In 1952, stunt pilot and
aircraft designer Ray Stits built the Stits SA-2A Sky Baby, aiming to create
the world’s smallest fully functional airplane. The biplane measured just 9
feet 10 inches long with an 7-foot 2-inch wingspan and weighed only 452 pounds
empty. Powered by a 65-hp Continental engine, it reached 150 mph yet needed
only 200 feet to take off.
Stits himself flew the tiny
craft successfully several times, proving nimble handling despite its diminutive
size. Recognized by Guinness as the smallest aircraft from 1952 until 1984
(when his son built an even smaller one), the Sky Baby remains an iconic
testament to bold aviation ingenuity.
Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief
born around 1768 in present-day Ohio, was a pivotal figure in Native American
resistance against U.S. expansion in the early 1800s. He sought to unite
diverse tribes into a confederacy to preserve Native lands and culture. His
vision emphasized unity and resistance against encroaching settlers. Allied
with his brother, Tenskwatawa, the Prophet, Tecumseh built a movement rooted in
native religion, cultural revival and military strategy. He fought alongside
the British in the War of 1812, hoping to secure Native sovereignty. Tecumseh
was killed in 1813 at the Battle of the Thames.
On September 13, 1759, British Major-General James Wolfe led a daring
nighttime ascent of the cliffs west of Quebec City, surprising French forces
under Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham. In the brief, decisive battle, Wolfe,
32, was struck by musket balls—first in the wrist, then fatally in the chest.
Supported by aides, he lingered long enough to hear “They run!” and reportedly
murmur, “Now, God be praised, I die in peace.” His death secured British
victory, tipping the Seven Years’ War and paving Canada’s path to British rule.
Benjamin West’s iconic painting immortalized the moment.
On
July 2, 1881, President James A. Garfield was shot at a Washington, D.C., train
station by Charles J. Guiteau, a delusional office-seeker enraged over a denied
ambassadorship. Garfield, the 20th U.S. president elected in 1880, lingered for
80 days as doctors probed wounds with unsterilized tools, introducing fatal
infections. He died on September 19 from blood poisoning and sepsis. Guiteau
was convicted and hanged in 1882. The tragedy exposed patronage system flaws,
spurring the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, mandating merit-based
federal jobs.
One of Bermuda’s most famous
treasure stories revolves around the San Pedro. The ship was laden with
gold, silver, and precious jewels bound for Spain. In 1955, Bermudian diver
Teddy Tucker discovered what became known as “Tucker’s Cross”, a 22-karat gold cross studded with seven
emeralds, believed to be from this wreck. Found with other artifacts like gold
buttons, swords, and muskets, it’s considered one of the most valuable
shipwreck finds ever.
In 1975, the treasure from the San
Pedro was transported from the Bermuda Aquarium to
the Bermuda Maritime Museum, to be shown to Elizabeth II during her
visit to the island.Moments before the
Queen arrived, Teddy Tucker inspected the display and noticed that the Tucker
Cross had been replaced by a replica. The point at which the swap was made is
unknown. Local lore attributes the theft to an international art thief because
of the substitution of a replica rather than a straight theft.
Some
believe the San Pedro still holds vast treasures locked in coral, with
rumors of unrecovered gold and jewels scattered across the ocean floor. Tucker’s find is well-documented, and
artifacts are displayed at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI).
On November 30, 1861, off the Azores, the French gunboat Alecton
spotted a 20 foot long giant squid at the surface. The ship fired cannons and
harpooned the beast. The crew lassoed its tail, but the soft body tore; only a fragment
was salvaged. The specimen reached Paris, confirming ancient legends of giant
squids. The log—verified by the French Academy—proved pivotal. It bridged
sailor tales and science. The Alecton encounter remains the first
documented human-giant squid battle and inspired Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Sir Edmund Halley, the renowned astronomer, invented an ingenious diving
bell in 1691 to explore underwater realms. Frustrated by shallow dives, he
engineered a wooden, open-bottomed barrel weighted with lead, replenished with
air via weighted barrels lowered from the surface. This allowed divers,
including Halley himself, to descend over 60 feet into the Thames for up to 90
minutes. His bell aided salvage operations, like recovering cannons from
wrecks, and inspired future submersibles. Halley’s design proved air could be
supplied underwater.
