On June 15, 1775, George Washington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Although John Hancock had hopes for the job, Washington was the logical choice. He had the reputation of having the most military experience in the 13 Colonies, Read more…
Diogenes was a cynical philosopher who could be pretty provocative. Once he was invited to the home of a friend. When they approached the door, he asked the man what the inscription above the doorway meant. The friend told him Read more…
America was so ill-prepared for WWI that we had to borrow tanks from the French. Those tanks were pretty good. They were Renault FT light tanks. These revolutionary tanks had traversable turrets and the engine in the rear. It had Read more…
Socrates was famously hen-pecked. Here are two of his statements about marriage: When he was asked whether a man should get married or remain single. Socrates: “Let him take which course he may, he will repent it.” Read more…
When Pershing brought the A.E.F. to France, he was adamant about it fighting as an American army, not as reinforcements for the British and French. The American divisions were scattered throughout the Western Front to train with the British and Read more…
These jokes were told in ancient Greece. King Archelaus went to the barber. When the barber asked how he wanted his hair cut, he responded: “In silence.” Another time Archelaus went to the barber and before he sat in Read more…
Demosthenes was once giving a speech before the Athenian assembly, but his opposition was booing and hissing to drown him out. He suddenly stopped and when the crowd quieted down, he asked them if they wanted to hear a story. Read more…
Military communication made great strides in WWI. At first, wireless telegraphy was used to connect generals to their armies (or admirals to their fleets), but the system was problematical because the messages could be easily intercepted. This led to the Read more…
This story is probably apocryphal, but its cute. One day a youth came to Rome and the crowds quickly noticed he looked just like the Emperor Augustus when he was the same age. Word reached the palace and Augustus Read more…
In honor of Memorial Day, here is a very well done song with slides using the famous poem about WWI fallen.