Historically High

Even if you don't know what the man's about you've probably heard the name Charles Darwin. At the very least you've seen one of those Jesus Fish car decals with legs and the name Darwin in the middle. Well Mr. Darwin was kind of a jack of all trades when it came to the fields of science. What started as a childhood passion for insects grew into a love for the natural sciences of the world, geology...

Reaching the moon is arguably humanity's greatest accomplishment. When Kennedy promised we would reach the moon by the end of the decade, it sounded like a big commitment considering we had only just got a man into orbit some 3 days earlier. NASA used programs Mercury and Gemini to build towards the Apollo Program. The promise would be fulfilled in 1969 by the trio of Michael Collins (we got ya he...

Back in good ol 1803 a little transaction occurred that saw the newly christened United States of America doubled in size, adding a chunk of land stretching from the west bank of the Mississippi River and covering 15 current states in the USA. Effectively this meant the U.S. territory stretched about 2/3 across the continent. Now land transfers have happened throughout ancient and modern history,...

In what still stands as the worst nuclear disaster to take place on this planet, the explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine on April 26 1986 was the catalyst that led to the downfall of the Soviet Union. Poor materials, rushed construction, and a staggering amount of ineptitude regarding the design and operation of the nuclear reactors were the main factors in this shit show we'...

In a land far to the East and at a time not all that long ago Britain decided it needed a whole bunch of stuff that only China could provide, silks, fine porcelain, and oh yeah TEA. You know how they are about Tea. Well trouble was Britain really didn't have China wanted. What they did want was silver. The Brits didn't have silver, but they did have a ton of opium they grew in the newly colonized...

Disney...a name that can stir emotions, excite the senses, and bring memories flooding back from anyones childhood. Walter Elias Disney was a man from humble beginnings who, through his love for animation, storytelling, and sheer determination, created an entertainment empire that spans the globe. Mickey Mouse is one of the most recognizable symbols in the modern world. "I'm going to Disneyland" i...

After ol Robert Bruce takes a dirt nap, Scottish Independence is threatened before his body's even cold. The English wolves are at the door yet again. We'll fine out what happens when all of that Scottish/English martial mingling results in the King of Scotland being the next closest relative when the Monarch of England dies? Who was Mary, Queen of Scots? A dude named Bonnie Prince Charlie throws...

There's something about Scotland that holds a special place in our hearts here at the Institute of Higher Learning. The Highlands, the moors, the lochs, the rolling hills, the accent, scotch whiskey, the people who date back more than 8,000 yrs before Britain's recorded history. A land constantly trying to fight for its independence against pretty much one enemy to the south (England). Scotland's...

Charles Manson was a monster. Spending over half of his first 32 years on the planet in an institution did not reform him. If anything it made him what he was. A smooth talking con man who used his influence over impressionable young people leading to horrifying results. Oh and he sucked at the guitar. Activated by a drastic misinterpretation of The Beatles message, Charles tried to start what he...

Some things are bigger than sports. Every once in awhile that phrase is used to describe an event that means more than the score on the board. The relationship Larry Bird and Magic Johnson share with history is one of those things. Sure we will talk about their stellar achievements on the court, but there is so much more to Magic vs Bird. Michigan State vs Indiana State, Los Angeles vs Boston, Lak...

The Italian American Mafia was born out of the Castellamarese War. The Mafia was very much a thing in the United States prior to the war. The difference was the leadership. Old Sicilian Mafia men were called Mustache Petes. These were the guys in charge before the war. They were actually the guys that went to war. The generation of mobsters that grew up in America saw the world of organized crime...

World War 2 earned its World War moniker more so that its predecessor. It was truly a globe spanning series of events. The European Theater was condensed due to the geography of where it mostly occurred, The Pacific Theater was a whole different beast. Fought in a manner no war had ever been fought, over vast distances of ocean, countless islands, and through deadly jungles. The war in the Pacific...

If Howard Hughes is the Father of Modern Aviation. The Wright Brothers are the Granddaddies of Human Flight. Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright developed an obsession with the defiance of gravity from a young age, when their father brought home a toy helicopter. As they grew up they decided to take a run at the newly exploded bicycle boom, giving them a source of funding for their real passion. Fl...

