Author Archives: Daven Hiskey

January 10th: Julius Caesar Makes His Historic, Illegal Crossing of the Rubicon at the Head of a Legion of Soldiers, Starting a Civil War Within Rome

This Day In History: January 10, 49 BC On this day in history, 49 BC, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon with a legion of his soldiers, which was against Roman law.  Specifically, Governors of Roman provinces (promagistrates) were not allowed to bring any part of their army within Italy itself and, if they tried, they automatically forfeited their right to […]

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January 5th: Alexandre Dumas Fights in His First Duel, During Which His Pants Fall Down

This Day In History: January 5, 1825 On this day in history, 1825, on a bitter cold day, a young Alexandre Dumas, soon to be famed playwright and novelist and current son of Thomas-Alaxandre who was once one of Napoleon’s generals, fights in his first duel. During the duel, Dumas successfully defeated his opponent almost immediately, but, according to his […]

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Two Men Murdered 15 People Over the Course of a Year in Order to Sell the Bodies as Cadavers for College Students to Dissect

Today I found out about William Burke and William Hare: two men who murdered 15 people (though sold 16 bodies overall) over the course of a year to make extra money, selling the bodies as cadavers for university students to dissect. These murders took place starting in November of 1827 to October of 1828.  At the time, it was very […]

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January 4th: Fender Guitar Company, Which Was Started By an Out of Work Accountant Who Never Learned to Play the Guitar, was Sold to CBS for $13 Million

This Day In History: January 4, 1965 On this day in history, 1965, CBS purchased the Fender Guitar Company for $13 million from Leo Fender.  For reference, this would be around $90 million today.  This was also close to $2 million more than CBS paid for the New York Yankees just two years before.  After CBS continually reduced the quality […]

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Where the Brand Name “Kodak” Came From

The name “Kodak” was devised by George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak, and his mother, while playing with an anagram set.  They were looking for a name that adhered to three principles: short; cannot be mispronounced; and should not resemble anything or be associated with anything else except for the business that would eventually be called by that name. Sources

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December 29th: U.S. Cavalry Massacre More than 150 Lakota Native Americans, Including Women and Children, Near Wounded Knee Creek

This Day In History: December 29, 1890 On this day in history, 1890, the Seventh Cavalry opened fire on a Lakota Native American encampment with four rapid fire Hotchkiss guns, killing 150-300 of the group, including women and children.  Along with the dead Lakota, around 25 of the cavalry troops themselves were killed with another 39 wounded, largely due to […]

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Super Glue Really is Super

Super Glue really is “super”.  A one square inch bonding of Super Glue can hold around one ton. Super Glue has even been used to bond a small surface area of metal attached to a crane, which was then glued to the top of a car.  The car was lifted successfully by the crane without the bond breaking. Sources and […]

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Hammerhead Sharks can Reproduce Asexually

The first documented case of a hammerhead shark reproducing asexually happened on December 14, 2001 at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska where a female hammerhead shark, which was kept in isolation from males, miraculously gave birth to a pup.  The pup was unfortunately killed by a stingray shortly thereafter, but testing showed that the pup was, in fact, a […]

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It’s a Wonderful Life was Based on a “Christmas Card” Short Story by Philip Van Doren Stern

Today I found out It’s a Wonderful Life was based on a “Christmas Card” short story by Philip Van Doren Stern, which was originally sent out to around 200 of Stern’s friends and family in December of 1943. The short story was called The Greatest Gift and was inspired by a dream Stern had one night in the 1930s.  Stern, […]

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