Everyone knows one of Thomas Edison’s greatest inventions was the light bulb. I taught that. Unfortunately, I was passing on a myth. As early as 1761, inventors knew that you could pass electricity through wire to make it incandescent. Read more…
1861 – first documented game (similar to rugby) played in Toronto, Canada 1869 – first college football game – Princeton defeats Rutgers 6-4 / the field is 120 yards long / 25 players on each side 1875 – ball is Read more…
In 1903, British sportswriter Henry Chadwick riled America when he claimed that the “nation’s game” of baseball was actually an evolution of the British game called “rounders”. He seemed to have a strong argument. Rounders involved hitting a thrown ball Read more…
Earlier this week, I was posting my Today in History and saw that Dec. 4 was Crazy Horse’s birthday. I thought to myself “how do they know that date was when he was born”? Indians did not keep records of Read more…
On November 7, 1872, the brigantine (a two-masted sailing ship) left New York harbor on a trip to Genoa, Italy. On board were Captain Benjamin Briggs, his wife and their two-year-old daughter. And a crew of eight. On Dec. Read more…
There is a new war movie out entitled “Devotion”. It is based on the true story of the first black naval aviator and his white friend and wing man Thomas Hudner. The movie is commendably accurate. The climactic incident in Read more…
Most Americans have seen Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington hundreds of times because it was used for the engraving for the one-dollar bill. But few Americans know the story behind that portrait. The original of that portrait was Read more…
Everyone knows the John Smith and Pocahontas story (which is not true, by the way), but few know of the remarkable adventures of Smith. In 1630, 23 years after he saved Jamestown with h s firm leadership, Smith wrote Read more…
You’re probably thinking: “what is an anecdote about Playboy doing on a site for teachers?!” Stay with me here. On Dec. 1, 1953, the first Playboy magazine was published. This was a significant moment in American culture. The magazine Read more…
John McRae was born in Canada on Nov. 30, 1872. He graduated from college and became a doctor. He served in the Second Boer War. In 1904, he became a member of the Royal College of Physicians. He specialized Read more…