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Was Colonel Sanders Actually a Colonel?

Matt Blitz April 21, 2014 10

Rachel M. asks: Was Colonel Sanders really a Colonel? Kentucky Colonel is the highest honor that can be bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. (Incidentally, if you’re curious: Why Colonel is Pronounced “Kernel”) To

The Curious Case of Mary Hamilton

Melissa April 14, 2014 1

In 1746 in Taunton, Somerset, England, Mary Hamilton was imprisoned and whipped for impersonating a man and marrying possibly as many as 14 women (not all at once). Few records of these events have

The Unmasking of Moriarty

Melissa March 25, 2014 0

Jill T. asks: My dad told me Professor Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes was based on a real person. Is this true and if so, who? Genius and philosopher, with a “brain of the first

The Man Who Parkinson’s Disease is Named After Was Implicated in a Plot to Assassinate King George III

Emily Upton March 19, 2014 2

Today I found out they named Parkinson’s disease after a man who was involved in an assassination attempt on King George III. Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder characterized by tremors or shaking, with

Whatever Happened to Ambrose Bierce?

Melissa March 19, 2014 1

Witty, prickly, bitter and brilliant, for 50 odd years, author and newspaperman Ambrose Bierce eloquently chronicled the latter half of the 19th, and first few years of the 20th, centuries. From moving descriptions of

The Year’s Free Wages That Resulted in the Novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”

Emily Upton March 18, 2014 2

Today I found out about the year’s “free wages” that led to Harper Lee writing To Kill a Mockingbird. The book, which was Lee’s first and only published novel, was heralded as an “instant

The “House of Horrors” Hotel and One of America’s First Serial Killers

Emily Upton March 3, 2014 5

Today I found out about H.H. Holmes, one of the United States’ first serial killers. Herman Webster Mudgett was born in 1861 in New Hampshire to a relatively wealthy family. He was reportedly extremely

The Pope Who Wrote a Popular Romance Novel

Emily Upton February 28, 2014 3

Today I found out about Pope Pius II, who wrote a popular romance novel called The Tale of Two Lovers. Pope Pius II was born Enea Silvio Piccolomini near Siena, Italy in 1405, one

Hero of Alexandria and His Amazing Machines

Melissa February 28, 2014 1

Two thousand ago, the Thomas Edison of the ancient world lived in Alexandria, Egypt where he tinkered, built and wrote about some of the most amazing and whimsical machines the pre-industrial world had ever

The Remarkable Emma Goldman

Emily Upton February 20, 2014 0

Goldman was born in 1869 in Lithuania, the first child from her mother’s second marriage to a man who desperately wanted a son. Her father was abusive, using a whip on Goldman who he

The Wives of King Henry VIII, Part Two

Emily Upton February 13, 2014 2

For Part I of this two part series, go here. Today I found out about the last three wives of King Henry VIII: Anne of Cleves, Kathryn Howard, and Katherine Parr. We last left

The Wives of King Henry VIII, Part One

Emily Upton February 13, 2014 4

Today I found out about the first three wives of King Henry VIII: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, and Jane Seymour. “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived,” as the old rhyme goes. King Henry

Late for the Olympics: The Amazing Story of Kipchoge Keino

Karl Smallwood February 7, 2014 5

Kipchoge Keino, aka Hezekiah Kipchoge Keino or (thankfully in the interest of avoiding typos) just Kip, is a retired athlete who ran for the country of Kenya. Throughout his career, Kip earned almost a

Why Hubble Has a Telescope Named After Him

Emily Upton February 4, 2014 2

Nissi U. asks: Why is the Hubble telescope called that? Just about everyone has heard of the Hubble Space Telescope. A space-based observatory on “the highest mountain” the world can provide; it is the

The Woman Who Survived All Three Disasters Aboard the Sister Ships: the Titanic, Britannic, and Olympic

Emily Upton January 28, 2014 13

Today I found out about Violet Jessop, “Miss Unsinkable,” the woman who survived the sinking of the sister ships the Titanic and the Britannic, and was also aboard the third of the trio of

The Saint Who Buried People Alive and Burned Down a City in Revenge

Emily Upton January 27, 2014 1

Today I found out about Princess Olga of Kiev, the saint who buried people alive and didn’t exactly take to heart the whole “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among

The Modern King Leonidas: Athanasios Diakos

Theodoros II January 14, 2014 7

Greece is one of the most historically rich nations, with a culture and civilization that exceeds five thousand years of continuous human activity, producing such notable historical influencers as Alexander the Great, Socrates, Plato,

The Troubled Life of the Brilliant Jack Parsons

Matt Blitz January 10, 2014 5

Marvel “John” (everyone called him Jack) Whiteside Parsons was born in Los Angeles, California in 1914 to a upper-middle class parents. Upon learning about her husband’s affair with another woman, Jack’s mother, Ruth, did