A Brief History On February 14th, many of our readers celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day, a day associated with the martyrdom of the famous saint who was allegedly sentenced by a Roman emperor to be beaten with clubs and beheaded for refusing to renounce Christianity. The execution possibly occurred on February 14, 269. Valentine’s brutal demise is but one of numerous unusual deaths that are covered on History and Headlines. This article will be unlike most every other article on our site, because it will be periodically updated to provide a comprehensive, albeit not exhaustive, list of history’s more unusual deaths.…
Browsing: The Bizarre
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A Brief History On February 12, 2004, toy producer Mattel announced that the iconic American doll Barbie had called it quits with her longtime boyfriend Ken! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find a country (or world) of ‘tween and teenaged girls shocked to find Barbara Millicent Roberts (Barbie) ending her 42-year relationship with Ken Carson in order to pursue Blaine, an Australian surfer. (She thought he was a real doll!) The Barbie craze started just about immediately in 1959 when she was introduced as an 11 ½-inch blond or brunette bombshell of a doll. One main attraction of the Barbie doll…
A Brief History On February 3, 1913, a dark day indeed for Americans, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was adopted, making it legal to institute an income tax! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find that income taxes did not meet constitutional requirements for the federal government to levy such taxes and an amendment was required to allow congress to pass laws levying such taxes. Prior to implementation of the income tax, the main sources of revenue for the United States government were tariffs and excise taxes. Since those taxes raised prices for everyone, they proportionately…
A Brief History On February 1, 2004 at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Texas, history was made when a “wardrobe malfunction” caused Janet Jackson to briefly expose her breast on live national television! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find the National Football League (NFL) Championship Game, known as the Super Bowl, the premier television event of the year in the United States, with 90 million viewers exposed to what became known as “Nipplegate.” With the Super Bowl regularly commanding such a huge audience, only top-notch entertainers are usually provided as half-time entertainment, and at this Super Bowl Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake headed…
A Brief History On January 31, 1747, the London Lock Hospital opened as the first clinic specifically for the treatment of venereal diseases! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find many diseases today are identified as “venereal” or sexually transmitted by a variety of bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. Back in the days when science had not yet discovered the microscopic causes of disease, Europeans thought mainly of syphilis when addressing the subject of venereal disease. Although it is not proven beyond a doubt, many scientists think that syphilis was unknown in Europe until infected sailors among the crews of Christopher Columbus’s ships…