Browsing: Society

A Brief History On August 12th, 30 B.C., after the naval defeat of her and Mark Antony’s forces against those of Octavian, and in fear of the public humiliation of being dragged through Rome in chains, Cleopatra committed suicide by snake bite.  Cleopatra VII, last Ptolemaic Queen of Egypt, is one of the most written-about women in history, and she has been portrayed in numerous movies. Because she captivated and beguiled two of the most powerful men in the Roman world, it has long been assumed that she possessed beauty of epic proportions. Archaeological finds, however, indicate that this may…

A Brief History On August 11, 1984, President Reagan caused the Soviet Union to raise their security and defense levels by joking about bombing Russia.  Whether meant to go public or said in private conversation, politicians throughout history have been known to say incredibly stupid things.  Here we list 10 such misstatements made by politicians.  (Note: Due to the volume of stupid utterances, we do not claim these are the most stupid, but they are pretty stupid.)  Obviously, this list cries out for a sequel.   10.  “Read my lips, no new taxes.” George H.W. Bush, 1988. Campaign pledges are usually not considered…

A Brief History On August 11, 1934, the Federal Penitentiary located on the island of Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay opened for civilian prisoners.  Despite its exotic-sounding name, Alcatraz was a state-of-the-art maximum security prison designed to hold the toughest, most dangerous prisoners. Digging Deeper Some of the desperadoes held there included: Al “Scarface” Capone; “Doc” Barker; Robert Stroud (aka “The Bird Man of Alcatraz”); “Bumpy“ Johnson (aka “The Godfather of Harlem“); “Whitey” Bulger; Alvin “Creepy” Karpis; and “Machine Gun” Kelly.  Apparently having a nickname was a good way to end up on “The Rock!” Considered to be escape-proof, the…

A Brief History On August 9, 1969, members of the Manson Family, followers of cult leader Charles Manson, murdered actress Sharon Tate, her unborn baby, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, and three other people.  Manson would later stand trial for orchestrating the murders but was never found to be insane, though to the layman he certainly appears to be.  Many historical figures seem to be  insane but are never ruled as such by a court or by psychiatric professionals (except maybe after they are dead).  Here we nominate 9 such people for History and Headlines’s loony bin.   Digging Deeper 9. Insane Clown…

A Brief History On August 9, 1945, a Boeing B-29 bomber named “Bockscar” dropped the second atomic bomb on Japan, incinerating 39,000 people within seconds.  In the following weeks, thousands more would die from exposure and their injuries, and more would keep dying from radiation-related illnesses for years to come.  The Japanese quickly surrendered after this second nuclear attack, but the question of whether or not this bomb was necessary still haunts Americans to this day. Digging Deeper “Bockscar” was part of a special B-29 unit specially trained for dropping atomic bombs.  The bombers were modified B-29s that had their bomb…