A Brief History This weekend, two epic films set during Greco-Roman history vie for box office dominance: 300: Rise of an Empire (total worldwide gross as of March 10, 2014: $132,850,000) set during the Greco-Persian Wars and Pompeii (total worldwide gross as of March 10, 2014: $78,168,000) set during the height of the Roman Empire, but how accurate are they historically speaking? Digging Deeper: 300: Rise of an Empire Quite a bit of well put together articles have addressed the factual accuracy and inaccuracy of 300 (see for example here and here), but less has been written about the prequel/sidequel/sequel…
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A Brief History On February 10, 1933, Primo Carnera, a heavyweight boxer called “The Monster” by Time magazine, dealt Ernie Schaaf fatal blows during a boxing match in New York City. The hapless Schaaf died 4 days after the match. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find Carnera as the heaviest heavyweight boxing champion of his day (a record held until 2005) and at 6’7″ (an exaggeration by an inch and a half), also listed as the tallest (again until 2005 when Nikolay Valuev won a title). Also known as the “Ambling Alp,” Carnera was an Italian fighter who was dogged his…
A Brief History On February 7, 1882, John L. Sullivan became the last of the bare-knuckle boxing champions with an eighth-round knockout of Paddy Ryan. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find Sullivan, known as “The Boston Strong Boy,” fighting his way across America challenging any man any time any where! His victory in Mississippi over Paddy Ryan, the man recognized as the heavyweight boxing champion of America, if not the world, made Sullivan the last of the bare-knuckle champs and the first of the gloved boxing champs. Sullivan fought all comers, including Europeans, giving him legitimate claim as “world champion.” Fighting…
A Brief History On February 6, 1988, Michael Jordan soared into basketball history with his unique slam dunk, taking off from the free throw line! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find this stunning feat earning him the moniker “Air Jordan” and the genesis of the Jumpman logo. Although his incredible jumping ability commanded the attention of basketball fans, Jordan was much more than just a flashy slam dunk artist. A fine ball handler and one of the best defensive players of all time, “MJ,” as he was frequently called, was a complete player with no deficiencies in his game and…
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…
