Browsing: August 12

A Brief History August 12, 1915 marks the date of a story – which is not actually just a simple story – which tells of the vanishing of a group of British soldiers during the now infamous Gallipoli campaign, during World War One.  Most say that the 5th Norfolk Battalion vanished into thin air. Other versions of this legend say that the soldiers actually walked into thick mist and were then swallowed up, without a single trace.  Ever since the men of Sandringham have vanished, theories have been created, as well as a lot of controversies. Naturally, all of those…

A Brief History On August 12, 30 BC, Cleopatra VII Philopator is alleged to have committed suicide by allowing an Asp (a venomous snake of the cobra family) to bite her.  (Yes, she was THE Cleopatra.)  We used this occasion to publish our article, “10 Famous Suicides,” and today we list another list of those that took their own lives, “5 More Famous Suicides.” We have also addressed the suicide phenomena in our articles “10 More Famous Suicides,” “10 World Leaders that Committed Suicide,” and “The Origins of Dr. Death (Assisted Suicide).” Please note that we do not glorify or…

A Brief History On August 12, 1994, major league baseball players went on strike, ending the 1994 major league baseball season and causing the cancellation of the 1994 World Series.  Sacrilege!  Any labor dispute that cause the cancellation of anything as publicly visible as the World Series is sure to get attention, though labor or protest strikes outside of the sporting world can also be highly visible or even intrusive to the public at large.  Today, we list “10 Famous Labor or Protest Strikes” that have particular historical interest or consequence.  (Note: As denizens of the USA, we tend to…

A Brief History On August 12, 1883, the last known living specimen of the Quagga died, and the species became extinct.  This Zebra-like critter had only the  front half of its head and body striped, and unfortunately, only 1 photo of a live Quagga is known to exist.  Human encroachment on the habitat of the Quagga, including European colonization of Africa, farming and fencing, and hunting led to the extinction of this nifty looking beast.  We previously listed “10 Animals Extinct or Endangered Because of Humans,” and today we list “10 More.” Digging Deeper 1. Woolly Rhinoceros. Did you know that…

A Brief History On August 12, 30 BC, Cleopatra VII Philopater committed suicide by means of an asp bite (small cobra snake) to the breast.  (Yes, that Cleopatra.)  Through the centuries many people have killed themselves for a wide variety of reasons, including but not limited to shame, grief, to avoid execution, to avoid jail, terminal illness, and depression.  Here we list 10 of the most famous or most interesting of these, with no significance to the order listed. Digging Deeper 10. Cleopatra, 30 BC. Having aligned herself with Julius Caesar and then Marc Antony, Cleo picked the losing side…