Browsing: Lists

A Brief History On June 24, 109 AD, Roman Emperor Trajan opened the aqueduct known as Aqua Traiana, bringing water to Rome from Lake Bracciano 25 miles away.  The ancient Romans are known for their architectural achievements, but other societies also built some pretty impressive projects as well.  Here we list 10 impressive examples of ancient architecture, not necessarily the most famous, but ones we hope you will like.   Digging Deeper 10.  The Mound Builders, 3400 BC to 1500 AD. Along the Mississippi Valley to the Ohio Valley, Native American civilizations built a series of earthen mounds of large proportions…

A Brief History On June 23, 1917, Boston Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth pitched to only one batter, walking him, before he was ejected from the game for punching the umpire.  Pitcher Ernie Shore was brought in to complete the game against the Senators.  The base runner was thrown out trying to steal second base, and Shore retired the next 26 batters, completing a no-hitter between himself and Ruth, probably the most bizarre no-hitter in baseball history.  Here we list 10 bizarre baseball incidents.   Digging Deeper 10.  Bill Buckner Error, 1986. Buckner was a good baseball player, slugging 2700 hits…

A Brief History On June 22, 1969, the Cuyahoga River near downtown Cleveland, Ohio caught fire, sparking a story in Time Magazine and becoming the symbol for the ecology movement.  Nature and mankind have worked separately or together throughout history to create environmental disasters.  Here we list 10 of the more spectacular ones, the order of which is the ones we find most entertaining. Digging Deeper 10. Leaded Fuel, 1920’s-1970’s. Discovered to be an effective anti-knock compound for gasoline by Charles Kettering and Tom Midgely in 1921, the compound tetraethyl lead made by Dupont was necessary for engines to operate at higher compression, thus…

A Brief History On June 21, 1964, three civil rights workers were kidnapped and murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi, an event commemorated in the 1988 feature film, Mississippi Burning.  Advocating or campaigning for civil rights of various groups of people has been an historically dangerous business.  Many people engaged in the struggle for civil rights throughout history have been murdered or executed for their efforts.  Here we list 10 such people who have been martyred in the cause of freedom.   Digging Deeper 10. Chaney, Schwerner and Goodman, 1964. A 21 year old African-American from Mississippi and 2 Jewish New Yorkers…

A Brief History On June 20, 1991, the German Bundestag moved the capital of the newly reunified Germany back to Berlin from Bonn.  For a variety of reasons, countries and states occasionally change their capital cities.  Here we list 10 of those incidents.  There is no significance to the order listed.  Digging Deeper 10.  Bonn-Berlin, Germany, 1991. When Germany was split after World War II into East and West Germany, each had their own capital, Bonn in the West and East Berlin in the East.  Upon reunification after the fall of the communist Soviet bloc, the government was moved into…