Posts by Professor Buzzkill
Winston Churchill “Blood, Sweat, and Tears” Quote or No Quote? Encore!
With the continued popularity of the film, The Darkest Hour, since it’s been heavily promoted on streaming services, I have even more reason than usual to point out bogus Churchill quotes. But I thought I’d talk about something that Churchill actually said, and that was a well-known saying in his day, to show how certain…
Read MoreLife Expectancy Myths
Don’t drop dead, Buzzkillers. At least not yet. It’s not your time. You live in the modern world with all the advantages of modern medicine and modern life-prolonging practices, right? The life expectancy for the average American is 75.5. People in the past had much lower life expectancies. You often hear that ancient peoples (especially…
Read MoreHeather Cox Richardson: A Theory of Historical “Tornadoes”
Historical and economic forces can create “tornadoes” that spin-off in different directions, sometimes causing and re-inforcing oppressive conditions. Professor Heather Cox Richardson theorizes how this happened in American history, and warns us of the dangers that these tornadoes pose in our own times. Episode 454.
Read MoreMartin Luther King, Jr. “The Arc of the Moral Universe Is Long, But It Bends Toward Justice” Quote or No Quote?
All too often, researching the origins of well-known quotes leads to a kind of dead end. Famous people are credited with expressions and sayings that were in common use during their time, and those quotes are only attached to, for instance, Churchill or Gandhi, by later generations of admirers. Half the time, the humorous ones…
Read MorePittsburgh Speaker Showcase: Joe Coohill, “Winston Churchill Myths and Realities” June 11th, 2022
Saturday, June 11th, at 9am Point Park University’s GRW Theater 414 Wood Street, Pittsburgh PA 15222 Come listen to great speakers give TedTalk-like presentations! Joe’s talk is: “The Winston Churchill Myths and Realities, and What We Can Learn from Them” Winston Churchill is the most mythologized leader in world history. This talk uses famous (but…
Read MoreWhen Did the NRA Become Extremist?
Sadly, tragically, infuriatingly, it seems that every time there is a mass shooting in the United States, the same sorts of arguments come up from the same, opposing, sides. Gun control advocates say there is only one solution, and that is, not surprisingly, more gun control. Gun rights advocates argue that gun ownership and the…
Read MoreGeneral Hooker’s Hookers
Civil War Buzzkillers have been after me for months and months to put this commonly-heard legend to rest. To put it to bed, so to speak! So here goes. Union General Joseph (“Fightin’ Joe”) Hooker was one of the most fascinating generals of the American Civil War. (And that was a war with some real…
Read MoreMother’s Day
Mother’s Day is nearly here. The holiday has a fascinating history of its own, but the ways people have thought about the origins and history of Mother’s Day provide us a great opportunity here at the Buzzkill Institute to talk about the complications of history and memory. But it also gives us the chance to…
Read MoreKathleen Stone: Female Ambition from Suffrage to Mad Men
Women faced a paradox in mid-twentieth-century America. Thanks to their efforts, World War II production had been robust, and in the peace that followed, more women worked outside the home than ever before, even dominating some professions. Yet the culture, from politicians to corporations to television shows, portrayed the ideal woman as a housewife. Many…
Read MoreThe Hindenburg News Report
We often talk about the effects that the reporting of dramatic and important events from the past has had on how those events (and the people involved) are treated in history. Often, the initial reports are accurate enough, but those reports are then misunderstood, misinterpreted, or deliberately tweaked by later commentators. That’s how myths creep…
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