Browsing: Misconceptions

A Brief History For starters, if you have never heard of the Christmas Pickle, do not feel bad!  The author herself only learned of the Christmas Pickle two years ago while she was living in Germany and was being visited by a fellow American who brought up the topic.  The friend hung a pickle-shaped ornament on her Christmas tree every year, and since she believed the tradition came from Germany, wanted to know more about it. Digging Deeper Various American Christmas traditions include: singing carols; hanging stockings over the fireplace; leaving cookies out for Santa; placing mistletoe over doorways; but some Americans apparently also hang an…

A Brief History On December 20, 1941, the American Volunteer Group (AVG), better known by its nickname, the Flying Tigers, engaged in its first round of air-to-air combat when its fighters encountered Japanese “Sally” bombers.  Just in case you do not know, the AVG was a group of American flyers under the command of Claire Chennault that flew for China against the Japanese. Digging Deeper As you can tell by the date above, by the time the AVG got into combat, the U.S. was already at war with Japan, which kind of defeated the purpose of using “volunteers” from supposedly uninvolved countries.  A similar…

A Brief History Throughout history, there have been phonies who liked to embellish their backgrounds.  Some claimed to be royalty, others claimed to be war heroes, and some even boasted academic achievements they never earned.  Perhaps you know people like this; for sure as heck we at History and Headlines do!  The author has worked with goofs who claimed to be Viet Nam veterans who certainly were not, and sometimes more famous people have claimed a war record to help them attain elected office, only to be revealed as frauds later.  Some researchers have even faked experiment results!  Here 10 egregious examples of liars…

A Brief History On November 24, 1863, Union forces under the command of future President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant captured Lookout Mountain as part of the campaign to relieve the siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee by Confederate General Braxton Bragg.  Grant is known as the most successful Union general of the Civil War, and as the man most responsible for winning that war.  This much is true, but many of the other things we think we “know” about Grant are not so true. Digging Deeper For starters, Grant was not a drunkard.  As a young officer, he had a…

A Brief History On November 18, 1307, Swiss archer William Tell split an apple into two pieces on his son’s head with a well-aimed arrow.  For defying Austrian authority, both he and his son were to be executed, but their lives would be spared if Tell, an excellent marksman, could hit the apple.  Ever since, William Tell has been perhaps the greatest Swiss hero, the symbol of patriotism.  But was he real? Digging Deeper Written accounts of the incident only surfaced in the late 15th century, almost 170 years later.  It is typical that many events in history, be they real or…