A Brief History On May 31, 455, Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus was stoned to death by an angry mob, an ignoble end to a world leader. Back on April 27 of this year History and Headlines featured “10 World Leaders That Met Gruesome Deaths.” We teased about a sequel and here it is, 10 more leaders that did not end well. Are there even more? Tell us who else belongs on this list. Digging Deeper 10. Petronius Maximus, 455. Not a particularly good guy himself, Maximus was probably involved in the murders of other Roman leaders including the previous…
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A Brief History On May 31, 2005, the magazine, Vanity Fair, named Mark Felt as the infamous Deep Throat of the Watergate Scandal fame, ending decades of speculation as to the identity of that particular snitch. Here we list 10 Infamous Snitches. Wise old saying: “As ye snitch, so shall ye be snitched.” (I made that up.) Digging Deeper 10. Judas, erstwhile apostle. According to the Bible, Judas sold out Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver, later regretting his treachery and hanging himself. His name is the synonym of traitor or “snitch” today. 9. Bradley Manning, Soldier, Spy, Girl. …
A Brief History On May 30, 1911, one of auto racing’s top 3 events was born with the initial running of the Indianapolis 500. (The other 2 of the 3 most prestigious auto races are the 24 Hours at Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix, with the 3 races combined referred to as the Triple Crown of Auto Racing.) Digging Deeper Built in 1909 as a primitive asphalt track (using gravel and tar) the fragility of the surface caused the owner to repave the track surface with 3.2 million bricks. Cost of the brick paving: $155,000, a big chunk…
A Brief History On May 30, 1883, panicked public people pushed, prodded, poked, and pummeled each other in a mad dash to get away from the Brooklyn Bridge when an unfounded rumor circulated that collapse was imminent. Unfortunately, 12 people were stampeded to death because of this reckless and stupid rumor. Here we list 10 false rumors that spread through the public, often with decidedly negative effects, sometimes just a sad reflection on how gullible people can be. Digging Deeper 10. Brooklyn Bridge Collapse, 1883. Open only 6 days earlier, this mighty bridge cost 27 lives during its construction only…
A Brief History On May 29, 1940, the F-4U Corsair made its first flight. The Corsair would go on to great success in its combat career, shooting down 11 Japanese airplanes for every Corsair shot down. Here we list the 10 best fighter airplanes of all time, from World War I to today. As always, we welcome your opinions as to what other fighters deserve mention. Digging Deeper 10. Vought F4U Corsair, 1942. Built from 1942 to 1953, a longer production run than any other piston engine American fighter, 12,571 of these great planes were built. Some were still flying…