The Bermuda Gunpowder Plot of 1775, was a covert operation where Bermudians
sympathetic to the American Revolution stole about 100 barrels of British
gunpowder from a magazine in St. George’s, Bermuda, and delivered it to
American ships. This supply was vital for the Continental Army, which was
critically short on powder early in the war.
St. George Tucker, a 22-year-old Virginian studying law at the College of
William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, took part in the plot. Born in Bermuda
to a prominent family, he had moved to Virginia around 1771 and was living
there in 1775. His father, Henry Tucker, a leading Bermudian merchant,
negotiated the deal with Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris in Philadelphia,
trading the gunpowder for an exemption from the Continental Congress's trade
embargo on British colonies. Tucker shared details about the lightly guarded
magazine with Americans, including a letter to Thomas Jefferson on June 8,
1775, pleading for relief from the embargo and confirming the powder's
vulnerability. On the night of August 14, 1775, he helped roll the barrels from
the magazine to Tobacco Bay for loading onto American ships.
Tucker returned to Virginia after the raid, served in the Continental Army (where he was wounded twice), became a prominent lawyer, judge, and law professor.
In 1904, the British Empire launched the Younghusband Expedition, invading
Tibet to counter perceived Russian influence and secure trade routes. Led by
Colonel Francis Younghusband, a 13,000-strong force advanced from India, facing
minimal resistance from poorly equipped Tibetan troops. The campaign culminated
in the capture of Lhasa, with significant Tibetan casualties. The resulting
Treaty of Lhasa forced Tibet to open trade markets and cede control over
foreign affairs to Britain. This invasion disrupted Tibet’s isolationist
policies.
Curly a young Crow scout born around
1856, served with Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry during the
Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. He was one of six Crow scouts
attached to Custer's command, but he did not participate in the fighting;
instead, he was dismissed before the final engagement, observed parts of the
battle from a distance, and became the first to report the defeat to U.S.
forces aboard the steamboat Far West. Over the decades until his death
in 1923, Curly provided multiple accounts of the events, often through
interpreters, which varied in detail and sometimes conflicted—likely due to
memory, media sensationalism, and cultural differences.
Curly's earliest known account was
given shortly after the battle. Curly, hidden in a ravine with limited
visibility, estimated the fight began around 2:30–3:00 p.m. and lasted until
nearly sunset. He vividly portrayed the intense, continuous firing as "the
snapping of the threads in the tearing of a blanket." The troops repelled
several charges until ammunition ran low, leading to a final Indian assault
where soldiers were killed at close range, many with arrows.
Curly claimed Custer animated his men
until mortally wounded about an hour before the end. Curly escaped by wrapping
his blanket like a Sioux warrior and passing through their lines during the
chaos, possibly mistaken for an ally.
Near the end of his life in 1923,
Curly provided what was described as his "last story". After Reno split off; Custer and his men rode
to a hill, then down a ravine, and briefly surveyed the valley from a high
point, seeing Reno's men advancing amid rising dust. Custer proceeded down
Medicine Tail Creek, halted, and sent the gray horse troop ahead while turning
north.
Curly’s accounts are valuable for their
Native perspective but show inconsistencies. Claims like hiding in a gutted
horse or high Sioux casualties likely stem from media embellishments. Despite
this, his descriptions of Custer’s movements, the village’s size, and the
warriors’ tactics align with archaeological evidence and other accounts, making
his early reports particularly useful when cross-referenced.
