A Brief History On January 11, 1569, the first documented example of a lottery in England took place. Although 1569 seems like a long time ago, lotteries actually go back much, much farther! Digging Deeper The first evidence of any sort of government run lottery for money game takes us back to the Chinese Han Dynasty somewhere between 205 and 187 BC. This money raising scheme was for the purpose of financing public works, including The Great Wall of China. Lotteries first showed up in Europe in the Roman Empire, first in private parties and later under Emperor Augustus as…
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A Brief History On January 9, 1861, the State of Mississippi seceded from the United States of America, the second of the slave holding states to do so. The states that seceded and formed the Confederate States of America included South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Digging Deeper Slave holding states that chose not to secede were Maryland and Delaware. Two other states were split between those that wanted to secede and those that remained loyal to the Union, and actually belonged to BOTH sides during the American Civil War, namely, Kentucky…
A Brief History On January 8, 1835, President Andrew Jackson saw fit to celebrate the rarest of events in American history, the only time the US has ever had a zero balance for a National Debt. This rare and wonderful situation lasted until 1837, never to be seen again. Digging Deeper Today, we routinely talk about our national debt, which is about $31.5 Trillion at this time. Our spending for Fiscal Year 2023 has exceeded our tax revenues by about $336 billion, adding that amount to our national debt. The last time the US had a balanced budget, where spending…
A Brief History On January 7, 1948, a Kentucky National Guard pilot, a World War II veteran, attempted to intercept a UFO along with 3 other US F-51 Mustang fighters. Multiple reports from Ohio and Kentucky said a huge, round, white object was up there and needed to be investigated. Three of the Mustangs finally turned back, but one unfortunate pilot kept going up and up until he lost control of his fighter, which crashed, killing the pilot. Digging Deeper Are these reports of supposedly extra-terrestrial flying objects real? We have 17 previous articles on the subject, and the US…
A Brief History On January 6, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) delivered perhaps his greatest speech, known as the “Four Freedoms Speech.” FDR is but one of many famous orators that have delivered great speeches, and today we list a few of those famous talks, asking you to tell us which of these or others you believe is the greatest speech of all time. Digging Deeper Pericles, Funeral Oration, 431 BC Socrates, “Apology,” 399 BC Marc Antony, eulogy of Julius Caesar, 44 BC Patrick Henry, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” 1775 Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, 1863 Winston Churchill,…