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When the Union abandoned a fort in Florida, they left behind a single soldier as caretaker. When the Confederacy marched on the fort, the lone soldier refused to surrender without a receipt for the fort. He received one, and the fort was taken without a shot fired.

History /

Castillo de San Marcos Not to be confused with Castle of San Marcos (El Puerto de Santa María). Aerial view photo taken from northwest. Although the fort had a water-filled moat at the time, it was originally a dry moat. The Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish for “St. Mark’s Castle”) is the oldest masonry fort […]

When the Union abandoned a fort in Florida, they left behind a single soldier as caretaker. When the Confederacy marched on the fort, the lone soldier refused to surrender without a receipt for the fort. He received one, and the fort was taken without a shot fired. Read More »

King Leopold II of Belgium turned the Congo into one massive slave plantation that resulted in an estimated 10,000,000 deaths, with historians comparing him to Hitler and Stalin.

History, Law & Government /

Leopold II of Belgium Leopold II (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909. Born in Brussels as the second but eldest surviving son of Leopold I and Louise of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned for 44 years until

King Leopold II of Belgium turned the Congo into one massive slave plantation that resulted in an estimated 10,000,000 deaths, with historians comparing him to Hitler and Stalin. Read More »

George Washington ordered a ceasefire during the Revolutionary War to return a lost dog to its owner, Sir William Howe, a British general. The dog was found wandering the battlefield and was fed and cleaned before being returned to Howe.

History, Military, Sensitive Subjects /

Battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Continental Army, with the 2nd Canadian Regiment, under George Washington. After defeating the

George Washington ordered a ceasefire during the Revolutionary War to return a lost dog to its owner, Sir William Howe, a British general. The dog was found wandering the battlefield and was fed and cleaned before being returned to Howe. Read More »

Theodore Roosevelt Jr was the oldest man in the D-Day invasion at 56. Initially denied to attend D-Day, Ted petitioned as he personally knew the men of these units and believed his presence would steady them. Despite arthritis and a heart condition, he stormed the beach with a cane and survived.

Government, History, Politics /

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Theodore “Ted” Roosevelt III (September 13, 1887 – July 12, 1944), known as Theodore Roosevelt Jr.,[Note 1] was an American government, business, and military leader. He was the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt and First Lady Edith Roosevelt. Roosevelt is known for his World War II service, including the directing of

Theodore Roosevelt Jr was the oldest man in the D-Day invasion at 56. Initially denied to attend D-Day, Ted petitioned as he personally knew the men of these units and believed his presence would steady them. Despite arthritis and a heart condition, he stormed the beach with a cane and survived. Read More »

During WW2 German prisoners of Wars in Canada were so well treated that they didn’t want to leave the country when released. Thousands of them eventually stayed or came back to Canada with one saying that the time in Canadian prison was “the best thing that happened to me.”

History, Military, Sensitive Subjects /

The Happiest Prisoners Prisoners look out from behind barbed wire at Sherbrooke, Que., in 1945. In the shadow of Mount Baldy, where lodgepole pine and trembling aspen compete for space in Alberta’s spectacular Kananaskis Country, all that remains of a Second World War prisoner of war camp are weedy building foundations, a rundown guard tower

During WW2 German prisoners of Wars in Canada were so well treated that they didn’t want to leave the country when released. Thousands of them eventually stayed or came back to Canada with one saying that the time in Canadian prison was “the best thing that happened to me.” Read More »

The US may have adopted the metric system if pirates hadn’t kidnapped Joseph Dombey, the French scientist sent to help Thomas Jefferson persuade Congress to adopt the system.

History /

Pirates of the Caribbean (Metric Edition) To save his own life, Joseph Dombey had an idea. As two pirate ships surrounded the ship he was on in the Caribbean Sea in 1794, Dombey scrambled below deck, disrobing as he went. He appropriated the outfit of one of the ship’s many Spanish sailors and prayed that

The US may have adopted the metric system if pirates hadn’t kidnapped Joseph Dombey, the French scientist sent to help Thomas Jefferson persuade Congress to adopt the system. Read More »

In 1944, the British hatched a plan to assassinate Hitler – Operation Foxley. Many, including Churchill approved of the plan. It never went through though because Hitler was an awful military strategist, and there was fear that whoever replaced him would be more adept at winning the war.

History, Law & Government, Sensitive Subjects /

Britain’s Plan to Kill Hitler By Having a Sniper Shoot Him During His Daily Walk To The Tea House In 1944, the British hatched a plan to assassinate Hitler – a project known as Operation Foxley. It could have shortened the war, saved millions of lives, and spared everyone so much pain and suffering. The

In 1944, the British hatched a plan to assassinate Hitler – Operation Foxley. Many, including Churchill approved of the plan. It never went through though because Hitler was an awful military strategist, and there was fear that whoever replaced him would be more adept at winning the war. Read More »

During WWII, the German army used a radar system called Wotan. The British scientist R.V. Jones figured out how the system worked by assuming that it used a single beam based on the fact that the Germanic god Wotan had only one eye.

History, Military /

Battle of the Beams The Battle of the Beams was a period early in the Second World War when bombers of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) used a number of increasingly accurate systems of radio navigation for night bombing in the United Kingdom. British scientific intelligence at the Air Ministry fought back with a variety

During WWII, the German army used a radar system called Wotan. The British scientist R.V. Jones figured out how the system worked by assuming that it used a single beam based on the fact that the Germanic god Wotan had only one eye. Read More »

Martin Luther King Jr. started a pillow fight in the hotel room with other civil rights leaders in the hour before he was assassinated

History, People & Society /

At 86, Andrew Young recalls horror of witnessing moment Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis In the hour before he stepped out onto the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis and became the most famous martyr of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. started a pillow fight. Andrew Young,

Martin Luther King Jr. started a pillow fight in the hotel room with other civil rights leaders in the hour before he was assassinated Read More »

During WWI, cotton was in high demand for the manufacture of uniforms and explosives. For bandages, doctors turned to using sphagnum moss. It can hold up to 22 times its own weight in liquid — twice as absorptive as cotton. The moss is also antiseptic, making the surrounding environment acidic

History, Military, Sensitive Subjects /

How Humble Moss Healed the Wounds of Thousands in World War I The First World War had just begun, and already the wounds were rotting on the battlefield. In the last months of 1914, doctors like Sir. W. Watson Cheyne of the Royal College of Surgeons of England noted with horror the “great prevalence of

During WWI, cotton was in high demand for the manufacture of uniforms and explosives. For bandages, doctors turned to using sphagnum moss. It can hold up to 22 times its own weight in liquid — twice as absorptive as cotton. The moss is also antiseptic, making the surrounding environment acidic Read More »

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