An interesting historical story.
The Hanging Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife Amytis. She missed the hills of her youth. It used a water pipe system to pump water to a height of 60 feet. The water came from the Euphrates River. There were terraces planted with a variety Read more…
In 1789, Doctor Joseph-Ignace Guillotin suggested a more humane way of executing people. At the time, the lower classes were hanged and upper class were beheaded with a sword or axe. Both methods could result in considerable pain before the victim expired. Beheadings relied on the accuracy of the executioner Read more…
The Great Pyramid is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that still exists. It was the largest of ten pyramids built from 2600 – 2500 B.C. It was built as the tomb for King Khufu. It is estimated that it took up to 25 Read more…
It occurred on Sept. 8, 1900. The hurricane came ashore as a Category 4 with winds over 130 MPH. The storm surge was 15 feet. Over 6,000 were killed, many of them tourists. 3,600 buildings were destroyed. The damage was estimated at $20 million (about $700 million today). It is Read more…
David Bushnell was attending Yale during the buildup to the Revolution. He participated in debates about whether war with England was a good idea. Opponents argued that the Royal Navy was too powerful and would easily blockade the Colonies, cutting off trade. When the war broke out, Bushnell returned Read more…
For some reason, I feel the desire to post about the Battle of Belleau Wood today. It is one of the most famous battles involving the Marine Corps and the most famous Marine battle of the Great War. Occurring in June, 1918, it was part of the Allied efforts to Read more…
Goyahkla (“The One Who Yawns”) was born a Chiricahua Apache around 1829. The best theory of how he got his name Geronimo was that in a battle with Mexican soldiers, one of the Mexicans fearfully yelled out for St. Jerome. The Chiricahua lived by raiding. Originally, they raided other Indians Read more…
His famous nickname was Richard Couer de Lion, which translates to Richard the Lionheart, not Lionhearted. He was born in 1157. He was the third son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was born in England, but he probably never learned to speak English. The royal Read more…
George H.W. Bush enlisted in the Navy right out of high school. In 1944, he entered combat as one of the youngest pilots in the Navy at age 20. He flew an Avenger torpedo/dive bomber off the USS San Jacinto. On Sept. 2, 1944, his squadron was tasked with Read more…
In Oct., 1917 when the Bolsheviks took over, Czar Nicholas and his family were arrested and eventually placed in the House of Special Purpose in the city of Yekaterinburg. With the Russian Civil War going on, the Reds began to fear that the Whites would liberate the royal family. Read more…