Did you know an American President survived an assassination by a swamp rabbit? It happened on April 20, 1979. President Jimmy Carter was fishing in a flat-bottomed bottom alone while on vacation in Plains, Georgia. As he told a reporter later, a swamp rabbit swam out towards the boat Read more
Today in 1925, Tennessee became the first state to outlaw the teaching of evolution. This led to the famous Scopes Trial in July. The Butler Act had been passed earlier in 1925. It forbade the teaching of evolution in Tennessee schools. The American Civil Liberties Union immediately put out a Read more
I just got done spending hours adding content to the site, so now might be a good time to reintroduce the site. History Anecdotes for Teachers (HAFT) started as a way for me to share all the anecdotes I told in my Social Studies classes over my 39 year career. Read more
He was born on Dec. 18, 1878. His name was Joseb Besarionis dze Jugashvili. He changed this to Josef Stalin which means “man of the steel hand”. His father was an alcoholic cobbler and his mother was a washerwoman. At age 7, he contracted smallpox which left him with pockmarks Read more
Nellie Bly was the first investigative reporter. She had famously masqueraded as a mentally ill woman to go undercover in an insane asylum for ten days, among other sensational stunts for the New York World newspaper. By 1889, she was the most famous female reporter in the U.S., but Read more
Pre-sliced bread was invented in 1928. With WWII underway, Secretary of Agriculture and head of the War Foods Administration Claude Wickard ordered a ban on the production of sliced bread. It is unclear what the motivation was. Some think Wickard was trying to conserve the wax paper that was Read more
Alexander Hamilton, Jr was studying law when his father was shot in the most famous duel in American History. The duel took place at the same place where his older brother Phillip had been killed by a Burr supporter. He was at his father’s side when he died. He Read more
On this day in 1863, an infamous massacre occurred in Kansas during the Civil War. Kansas had been known as “Bleeding Kansas” before the war as pro- and anti-slavery forces battled for control of the state. This degenerated into a vicious guerrilla war between the Jayhawkers (antis) and Bushwhackers (pros). Read more
At age 12, Philo Farnsworth fixed a generator on the family farm. At age 14, he had an electrical lab in the attic. He would wake up at 4 A.M. to read scientific journals before doing his chores. He began dreaming of transmitting moving images through the air. His big Read more
Today in 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified. In honor of the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, I am providing some interesting facts about my favorite suffragist – Alice Paul. I have loved this woman since seeing the movie “Iron Jawed Angels.” I also highly recommend the YouTube video that Read more