A Brief History On March 10, 1831, King Louis Phillipe of France established the world-famous Foreign Legion (Légion Étrangère) to help with the pacification of Algeria. Digging Deeper Commanded by French officers, the troops are made up chiefly of foreigners, although French citizens are also allowed to join.  (As of 2007, French citizens make up approximately 25% of new recruits.)  Current members come from around 140 different countries! Though women have been allowed to join the Legion since the year 2000, a woman has yet to do so.  An elite fighting corps feared and respected world wide, the Legion puts its men through a…

A Brief History On March 9, 1959, the world of toys was taken by storm in New York City with the introduction of the Barbie Doll by toy manufacturer Mattel at the American International Toy Fair. Digging Deeper Said to have been inspired by a German doll called Bild Lilli, it was a woman named Ruth Handler who invented Barbie after she noticed her own daughter playing with dolls in adult roles instead of holding them like a type of surrogate baby. At first, Barbie was marketed with either blonde or brown hair as a “teen-age fashion model” wearing a zebra pattern swimsuit.  From her birth on, the…

A Brief History On March 8, 1910, the Aero-Club of France issued pilot license #36 to Raymonde de Laroche, making her the first licensed female pilot in the world.  Although sometimes referred to as the first woman to fly an airplane, it is likely that 2 other women had flown before her.  Note: A female aviator is also called an “aviatrix.” Digging Deeper Laroche had been born Elise Raymonde Deroche in France in 1882.  Despite the accomplishments of the Wright Brothers, the fervor over the new aeronautical industry was in Europe, not North America, and Laroche took her keen interest in the new sport to…

A Brief History On March 7, 1994, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that song parodies are “fair use” and that the original artist or writer of the song cannot prevent the parody from being recorded and aired. This settled any disputes, and the likes of “Weird Al” Yankovic were given a green light to continue amusing the public.  Earlier this year, we featured lists of great novelty songs (including parodies), and today we feature 10 more such great hits that amuse and entertain us.  Thank you, Supreme Court! Digging Deeper 10. “Pretty Woman,” 2 Live Crew, 1992. A parody…

A Brief History On March 6, 1975, entranced Americans were glued to their television sets to watch the first mass public showing of the infamous “Zapruder Film” that depicted the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Digging Deeper The 8mm film is by far the most complete and definitive of the photographic records of the assassination, and it is in color!  Obviously, the Secret Service was eager to get their hands on any film of the event and did so, having 3 prints made, returning one to Abraham Zapruder, a Russian-born Jewish tailor who had filmed the murder…