There was a time when religion was cool. Like when jacked dudes threw lightning and women wielded armor and spears in the heavens and under the waves. When the sun traveled across the sky being pulled by a golden chariot. When people believed in the Gods of Olympus. Greek Mythology has it all, Deities, Drama, Scandal, Affairs, like a lot of affairs, mostly by one guy, and he just so happens to be...

To put it plainly Pablo Escobar lived a crazy life. Not many people can say they survived a civil war to go on to create one of the most vicious yet successful drug cartels in history. He beat the odds of a bad upbringing and became one of the richest people in the world. From putting down a guerilla group who made their money by abducting the family members of narcos, to becoming a member of the...

It probably strange to think of a time when the security of the President of the United States wasn't a top priority. That time would be right around five days after the Civil War ended with the surrender of Robert E Lee and his confederate forces. It should have been a time of rebuilding and healing as a nation, but a man named John Wilkes Booth (you may have heard of him) took it upon himself (m...

As World War 1 rages on in Europe, new players have entered the game on both sides. Trench Warfare is still at a stalemate in Northern France but elsewhere the fighting is fierce and deadly as new weapons are unveiled on the battlefield. A new comer to the world stage in the form of the United States begins flexing its might and ends the war on the winning side. Empires begin to topple as countrie...

The Great War. The War to End All Wars. The scope of the First World War was so large it was almost unbelievable to think any conflict could surpass the destruction it wrought not just upon Europe, but many other countries as well. The Great War was the first time classic war strategy met advancements in technology designed to inflict maximum casualties. Basically fighting like you would when the...

What if I told you Rome wasn't always "Rome". After a guy named Constantine won a little civil war within the Roman Empire, he decided Rome was past its prime what with the insane corruption and all. So he set up shop in what would become one of the greatest cities in history, Constantinople. Located on the coast of the Bosphorus Straits with control of one of the richest trade routes in the known...

When you hear the term Royals, or Queen, our minds tend to take us to the British Monarchy or British national treasure musical group Queen . One of if not the longest standing monarchies still technically in power. The current Royal Family, The House of Windsor can trace its lineage back to 1066, the time of William the Conqueror, the first widely recognized Monarch of England. That almost 1000 y...

The Rock. No, not the 10x heavyweight champion Scorpion King star. Alcatraz Island is located 1.5 miles from San Francisco in the bay. It started it's life as a military installation on the west coast. After that it became a military jail. Then a federal prison. This 29 year stretch is where the legend of Alcatraz was born. From daring escapes to famous inmates, the island captured our minds throu...

Hannibal Barca or much like Cher and Bono, is known by just Hannibal, was a Carthaginian General who decided to dedicate his life to destroying Rome. Also much like Cher changed the music game, Hannibal did the same for warfare. The man was a tactical genius and came the closest to bringing down the Roman Empire since it began 520+ years earlier. He had the balls to march his army, a ragtag group...

The Bay Area in the late 1960's was a wild place to be. Free love that flooded the streets was replaced with fear. Murder has never been uncommon in a big city. Unsolved murders weren't rare either. The terror started when a man called into the local police department to report a murder and then take the credit. The Zodiac Killer as he would come to be known, took the lives of 5 people. Writing le...

I feel like I should only need to post the purpose of the Special Operations Executive to sell you on this episode so here you go "Espionage, Sabotage, and Reconnaissance in German occupied Europe during WW2. But I'll also leave you  with what Churchill told the guy in charge of this "Ministry" when it was formed "Now go and set Europe ablaze."  Plus there's a great looking new movie coming out ab...

If you've ever seen The Wild Bunch, 3:10 to Yuma, or played Red Dead Redemption series of games you're probably familiar with The Pinkertons. Created by a Scottish immigrant in the 1850's, In the beginning The Pinkerton Detective Agency did everything from spy on the confederacy during the civil war to protecting Abe Lincoln on the train ride to his inauguration. Later they made their name stoppin...