A Brief History On December 25, 1826, cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point cracked the annals of history with an Eggnog Riot! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find the long gray line of cadets leading their disciplined life of study in a controlled environment with distractions like alcoholic beverages prohibited. Fighting, gambling, cursing, all the things young men pursue with gusto at other colleges were forbidden there, even back then. Boys being boys, soldiers being soldiers, the cadets were upset to be strictly limited to non-alcoholic eggnog for their Christmas party, and of course they decided…
Browsing: Society
Read More
A Brief History On December 22, 1984, the tables got turned on criminals when their victim shot them! Digging Deeper Bernhard Goetz, a 37-year-old white man, riding a New York subway believed himself threatened when approached by four African-American men ages 18 and 19. In an instant after initial contact, five shots rang out in rapid succession and all four young men were shot. Although the four young men were apparently carrying screwdrivers for their intended breaking into of vending machines, none of them actually threatened Goetz with a screwdriver when they either asked or demanded $5 from Goetz. Being…
A Brief History On December 19, 1956, Dr. John Bodkins Adams was accused of murdering 160 (or more!) of his patients! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find Dr. Bodkins practicing medicine in Sussex, England when suspicions began about his practice. Never considered a “good” doctor, Adams was a poor student and considered a sloppy and inefficient doctor, although for some reason he made spectacular sums of money. Not being accepted as a worthy peer by other doctors should have been a clue! Odd facets of Adams practice surfaced, such as being named in at least 132 of their wills. His…
A Brief History Today, we celebrate our 100th post by going back to December 16, 1838 when the Ncome River in South Africa became the Blood River at what is known as The Battle of Blood River where the river ran red with blood! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find the Boers, colonists of Dutch extraction, trying to settle land long owned by the Zulu Kingdom in what is now South Africa. The Zulu people were tall and physically imposing, living in large numbers with a warrior culture among their men and boys, and led by King Dingane. The Boers,…
A Brief History On December 13, 1937, the blood-lust of a number of Japanese soldiers reached unprecedented proportions when they massacred over 250,000 Chinese in Nanking! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find Japan waging a war against their huge but militarily weak neighbor, China, during the lead up to World War II. Resentful of western spheres of influence in China and western colonies throughout Asia, Japan was ready for their own piece of the pie. In their arrogance, they considered themselves the master race and as such deserved to rule all of Asia. This ethnocentric and nationalistic feeling set the…