The place to learn about the past and present,
Click for part 1 USS Hornet Sunk, 1829 A large US Navy sloop-of-war was lost in 1829, albeit in a maritime disaster rather than a military one. The USS Hornet was a 440-ton ship armed with 20 cannon and had a distinguished record as the first U.S. Navy ship to capture a British privateer in... Continue Reading →
"Modern American war is as easy to script as a B-movie" quipped one US Army officer, referring to the predictability of US victories against its enemies in the late 20th Century. Yet, it wasn't always smooth sailing for the Yanks. Presented, the worst US military disaster of every decade spanning the Declaration of Independence til... Continue Reading →
Seven men who were famous for their colossal height, size and strength, including the 'Cape Breton Giant', 'Canadian Colossus' and 'Childe of Hale' Robert Wadlow is the tallest human being to have ever existed as verified by science, towering over all at 8 ft 11 in (2.72 m). Yet the same condition which made him... Continue Reading →
A little girl survived a 1-hour submersion in freezing creek water one Summer in Utah. On a hot June day the birds were singing, the bees buzzing, and mum’s voice on the phone wafted through the warm air, so warm after a late start to Summer. Her reassuring tones set her blond-haired toddler at ease... Continue Reading →
In perhaps the greatest 'hold my beer' escapade to date, Thomas Fitzpatrick stole a plane to win a bet that he could fly from Jersey to New York in just 15 minutes. Bulky sedans rumbled sedately along the right-angled streets, and haggard creatures of the night here and there passed under the patchy street lighting... Continue Reading →
The embarrassing episode for the Chicago Police Dept. when they discovered a teenager had managed to get hold of a uniform and go under cover as a cop. Find out what duties he performed during his 'shift' and try to figure out how he slipped through the net. It was just past lunchtime and a... Continue Reading →
To fly is a dream, and every kid at some point imagines acquiring enough helium balloons for a little aerial adventure. Big kid Larry Walters actually pulled off this stunt for real in an epic flight over Los Angeles. Who hasn’t held a bunch of helium balloons as a kid and imagined the fun they... Continue Reading →
God surely showed his hand when an exceptional spate of coincidences rescued 15 choir members from being blown to smithereens It was a frigid evening on the first day of March in 1950 and the clock was ticking towards utter tragedy for the fifteen members of the West Side Baptist Church choir, in Beatrice, Nebraska. The... Continue Reading →
Read about the reaction when, in Iowa 2005, fortune cookie lucky numbers caused 25 times more players to win the state lottery than anticipated. You know how at the end of a Chinese restaurant meal you get a little fortune cookie to crack open with some lucky numbers and wise words of oriental counsel inside?... Continue Reading →
Boston was hit by one of the weirdest disasters ever heard of, when the city docksides were deluged by a wave of sticky molasses. Read about the suffering it inflicted and how the city's streets reeked for years after. Molasses (Black Treacle) is a thick, heavy substance refined from sugar cane. In Boston, 1919, the... Continue Reading →
History and Things 