdomen. His medical care was poor from the start. He was taken upstairs to Read more