Category: History

11 Amazing Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Benjamin Franklin

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Ben Franklin is one of our most interesting founding fathers.  Did you know…

Franklin was a such a great swimmer that he received a posthumous induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1968!  He also invented swim fins [worn on the hands].

Franklin began masquerading as women at the age of 16 – in letters written to his brother James’ newspaper.  James was not amused when he found out that Silence Dogood’s [“a middle-aged widow with sharp, satirical wit”] letter were actually written by his kid brother.

Ben Franklin never said he wanted a turkey, and not the bald eagle, on our national seal. Franklin did try to cook a turkey using electric current but ended up shocking himself numb.

You’ll learn more about the Franklin facts above and a lot more if you click over to 11 Amazing Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Benjamin Franklin presented by Mental_Floss.

Who Killed the Black Dahlia? A Look at the Most Compelling Suspect!

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Who Killed the Black Dahlia?  A Look at the Most Compelling Suspect by Cheryl Eddy is an excellent read for anyone with an interest in the 68-year-old unsolved case.

Here are a few tidbits….

It was 68 years ago this week that the body of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short was found mutilated and sliced in half in a vacant lot in Los Angeles. Newspapers would give the victim of this crime an unforgettable nickname: the Black Dahlia.

Clearly, someone so maniacal would be easy to track down, right?… Clearly not.

Last year, retired LAPD detective turned private investigator turned author Steve Hodel made a splash with fresh evidence in the case against his late father, Dr. George Hodel…  Hodel believes his father killed Short in the basement while the rest of the family was out of town, having confirmed the dates aligned with Short’s murder…(and his father) was actually on the LAPD’s shortlist after the crime…

Source: i09.

Napoleon Bonaparte’s Hat Sells for 2.4 Million Dollars

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Photo Credit: Charles Platiau / Reuters

I don’t think I’ve ever bought a hat in my life.  I don’t wear ’em.

While I would agree that the dome-topper pictured above is very stylish, even if I did buy hats, I couldn’t afford this one’s two point four million dollar price tag.

Yeah, you read that right.

Two.  Point Four. MILLION. Dollars.

That’s a lot of dough, even if Napoleon Bonaparte did wear the hat into battle.  The winner bidder paid more than five times the reserve!

If I wore a hat, I’d say, “Hats off to the winner.”

Source: Buzzfeed News.

The Truth About King Tut!

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Almost everyone has heard of King Tut the legendary boy-king ruler of Egypt.  We think of him as a handsome advernturesome youth who led a nation.  As it turns out, much of the legendary ruler’s life was legend…

With strong features cast in burnished gold, Tutankhamun’s burial mask projects an image of majestic beauty and royal power.

But in the flesh, King Tut had buck teeth, a club foot and girlish hips, according to the most detailed examination ever of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh’s remains.

And rather than being a boy king with a love of chariot racing, Tut relied on walking sticks to get around during his rule in the 14th century BC, researchers said.

A ‘virtual autopsy’, composed of more than 2,000 computer scans, was carried out in tandem with a genetic analysis of Tutankhamun’s family, which supports evidence that his parents were brother and sister.

The scientists believe that this left him with physical impairments triggered by hormonal imbalances. And his family history could also have led to his premature death in his late teens.

You can read the full story with more and larger photos at Daily Mail.

“Vampire Grave” Found in Bulgaria

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From The Telegraph, October 10, 2014 in the article “Vampire Grave” Found in Bulgaria by Matthew Day and Harriet Alexander.

A skeleton with a stake driven through its chest has been unearthed in Bulgaria, in what archaeologists are terming a “vampire grave.”

“We have no doubts that once again we’re seeing an anti-vampire ritual being carried out,” said Professor Ovcharov.

All I can say is, “Don’t remove the stake!” – Craig

New Billy the Kid Photo Discovered

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Ray John de Aragon claims that he has found a new photo of Billy the Kid.  This is not the first time de Aragon has done so, but this time  de Aragon has famed forensic art Lois Gibson in agreement.

Gibson says the picture is Billy the Kid.  If true the photo will be worth thousands of dollars.

Chron.com has an excellent piece by Heather Alexander that details with photos the evidence pointing to the Billy the Kid photo being legit.