A Brief History On February 24, 1989, 9 of the 337 passengers on United Flight 811 exited the flight early to their untimely deaths. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find the giant Boeing 747 airliner heading for Sydney, Australia, having originated in San Francisco. The giant airplane was only about 16 minutes into its flight after takeoff from its stopover in Honolulu and at about 22,000 feet when a cargo door suddenly and violently popped open! The door was of the kind that swings outward when opened and was secured with electronic latches, possibly the source of the failure.  As the…

A Brief History On February 23, 2010, pranksters pulled off what some consider the greatest series of prank calls in history! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find a neighborhood in Sugar Creek, Missouri the scene of the incident, at least on the victims’ side. (Why do they say Mizz-ur-uh when the state’s name ends in “i?” Just wondering…) Usually referred to as “A Nightmare on Burton Street” (derived from the film title A Nightmare on Elm Street), the prank calls consisted of 7 calls made by one or two pranksters using soundboards. Soundboards are recordings of other people, often other victims of prank calls, that…

A Brief History On this day, February 22, 2014, we celebrate the five month anniversary of the launch of our site on September 22, 2013.  In our first year (2013), we featured over 100 entertaining articles concerning bizarre and fascinating historic events.  According to Google Analytics, the following ten articles were the most popular articles read by our thousands of much appreciated fans in 2013!  Please let us know in the comments which article was your favorite from 2013. Digging Deeper 10.  How an Accidental Explosion Brought Down the Chinese Empire Read here to learn how on October 9, 1911, an accidental…

A Brief History On February 22, 1909, President Teddy Roosevelt made good on his advice to “carry a big stick.” Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find the “Great White Fleet,” 16 modern battleships of the U.S. Navy, along with various smaller craft, returning home. Roosevelt was determined to show the world that the United States was a power to be reckoned with and so had this fleet painted all white so that it would be instantly recognized.  It was! On the pretext of a goodwill cruise, the Great White Fleet circled the globe to show friend and foe alike the power of…

A Brief History On February 21, 1947, a new era in photography began with the demonstration of the first “instant” photos! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find inventor Edwin Land showing off his new Polaroid Land Camera to an adoring public. Able to take a picture and develop it right there in your hand in a minute or so was a great advance over having to send exposed film to a photo lab or laboriously developing the film in your own darkroom. The privacy of taking photos that could be developed away from the prying eyes of lab techs was another buyers’…