History Dispatches

On a blustery, wet day in May of 1954, British runner Roger Bannister - an Oxford medical student - accomplished a long distance running feat that many had said would never be achieved. It would make Bannister the sportsperson of the year - and his achievement is hailed as one of the greatest sports moments of 20th century. This is the story of Roger Bannister and the 4-minute mile. Sources https:...

Sliced bread is a simple yet ingenious invention with a surprisingly short history. Almost as soon as it came onto the market, it took over American bakeries and became a staple in every household. Except, for a brief few months in 1943 when the United States government banned this incredible product. This is the story of sliced bread and the time it was banned. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

From 2008-10, the Lower Merion School District - in suburban Philadelphia - issued laptops to more than 2,300 high school students for school and home use. What they didn’t tell the kids or their parents was that the district loaded the laptops with secret software that gave officials the ability to remotely take photos from those laptops. What followed was WebcamGate - one of the biggest invasion...

Defenestrate is a highly specific word. It means to throw someone out of a window. And it comes from the city of Prague where several people were tossed out of a window and helped ignite a brutal religious war. And then it happened again 200 years later. This is the story of the Defenestrations of Prague. Sources https://english.radio.cz/blood-bohemia-second-defenestration-prague-and-window-change...

By the 1940s, government officials were looking to re-introduce the beaver to a region of Idaho to help improve the health of the area’s wetlands. But hauling live beavers through forests and over mountains was not easy - or cheap. And thus someone came up with the idea of parachuting beavers into these remote areas. This is the story of Idaho’s Parachuting Beavers - or parabeavers. Sources https:...

On Dec. 29, 1975, a bomb tore through LaGuardia Airport in New York City. The blast killed 11 people and wounded 74. No one claimed responsibility for the bombing. And the bombers were never found. This is the story of the 1975 LaGuardia Airport Bombing. Sources https://observer.com/2016/01/why-hasnt-washington-explained-the-1975-laguardia-airport-bombing/ https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/...

One of the most beloved comic strips in history is Calvin and Hobbes. It is the adventures of a mischievous six-year old boy and his equally naughty stuffed tiger - who only comes alive for Calvin. To look at the history of Calvin and Hobbes, we brought on some experts - Ryan and Indy from the Magic of Calvin and Hobbes podcast. Sources Ryan and Indy from the Magic of Calvin and Hobbes Podcast Web...

Henrietta Lacks was an ordinary women who lived and ordinary life. However upon her death scientists discovered that she had a real life superpower. Her cells were basically immortal, and their study has forever changed the face of modern medicine, and generated endless controversy. Sources "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henr...

According to legend, in the 12th century a Welsh prince, Madoc, sailed to the west - looking for a place to settle his people. They would find the Americas. And for hundreds of years rumors would persist about the descendants of these settlers. This is the story of Madoc and the Welsh Indians. Sources https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofWales/The-discovery-of-America-by-Welsh-Prince/ ht...

While being the county seat is important, it is probably not worth fighting a war over. However, for the people of Stevens County, Kansas, the decision for county seat turned violent, and culminated in the Hay Meadow Massacre, where four men were killed in cold blood. This is the story of the Hay Meadow Massacre. Sources https://www.ksgenweb.org/KSStevens/haymeadow.html https://digging-history.com...

At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Adolph Hitler hoped to demonstrate to the world the power, majesty and superiority of the resurgent German nation. That, however, would be foiled by a 22-year old African American track and field athlete - who would put on one of the greatest displays in Olympic history. This is the story of Jesse Owens and the 1936 Olympic Games. Sources https://jesseowens.com http...

Wars can drag on for years. Others might last only a few months, a couple of weeks, or even a handful of days. And then there was the Anglo-Zanzibar war - a conflict that lasted a record setting 38 minutes. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zanzibar_War https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-Shortest-War-in-History/ Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marin...

Do you ever sit at your computer and look at the keyboard and wonder - how did we get here? Why are the letters laid out in such a jumbled mess? Why is the J easier to type than the E? That’s just one of many questions we tackle as we look at the history of what today we call the QWERTY keyboard. Sources https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFkC3F0lmjA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWERTY https://www.s...