In ancient Rome, Vestal
Virgins were priestesses dedicated to Vesta, goddess of the hearth. Sworn to
chastity, their primary duty was maintaining the sacred fire, symbolizing
Rome’s eternal prosperity. Breaking their vow of celibacy was considered a
grave offense, threatening the city’s safety. Punishments were severe: guilty
Vestals faced live burial in a small underground chamber, with minimal
provisions, ensuring a slow death. The most infamous execution was that of
Cornelia the chief Vestal Virgin condemned in 91 CE by the Emperor Domitian.
Edward S. Curtis (1868–1952),
an American photographer, dedicated his life to documenting Native American
cultures. Beginning in the late 1890s, Curtis traveled across North America,
capturing over 40,000 images of more than 80 tribes. His monumental work, The
North American Indian, a 20-volume series, preserved vanishing traditions,
portraits, and daily life with remarkable sensitivity. Despite financial
struggles and criticism for romanticizing his subjects, Curtis’s photographs
remain invaluable historical records. His images, blending artistry and
ethnography, offer a poignant glimpse into Native American heritage, ensuring
their stories endure for future generations.
When warned about the formidable reputation of Confederate General Robert E.
Lee during the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant reportedly dismissed the concerns
with characteristic resolve. Grant, aware of Lee’s tactical brilliance,
responded, “I’m tired of hearing about what Bobby Lee is going to do to us. He’s only human. I want him to think about what we are going
to do to him.” This reflected Grant’s pragmatic approach, refusing to be
intimidated by Lee’s legend. Instead, Grant focused on relentless pressure,
leveraging Union resources to outmaneuver Lee. His confidence and strategic
tenacity ultimately led to Lee’s surrender at Appomattox in 1865.
In the late 1880s, the Ghost Dance emerged among Native American tribes,
particularly the Lakota Sioux, as a spiritual movement promising renewal and
resistance. Inspired by Paiute prophet Wovoka, it envisioned a world free of
white settlers, where ancestors would return, and buffalo would thrive. Dancers
performed circular rituals, chanting and praying for salvation. The U.S.
government, fearing rebellion, suppressed the movement, culminating in the
tragic Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890, where hundreds of Lakota were killed. After
the Wounded Knee Massacre practice of the Ghost Dance went underground.
Freedom of religion, as we understand it, did not exist in America
until after the American Revolution. The Church of England was legally made the
established church. The established church was closely linked to the political
and financial elites.
By the time of the
Revolution, “dissenters”, non-Anglican colonists who were predominantly Baptists or Presbyterians, made up a
sizeable portion of the population.
Although tolerated, dissenters were required to pay taxes to support the
Anglican Church, in addition to paying for their own church and pastor. Dissenting pastors and their meetinghouses
had to receive licenses a colony’s General Court. Additionally, the law
dictated that only ministers of the established church could legally perform baptisms, marriage ceremonies, and funerals, which
resulted in such anomalies as requiring a Lutheran minister to become an
ordained minister of the Church of England in order to legally perform a
marriage ceremony in his own church.
Some
dissenters refused to comply with the law. Many believed that preaching need
not be confined to the pulpit and that the state had no right to dictate where
and to whom believers could preach the gospel.
The
principle of protecting religious pluralism would subsequently be included in
the First Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1791.
One of the most
debated issues of the Battle of the Little Bighorn is the exact nature of
George Armstrong Custer’s death.Who
killed Custer, where was he killed, and when did he die?
One
popular theory says that Custer was seriously wounded (or even killed) early in
the battle.Custer advanced with several
companies down Medicine Tail Coulee in an attempt to ford the river.Supposedly, Custer was shot in the middle of
the stream and the cavalry retreated after placing the dying man back on his
horse.White Cow Bull claimed to have
fired the shot that felled a buckskin clad soldier.Was it Custer?None of the other warriors who were actually
present at the ford ever mentioned the incident.The only corroboration comes from two of
Custer’s own Crow scouts, who were not actually there.The scout White Man Runs Him heard later that
Custer was hit in the chest by a bullet and fell into the water.The account of the scout Goes Ahead, comes to
us second hand from his wife Pretty Shield, to whom he supposedly told the
story that Custer was killed at the river and that he was drunk at the time.
