April 30, 1900 —John Luther “Casey” Jones was born on March 14, 1863, in southeast Missouri. While he was still a small child, his family moved to Cayce, Kentucky, which is how he got his nickname. As a boy, he liked trains – he really liked trains. In 1878, at the age of 15, heContinue reading “Drivin’ my train …”
Tag Archives: history
The first part of AP US History in under 10 minutes
It was a tense April in Boston in 1775. The colonists were simmering with resentment toward the motherland, on account of King George III having strewn the colonies with excessive tacks, painful to step on and bothersome to the horses. Furthermore, British cabbies had refused to unionize, and the colonists were adamantly opposed to taxisContinue reading “The first part of AP US History in under 10 minutes”
What are the roots that clutch …
When you woke up this morning, one of your first thoughts probably was probably, Will there be a new tax on tacks?. Don’t worry, you’ll know soon enough. But anyway, it’s April (again.) April is National Poetry Month It is a cruel month – usually mixing memory with tax payments (hopefully you’ve heard that youContinue reading “What are the roots that clutch …”
I hope you’re not lactose intolerant
March 31, 1889 –French engineer Gustave Eiffel unfurled the French tricolor from atop the Eiffel Tower, officially marking its completion on this date – but its history, as we all know, dates back to Gallic times. Documents that have been carbon-dated to roughly 200 B.C. indicate that King Catatonix of the Hellatians decreed, for noContinue reading “I hope you’re not lactose intolerant”
Karl Marx
March 14, 1883 –“Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries, unite!” Karl Marx died of pleurisy in London on this date. While his original grave had only a nondescript stone, the Communist Party ofContinue reading “Karl Marx”
Another episode of The Crazy Mixed-Up Russian Revolution
March 7, 1917 –Russia’s 1917 February Revolution began on March 7, which was then the middle of February, in the city of St. Petersburg, which was then Petrograd, in what was then Russia, but would soon be the Soviet Union. Tsar (or Czar) Nicholas II of the Romanov (or Romanoff) line had been away fromContinue reading “Another episode of The Crazy Mixed-Up Russian Revolution”
Bizarre ironies of History –
On March 1, 1953, after an all-night dinner with interior minister Lavrenty Beria and future premiers Georgi Malenkov, Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev, Josif Stalin, truly Evil Bastard, did not emerge from his room the next day, having probably suffered a stroke that paralyzed the right side of his body. Although his guards thought itContinue reading “Bizarre ironies of History –”
Be mindful when you use the facilities
The eleventh day of the Lunar New Year is traditionally known as the day to welcome Zigu Shen (the “Purple Lady,” the “Lady of the Latrine,” or the “Third Daughter of the Latrine”). According to legend, Zigu was a concubine of a wealthy man in ancient China. Out of jealousy, the man’s wife killed herContinue reading “Be mindful when you use the facilities”
Get rid of your trash
Today is the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, and the garbage from the first five days of celebrating is piling up. The rubbish from the first to the fourth day of the Lunar New Year is considered “wealth,” but after the fifth day, that garbage becomes a sign of “poverty.” So, on theContinue reading “Get rid of your trash”
Civilized political discourse
February 19, 1807 –In the presidential election of 1800, Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson drew to a tie. The House of Representatives broke the tie by throwing their weight behind Jefferson, making him president, on February 17, 1801. Burr was given the vice-presidency as either a consolation prize or a practical joke. Like many otherContinue reading “Civilized political discourse”
The Haus of Dcaligari 