Category Archives: History

December 24, 1914: The Christmas Truce

On the whole, people don’t generally like to kill one another.  Most wars throughout history are often more about the agendas of the state’s leaders than the soldiers on the field actually inherently feeling any real malice towards those they are asked to try to kill or otherwise defeat.  Few events in history illustrate this as well as a remarkable […]

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When a Tulip Cost More than a House

Despite how it sounds, “Tulipmania” does not refer to just a general love of tulips; it was actually one the world’s first recorded major financial bubbles. Long before the dot com frenzy or the real estate bubbles of recent decades, there was Tulipmania in the Netherlands beginning around 1624 and reaching its peak from 1636 to 1637.  While the extent […]

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The History of Dentistry

This is a guest post by Shoshana Davis Brushing your teeth after every meal, visiting the dentist for cleanings, and having a relatively painless mouth is not just desired but expected in the year 2012. However, that was not always the case. Dentistry has come a long way since its inception and is often overlooked for other scientific advancements. The […]

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The Origin of the Bicycle

This is a guest post by Noah Wass- Plastics Engineer, bicycle expert, and owner of BikeInReview.com where you will find professional bike related reviews and interesting biking news.  Subscribe to his newsletter here. The bicycle was invented all the way back in 1817. A certain Baron Karl von Drais needed to get around easier while working in the Royal Gardens […]

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The First Time John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr Played Together

It was the autumn of 1960 in Hamburg, Germany. The young, fledgling group who had recently changed their name officially to “The Beatles” were playing at a local club called The Kaiserkeller. Hamburg was a vice-ridden city, a 24-hour-a-day unofficial red light district in itself. Hookers, pimps, thugs, gangsters, drug dealers, and various sundry “characters” and habitues roamed the streets […]

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The First Person to Use the Temporary Insanity Defense was a Congressman Who Murdered the Son of the Composer of “The Star Spangled Banner”

You might think the temporary insanity defense was a relatively new thing.  I mean, maybe it began in the 1940s or possibly the ’30s.  What with all the psychobabble around in those times.  But, no.  It was actually much earlier. It all started with a guy named Daniel Sickles.  Sickles (1819-1914) was a U.S. Senator and later a Congressman, as […]

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The Only Victim of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse was a Three Legged Dog

Today I found out the only victim of the Tacoma Narrows, “Galloping Gertie”, bridge collapse was a three legged dog. The three legged dog in question was a black Cocker Spaniel left in the back seat of the lone car abandoned on the galloping bridge.  The dog was owned by reporter Leonard Coatsworth, though his wife stated in an interview […]

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How Candy Pumpkins and Halloween Helped Change Daylight Saving Time

This is a guest post by Dan Lewis. Dan runs the wildly popular daily newsletter Now I Know (“Learn Something New Every Day, By Email”). To subscribe to his daily email, click here. Today I found Out how candy pumpkins and Halloween helped change Daylight Saving Time. Before 1966, Daylight Saving Time in the United States was set via a […]

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The Name for the Dwarf Planet Pluto was Suggested by an 11 Year Old Girl

Today I found out the name for the dwarf planet Pluto was suggested by an 11 year old girl. The girl was Venetia Burney of Oxford, England.  Venetia’s great uncle, Science Master of Eton Henry Madan, in 1877 suggested the name for the two dwarf moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos (fear/panic and dread/terror).  This was referencing the fact that […]

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