Historians
have suggested that the attempt to ford the river at Medicine Tail Coulee was
abandoned not because Custer was shot but because he realized that this was the
middle of the village not the end.In
any event, the Crow scout Curly, reported Custer in robust health, after he had
supposedly been shot, galloping north in an attempt to find another crossing
point.
There
are many other candidates for who killed Custer, including Custer himself.According to this theory, Custer killed
himself because he feared capture.Custer’s body had two wounds, a chest wound and a head wound in the left
temple.It would have been difficult for
the right handed Custer to shoot himself in the left temple, but theoretically
this could have been an “assisted” suicide.
Among
those claiming to have killed Custer were:Red Horse, a Miniconjou warrior; Flat Hip, a Hunkpapa warrior, and Walks-Under-the-Ground, a Santee warrior who wound up in
possession of Custer's horse
after killing somebody.Little Knife, a Hunkpapa warrior,
said Brown Back killed Custer to avenge his
brother.Two sons of Scarlet Tip, chief of the Santee, claimed
they jointly killed Custer.
Cheyenne oral tradition
passed down since 1876 says that Custer may have been killed by a woman
warrior, Buffalo Calf Road Woman.Minimally, she is said to have knocked Custer off his horse with a club
and made off with his saber.
In 1905 Rain-in-the-Face made
a deathbed confession that he thought it was he who had killed Custer having
been “so close to him that the powder from my gun blackened his face.”
The mystery of who killed
Custer was probably never known. The dust, smoke and chaos of the battle made
it impossible
to distinguish one soldier from another.When asked, Sitting Bull said that nobody
knew who killed Custer — nor even knew that he was present until dayslater.
If a man believes himself to be a
frog should we treat him as a frog?What
if that man is a king?
The Bourbon dynasty came to power in
Spain in 1700 with the accession of Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV of
France.Initially Philip brought
French-inspired reforms to a declining empire, fostering Atlantic trade and
administrative efficiency. However, his reign, the longest in Spanish history
at 45 years, was marred by his severe mental instability. This affliction manifested itself in profound
melancholy, hallucinations, and bizarre delusions.
The most infamous delusion
attributed to Philip was his conviction that he had transformed into a frog.
During one severe episode in the spring of 1727, he reportedly leapt about in
the palace garden croaking.At other
times he attempted to ride horses he saw woven into tapestries, unable to
distinguish delusion from reality.Contemporaries
noted his screams and self-inflicted bites during his frequent fits.
Besides thinking himself a frog,
Philip had many other delusions. He often imagined himself dead, refusing to
move for fear of shattering like glass—particularly believing his legs were
fragile and would break if he walked. In another hallucination, he claimed his
feet were of unequal sizes, rendering mobility impossible.
Paranoia fueled fears of poisoning
via clothing, lead him to wear the same filthy shirt for months, while
neglecting personal hygiene, allowing his toenails to grow so long they impeded
walking. He had an aversion to water and sunlight.Philip was convinced that the sun was
following him and plotting to incinerate him at the first opportunity.Insomnia reversed the king’s schedule; he
slept by day, conducting council meetings at night.He isolated himself from courtiers, who had
to endure his animal like howling.
The king suffered religious
obsessions, including the notion that abdicating might save his soul. These
delusions peaked in the 1720s and 1730s, prompting his brief abdication in 1724
to his son Louis I, ostensibly for spiritual retreat but driven by his mental
decline. Louis's untimely death from smallpox forced Philip's return, deepening
his melancholy. His evident madness eroded royal authority, fostering court
intrigue and policy stagnation.
In an age without psychiatric
intervention, Philip's frog-like leaps and glass-legged fears painted a tragic
portrait of a king untethered from reality.
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