History

When Did the Holy Roman Empire End? July 24, 2021

How Did a Microsoft Font Catch a Fraudster? April 30, 2021

John D. Rockefeller was the world's first Billionaire and it was his near-monopoly oil business in the USA that necessitated the federal and states governments to create Antitrust laws. April 25, 2021

In 1991 a youth group in Denmark wrote to Gorbachev of Russia to ask for a free submarine. He said yes, and 3 years later they received a massive 76 meter (250 ft) submarine. April 10, 2021

After Puyi, the last Emperor of China, was dethroned, he worked as a street cleaner and would visit the Forbidden Palace as a tourist and point out the various objects on display that he used to own as Emperor. March 28, 2021

Microsoft tried a 4-day workweek in Japan as part of a "Work Life Choice Challenge" by shutting down offices every Friday. Productivity, measured by sales per employee, increased by almost 40% compared to the same period the previous year. March 17, 2021

When Truman told Stalin about the Manhattan project in July of 1945, Stalin displayed little reaction, since Stalin had known about the project for almost 4 years before Truman, and he arguably knew more about it than Truman himself did. February 26, 2021

In 427BC Athens sent a ship to Mytilene which had instructions to kill all adult men in the city-state. The next day, Athenians voted to change their decision - a second ship was dispatched. Racing through the night, it reached Mytilene just in time to prevent the massacre from happening. February 25, 2021

Female gladiators or "gladiatrices" existed in ancient Rome, but were rare because it was considered unwomanly. One gladiatrix of note was a woman who fought wild boars with a spear while topless, and who would squat to urinate in front of a stunned crowd. February 22, 2021

French cavalry captured a Dutch warship fleet trapped in ice in 1795, "The only time in history that men on horseback captured a fleet of ships". February 18, 2021

The famous Madame Tussaud started out in Paris during the French Revolution. Marie Tussaud used to make 'death masks' of famous people who's heads had been chopped by the Guillotine. She went on tour to Britain for 30 years with her collection before setting up her waxworks in London. February 17, 2021

5 men volunteered to stand directly under a Nuclear Blast in 1959, with a sixth man who didn't volunteer. None suffered immediate harm, but all later developed cancer. February 10, 2021

An ancient Roman oracle once prophesied that "Caligula had no more chance of becoming emperor than of riding a horse across the Bay of Baiae". After becoming emperor, Caligula ordered ships to construct the largest pontoon bridge in history, and rode his horse across the Bay of Baiae. February 6, 2021

Women also competed as gladiators in ancient Rome and there is a marble relief dating to around the 2nd century A.D. depicting a bout between two women dubbed "Amazon" and "Achillia," whom the inscription says fought to an honorable draw. February 1, 2021

Meet the Battle of the Wabash or St. Clair's defeat. When an American army of 1000 men was slaughtered by a Native American force of near equal strength in 1791. Only 28 men escaped unscathed with a casualty rate of 97%, it remains the largest defeat in American history. January 29, 2021

Slaveholders in the US knew that enslaved people were escaping to Mexico, the U.S. tried to get Mexico to sign a fugitive slave treaty, but Mexico refused to sign such a treaty, insisting that all enslaved people were free once they set foot on Mexican soil. January 29, 2021

Georgy Zhukov, Marshal of the Soviet Union, was an avid fisherman in his retirement. When President Eisenhower, who considered him the most instrumental Allied leader in Hitler's defeat, learned this he had him sent a set of fishing tackle. Zhukov used it exclusively, for the rest of his life. January 27, 2021

Pirates often stocked a variety of flags and usually flew false flags, only raising the Jolly Roger when they had their prey vessels within firing range. January 23, 2021

A Joyful Night: How Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt Changed the World with a Simple Flight January 5, 2021

Theodore Roosevelt's youngest son Quentin Roosevelt I was a pilot in World War I and was killed in France during combat. He is the only child of a US President to die in combat December 1, 2020