Browsing: Beth Michaels

A Brief History On July 7, 1550, chocolate is thought to have been introduced to Europe from the Americas.  In the following article, the author will list the foods native to either the North or South American continents that had the most significance on a culinary scale when finally exported to Europe, Asia and Africa. These will be in no particular order of ranking but merely alphabetical. Honorable mentions go to the grains/seeds: Quinoa and Amaranth. This is because these two foods are gaining in popularity due to growing health-food trends that involve going gluten-free and vegan, however, they have…

A Brief History On June 30, 1994, Tonya Harding was banned for life from participating in figure skating events.  She is currently competing on season twenty-six of Dancing with the Stars, titled Dancing with the Stars: Athletes.  The season premiered on April 30, 2018 on the ABC network.  The four-week season, the shortest ever, features a cast of current and former athletes. Digging Deeper Shortly before the 1994 national figure skating championships which were being held in Detroit, Nancy Kerrigan was hit in the knee in what would become known as the “whack heard round the world”. The attack was…

A Brief History At the time of Richard’s birth, no one could have foreseen that he would one day be king for he was the 12th of his parents’ 13 offspring and only the fourth son to reach adulthood, with two of his elder brothers having children of their own. Digging Deeper So how was Richard able to become king? Actually quite legally and surprisingly peacefully. Unlike his kinsmen who attained the throne through battle, conquest or even murder, Richard was asked by the citizens of London to assume the throne after they had drawn up a petition. His right to reign…

A Brief History On June 25, 1843, Marie Anne Lenormand, France’s most famous fortune teller and cartomancer (card reader), died. Digging Deeper Born in 1772 and educated at a convent school in Alençon, she moved to Paris sometime between 1786 and 1790 and set up a type of office for clairvoyance. Early clients included the heads of the French Revolution (Marat, Robespierre and Saint-Just). She is said to have predicted their violent demise. Her imprisonment by the Committee of Public Safety which had been created by the National Convention and which formed the de facto executive government during the Reign…

A Brief History On June 22, 2002, Ann Landers died after dispensing advice for nearly 50 years. Well, it  was not actually Ann Landers who died but rather Esther “Eppie” Lederer who wrote the column. Eppie Lederer had taken over the pen name from Ruth Crowley who had used it from 1943 to 1955. Under Eppie Lederer’s penmanship, Ask Ann Landers became a national phenomenon that launched the popularity of syndicated advice columns in newspapers. Eventually she even became owner of the copyright. Her status as a cultural icon was only rivaled by that of her twin sister, Pauline Phillips, who…