Today, the most famous statue that overlooks a harbor is probably the Statue of Liberty. However, over 2,000 years ago a statue almost as large was built in the Greek city of Rhodes. The Colossus of Rhodes so impressive it became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Sources https://www.britannica.com/topic/Colossus-of-Rhodes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_of_Rhodes Image: https:/...

In 2014, the financially troubled city of Flint, Michigan, began drawing their water from the Flint River - instead of Lake Huron. The move would be a disaster. Over the next decade the city would grapple with water contamination, lead poisoning, Legionnaires disease, and deaths - costing Flint and the State of Michigan more than a billion dollars. Sources https://www.cdc.gov/casper/php/publicatio...

With the upcoming "Odyssey" movie, by Christopher Nolan, we wanted to ask, is it true? Well of course not. But the background of the story, the Trojan War and the city of Troy, might just have some basis in reality. Because not only have archeologists discovered what they believe to be the real life Troy, but there is also some evidence of a Trojan War. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy h...

On May 27, 1905, the Russian and Japanese fleets faced off in the Tsushima Strait during the Russo-Japanese War. It is the first modern naval battle - and described as the greatest and the most important naval event since Trafalgar - a century earlier. It also ushered in Japan as a world power - and helped sow the seeds of the end of Czarist Russia. This is the story of the battle of Tsushima. Sou...

For untold years the tropical paradise of Lord Howe Island was home to the enormous insect called the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect, or Land Lobster - an 8-inch long bug endemic to the island. But they went extinct shortly around 1918 - at least until 2001, when just a few dozen were found on a virtually uninhabitable rock a dozen miles away. Sources "Rediscovery of the ‘extinct’ Lord Howe Island...

In World War II the United States took a unique turn in their quest for delivering fast, secret communications in combat situations. This was by using Native American language speakers and translators to deliver simple, yet unbreakable coded messages on the front lines. This is the story of the Navajo Code Talkers. Sources https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-lis...

When Paraguay invaded its much larger neighbors in 1864, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay responded in force. For the next five years these nations waged the deadliest war ever seen on the continent. It was a war that saw 20 percent of Paraguay's entire population die. This is the story of the Paraguayan War. Sources https://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/3585/1/B28_-_The_Paraguayan_War_%281864-1870%29.pdf htt...

In 1882 a 50-year old tortoise from the Seychelles was brought to the tiny island of St. Helena as a gift to the governor. That tortoise, who was later dubbed Jonathan, is still alive and well today, making him over 190 years old, and the world's oldest living land animal. Sources https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/at-190-jonathan-the-tortoise-is-the-worlds-oldest-living-land-animal-1809795...

In 1822, a young man, Alexis St. Martin, was accidentally shot in the stomach. Miraculously, he survived, and even more amazing was the hole between his chest and stomach became permanent. This allowed a US Army surgeon - William Beaumont - to spend a decade studying St. Martin’s digestive system, making Beaumont the "Father of Gastric Physiology". This is the very weird story of the gunshot that...

They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. And while that is often true, sometimes you can get someone in power who genuinely wants to help their people. Such was the case with the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He was a man who was thrust onto the imperial throne, and forced to spend his time fighting - when all he wanted to do was study philosophy and govern his people. This is the story of Ma...

In World War II, the allies struggled to fend off U-boat attacks on shipping in the North Atlantic. A major issue was a lack of air support. Planes didn’t have the range to provide protection to the merchant fleets in the icy north. And then, someone had an idea. What if you converted an iceberg into an airbase? And even better - what if you could build an entire aircraft carrier out of ice. This...

Here is a free idea for you. If your sports team is having a bad season and no one is coming to games, throw a cheap beer night! It is a tried and true promotion method and one that the Cleveland Indians implemented in 1974. Specifically a 10 cent beer night. And it worked, drawing a crowd of thousands. The only problem was Cleveland got a little more than they bargained for when the game devolved...