A Brief History On June 24, 1374, the German city of Aachen experienced a sudden outbreak of St. John’s Dance, a bizarre condition where masses of people experience hallucinations, jump and twitch (dance) until they fell from exhaustion! And this fiasco was not the only time or place. Digging Deeper The Aachen incident seems to have spread across Europe that year and into the next two years, affecting many other cities. Italy had their own brand of this disorder that they called “tarantism” where the dancers, presumably bit by a tarantula spider, would dance off the poison by dancing a “tarantella.”…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Daniel Zar is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
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A Brief History On June 23, 1917, Boston Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth pitched to only one batter, walking him, before he was ejected from the game for punching the umpire. Pitcher Ernie Shore was brought in to complete the game against the Senators. The base runner was thrown out trying to steal second base, and Shore retired the next 26 batters, completing a no-hitter between himself and Ruth, probably the most bizarre no-hitter in baseball history. Here we list 10 bizarre baseball incidents. Digging Deeper 10. Bill Buckner Error, 1986. Buckner was a good baseball player, slugging 2700 hits…
A Brief History On June 23, 1973, British serial arsonist and murderer, Bruce George Peter Lee started a fire that killed a 6 year old boy, his first known victim. The fire, like the next 10 that followed was ruled accidental after investigations, and was not found to be arson and murder until Lee confessed after being caught for an 11th fire. Digging Deeper Born Peter Dinsdale in 1960, he had changed his name to Lee in honor of martial arts actor Bruce Lee. The son of a prostitute, Lee was born with a birth defect that left him lame…
A Brief History On June 23, 1611, the ship appropriately named Discovery, captained by explorer Henry Hudson, was in what is now called Hudson Bay and was the scene of a mutiny. Hudson, his son and 7 loyal men of the crew were set into a small open boat and cast off by the angry mutineers. Captain and loyal followers were never seen again, victims of a deadly voyage during the Age of Discovery. Back in the day, 4 or 5 centuries ago, when brave explorers were sailing what today seem like tiny ships all over a strange world, finding…
A Brief History On June 22, 1893, the British battleship HMS Camperdown accidentally collided with the British battleship HMS Victoria off the coast of Lebanon. Digging Deeper Victoria was the flagship of the British Mediterranean fleet, the most powerful fleet in that sea and as such carried Vice Admiral Sir George Tryon. These 2 ships were 2 of the most powerful ships in the world, launched in 1885 and 1887 respectively. They were engaged in maneuvers and using the tactics of using an absolute minimum amount of signaling between ships. Remember, back then there was no radio, so ships used signal flags, semaphore or blinking…