Browsing: August 20

A Brief History On August 20, 1882, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture made its debut in Moscow.  Celebrating the defense of Mother Russia, the “Rodina,” as they say in Russia, against Napoleon’s Grand Armee in 1812, the stirring work is instantly recognizable by the cannons going off before the brass fanfare finale.  Here we list 10 wonderful pieces of music that are immediately recognizable to most people, even if they do not know the composer or name of the work.  (Note:  The order of the list does not denote importance.)  Good luck trying to narrow down your choices, as there are so…

A Brief History Despite being known for their formidable military, Sparta has actually suffered as many if not more famous defeats as they have won victories in battle.  Therefore, we ask, “Is Sparta’s much celebrated military actually overrated?”  Please examine the list of their battle record below and let us know your thoughts in the comments using Disqus! Digging Deeper: 22 Spartan Defeats In 669/8 BC, the Argives defeated Sparta in the First Battle of Hysiae. In c. 550 BC, the Arcadians defeated Sparta in the Battle of the Fetters. On either August 20 or September 8-10, 480 BC, the Persians…

A Brief History On August 20, 1977, the United States space probe, Voyager 2 was launched with the mission of studying the outer portions of our solar system and then becoming the first (with its sister ship, Voyager 1, actually launched 2 weeks later) man made object to enter inter-stellar space. Digging Deeper These Voyager spacecraft have sent back information about Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter and Neptune and the moons of those planets, and are expected to continue to send back data (including images) until about 2020 when their Plutonium powered generators run down, with perhaps another 5 years of weak…

A Brief History On August 20, 2008, the results of the internet voting of which top locations should be included in Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition were announced.   Of those selected, the Polish city of Gdynia was especially notable.  The original Monopoly game is famously believed to have been created by Charles Darrow, but this was simply not the case.  Here we list 10 people believed to have done something they did not do.  (Note: These are mostly mistaken historical beliefs of laypeople, not historians.) Digging Deeper 10.  Al Gore Claimed He had Invented the Internet.  Often ridiculed for…

A Brief History On August 20, 1940, communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky was murdered in Mexico by agents of Joseph Stalin.  The murder weapon was an ice axe, not something you usually see in Mexico City!  People have been killing other people since Cain slew his own brother Abel, and they have gotten quite creative at it in the meantime.  This article lists 10 of the more unusual murder weapons or techniques employed over the years, for example, back when the author of this article was a police officer, he investigated a murder in which a son killed his father by purposely dropping an air…