History and Headlines - A Bizarre Look at History...One Day at a Time!

October 21, 1096: The First Crusade Was Not the First Crusade!

By Major Dan on October 21, 2018 Jerusalem, Military, October 21, Religion

A Brief History On October 21, 1096, a Seljuk Turk army led by Sultan Kilij Arslan I massacred a Christian army from Europe, known as the People’s Army, ending the first of the religious wars known as the Crusades. This particular “Crusade” is not considered an “official Crusade,” a distinction reserved for the Catholic Church sanctioned invasion of the Middle East (i.e., Holy Land) a year later. Digging Deeper The so called “People’s Crusade,” “Popular Crusade,” “Peasants’ Crusade” or “Paupers’ Crusade” was the work of a charismatic French monk called Peter the Hermit. In keeping with the multiple names theme,…

October 22, 2018: Additional Chances to Preview Hunter Killer!

By Dr. Zar on October 20, 2018 Cinema & TV, October 22

A Brief History On October 9, 2018, we announced an opportunity for our readers to attend an advance screening of Hunter Killer. Today, we wish to extend that announcement to action thriller film fans of John Carroll University (JCU) with a brand new code to use to have a chance at a pass to see this film! So, to the faculty, staff, and students at JCU, here is your chance to also be among the first in Cleveland, Ohio to see Hunter Killer on Monday, October 22, 2018 at 7:00 PM at AMC Westwood in Rocky River, Ohio! For your chance…

October 19, 1864: When the Confederates Invaded Vermont! (St. Albans Raid)

By Major Dan on October 19, 2018 Military, October 19

A Brief History On October 19, 1864, military forces of the Confederate States of America invaded Vermont from a staging area in Quebec, Canada. Although we have long been taught in school that the Gettysburg campaign was the last invasion of the North by the Confederate States, the St. Albans Raid proves that premise false. Although not a “real” invasion by a large military force, the 21 cavalry soldiers involved on the side of the Rebels were in fact real soldiers of the CSA, men who had evaded capture in other campaigns and made their way North to Canada to…

October 18, 1979: When Did the Public Get Satellite Television?

By Major Dan on October 18, 2018 Cinema & TV, October 18

A Brief History On October 18, 1979, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) of the United States first began allowing private citizens to receive satellite television signals in their own homes, making television available to people living outside of the range of broadcast television and giving the public an alternative to cable television. Ever since, fierce competition between cable and satellite television providers has raged over television customers, and those customers likewise have debated the relative merits of each type of television service. Digging Deeper For those people that lived outside of the areas serviced by cable television providers or those…

October 17, 1814: How Much Beer is Too Much? (The London Beer Flood)

By Major Dan on October 17, 2018 Food, October 17, The Bizarre

A Brief History On October 17, 1814, a bizarre incident occurred involving our favorite potable, the noble brewski. Perhaps you have heard of drowning your sorrows in beer or some other alcoholic beverage? Well, in London in 1814, a giant vat of beer failed, and 135,000 Imperial gallons of beer surged out, crashing into other huge vats and breaking those open as well. A total of well over 300,000 gallons of beer flowed out of the brewery and into the street like a tidal wave, crushing or drowning at least 8 unsuspecting people in an event known to history as…