A Brief History On June 25, 1976, the Governor of Missouri, Christopher Bond, signed an executive order rescinding Executive Order 44, better known as “The Extermination Order.”  Executive Order 44 had been issued by then Governor Lilburn Boggs (“Lilburn”???) ordering that a force of 400 mounted men be raised to “exterminate or be driven from the state” all Mormons (Latter Day Saints). Digging Deeper Governor Boggs (and many other Missourians) believed the Mormon religion and practices to be an abomination and them to be in open defiance of state laws.  He further ordered the amount of men detailed to exterminate the Mormons…

A Brief History On June 24, 109 AD, Roman Emperor Trajan opened the aqueduct known as Aqua Traiana, bringing water to Rome from Lake Bracciano 25 miles away.  The ancient Romans are known for their architectural achievements, but other societies also built some pretty impressive projects as well.  Here we list 10 impressive examples of ancient architecture, not necessarily the most famous, but ones we hope you will like.   Digging Deeper 10.  The Mound Builders, 3400 BC to 1500 AD. Along the Mississippi Valley to the Ohio Valley, Native American civilizations built a series of earthen mounds of large proportions…

A Brief History On June 24, 1374, the German city of Aachen experienced a sudden outbreak of St. John’s Dance, a bizarre condition where masses of people experience hallucinations, jump and twitch (dance) until they fell from exhaustion!  And this fiasco was not the only time or place. Digging Deeper The Aachen incident seems to have spread across Europe that year and into the next two years, affecting many other cities.  Italy had their own brand of this disorder that they called “tarantism” where the dancers, presumably bit by a tarantula spider, would dance off the poison by dancing a “tarantella.”…

A Brief History On Thursday, June 23, 2016, the voters in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) voted to leave the European Union, throwing the economies of the UK, Europe, Asia, and the United States into a tail spin.  Voters were warned of grave consequences (travel inconvenience and economic) if they voted to leave, but the movement calling itself “Brexit” (Britain-Exit) successfully won the referendum to ditch Britain’s part in the EU. Digging Deeper US stocks fell sharply with the news, over 600 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  Other markets around the world suffered more…

A Brief History This article provides a chronological timeline of some of the more intriguing moments in baseball history!  Please click on the date to learn more about that particular incident. Digging Deeper On February 2, 1876, the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs was founded, replacing the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, which had been founded in 1871 as a replacement itself for the National Association of Base Ball Players (note no mention of “professional”) which operated from 1869 to 1871. On May 1, 1884, catcher Moses Fleetwood Walker signed up to play for the Toledo Blue Stockings of…