On July 8, 1945, two months to the day after the Allies declared victory in Europe, 29 German POWs were shot while peacefully residing in a prison camp in Salina, Utah. The Shooter Private Clarence V. Bertucci was 23 years old at the time of the shooting. Stationed at the Salina camp, Bertucci had been born and raised in New […]
Read more
Today I found out about John Billington, the first convicted murderer in America. John Billington was around 40 years old when he disembarked the Mayflower in New England in November, 1620. Like most of the other adult males on the ship, he had signed the Mayflower Compact prior to setting foot on American soil. The Compact had been drawn up […]
Read more
Today in History: December 3, 1979 The British rock band The Who hadn’t played Cincinnati since 1975, so the excitement level was high among the fans standing outside the Riverfront Coliseum on December 3,1979. For the majority of the fans attending the concert – 14,000 out of the over 18,000 in attendance – tickets were either for festival seating (standing […]
Read more
In May 1972 in a uranium enrichment plant in France, scientists examining ore from a mine in Gabon, West Africa, discovered that a natural nuclear reactor had spontaneously manifested in that region in the Earth’s primordial past, churning out approximately 100 Kw worth of energy continuously for a few hundred thousand years about 1.7 billion years ago. In order to […]
Read more
Today I found out why barbecues are called that. The word “barbecue” comes from the Caribbean word “barbacoa.” Originally, a barbacoa wasn’t a way of cooking food, but the name of a wooden structure used by Taino Indians to smoke their food. Due to the known diets of the Indians in question, it’s likely that the first barbecue consisted of […]
Read more
Today I found out about the use of exploding anti-tank dogs during World War II. These dogs, usually Alsatians, were also called “Hundminen” or “dog mines.” They were trained to carry explosives on their bodies to enemy tanks, where they would then be detonated. No, it did not end very well for the dogs in question. This type of animal […]
Read more
Today in History: December 2, 1777 On this day in history, 1777, Lydia Darragh thwarted a surprise British attack on General Washington and the Continental Army, helping turn the tide of the war. By September 1777, the outlook wasn’t so rosy for the Continental Army. The British emerged victorious in every recent battle and then marched triumphantly into Philadelphia. General […]
Read more
Today in History: December 1, 1982 When Michael Jackson began work on what would become the best selling album of all time (by far), “Thriller,” released on this day in history, he did so with a huge chip on his shoulder. He felt strongly that his previous effort, “Off the Wall,” which ended up selling a “measly” 20 million copies […]
Read more