Anecdote
THE PARTHENON EXPLOSION
One of the worst days in the history of art was Sept. 26, 1687. That’s the day the greatest temple of the ancient world was blown up. The Parthenon was located on the Acropolis (the hill) in Athens. It Read more…
Anecdote
THE WARREN COMMISSION
The Warren Commission was created by Pres. Lyndon Johnson a week after the Kennedy assassination. It was headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren and included two Senators, two Congressman (including Gerald Ford), the CIA director, and a former head Read more…
Anecdote
PRESIDENT EDITH WILSON
Edith Boling was a direct descendant of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. She was widowed at age 35 when her husband Norman Galt died from the flu. Seven years later, she went walking with her friend Helen Bones. Helen was Read more…
Anecdote
THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES
The Seventies saw the rise of the women’s liberation movement. Most women began to demand equal rights. Many called men wanted women to remain in their traditional status of subordination to men. The feminists called them male chauvinist pigs. Read more…
Anecdote
THE MAN WHO VOLUNTEERED TO GO INTO AUSCHWITZ
Witold Pilecki was a veteran of the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921. In 1939, he fought against the Nazi invasion. He then joined an underground group. Pilecki volunteered to infiltrate a new prison camp called Auschwitz. He joined a protest Read more…
Anecdote
THE BEEFSTEAK RAID
In September of 1864, Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was starving during the Siege of Petersburg. On Sept. 5, a scout brought some information to Major General Wade Hampton. Hampton was the commander of Confederate cavalry (after the death Read more…
Anecdote
THE WALL STREET BOMBING OF 1920
Wall Street was crowded at lunchtime on Sept. 16, 1920. Cars were driving and many workers were heading for lunch spots. At 12:01, a massive explosion rocked the financial district. 30 were killed immediately and 8 were mortally wounded. Read more…
Anecdote
KEY’S DRINKING SONG
When Francis Scott Key learned that a friend was being held by the British, he decided to try to arrange his release. Dr. William Beanes had been abducted from his home in Read more…
Anecdote
MYTH #1 – BETSY ROSS SEWED THE FIRST FLAG
In a recent post on another site, I pointed out that Betsy Ross did not sew the first American flag. Some members were offended that I challenged a popular story. That story is that George Washington, Robert Morris, and Read more…
Anecdote
THE TRAITOR AT COLDITZ
Walter Purdy was a working class Brit who was pro-fascism and a fan of Oswald Mosley. Mosley had founded the British Union of Fascists. Purdy had attended several of his speeches. He ended up being drafted and put in the Read more…