Browsing: July

A Brief History On July 8, 1994, Kim Jong-Il assumed control of North Korea upon the death of his father, Kim Il-Sung.  For the people of North Korea, it was like going from the frying pan into the fire, from one goof to an even jerkier goof.  Despite what Americans may think of their presidents, other countries have given history a parade of crackpots that have led countries as dictators, whether through color of office, military coup, or royal lineage.  Here we list 10 of the biggest crackpot dictators in modern history.  (Hint: If your leader wears a military uniform and…

A Brief History On July 8, 1947, the local Roswell newspaper reported the crash of a UFO outside of town, calling it a “flying saucer.”  The public belief that an extraterrestrial vehicle had crashed and been taken by the Air Force was reinforced by a press release issued by Roswell Army Air Field spokesman Walter Haut saying the Army had recovered a “flying disk.” Digging Deeper Later government and military assertions that the object recovered had been a top secret observation balloon or weather balloon did not sway the opinion of much of the public.  The display of the alleged…

A Brief History On July 8, 1898, gangster and con artist Jefferson R. “Soapy” Smith was killed in a shootout with a vigilance committee on the Juneau, Alaska wharves.  Soapy got his name from a soap related scam he used to run, but nothing was funny about him running organized crime in Denver and other locales in Colorado and in the gold rush town of Skagway, Alaska. Digging Deeper Sometimes gangsters and criminals have sort of cool sounding nicknames, such as “Iron Mike” Tyson (a shot at the miscreant boxer, a convicted rapist), Sammy “The Bull” Gravano (a Gambino Family…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological timeline of key events that occurred during the Age of Discovery. Digging Deeper On October 10, 1492, the famous first voyage of Christopher Columbus and his small fleet of three ships almost came to an end right at the point of “discovering” the New World. On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus, the Italian adventurer sailing into the unknown in the name of the Spanish Crown, landed in the Bahamas, the landing that became known as the “discovery” of America (or, “The New World” if you prefer). On March 15, 1493, Christopher Columbus made his triumphant return…

A Brief History On July 7, 1928, bread that was presliced, wrapped in paper or cellophane, and sold like that to the consumer in bakeries and grocery stores first made its debut.  The bread slicer was invented by Iowan Otto Rohwedder, and the race to sell sliced bread was on. Digging Deeper The Chillocothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri claims to have sold the first such bread under its “Kleen Maid Sliced Bread” brand.  Battle Creek, Michigan, also claims to be the first place the bread was sold, but without as much documentation. When Wonder Bread began selling sliced bread nationwide in 1930,…