Three types of myths about St. Francis St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most popular saints in the Christian religion. He’s known as a lover of animals, the first eco-warrior, and a peace-negotiator during the crusades. How much of this is true, and how much is myth? “Make me the instrument of your…
The flu didn’t start in Spain, so why have they been blamed? The great influenza pandemic of 1918-1920 was the one of the worst disasters in human history. It is difficult to determine with pinpoint accuracy, but experts say that somewhere between 50 and 100 million people were killed by the flu world-wide. Compare that…
Does Ty Cobb live up to his reputation? He is often referred to as one of greatest baseball players of all time, but was Ty Cobb, the Georgia Peach, rotten to the core? Was his professional greatness mirrored by personal repugnance? As is so often the case, Cobb’s soiled reputation was mostly the product of a…
Dissecting George Washington George Washington, the general who won the American War of Independence and became the first President of the United States, is probably the most revered politician in American history. People generally consider him the wisest of the founding fathers. Not a heavy duty intellectual like Jefferson or Madison, and not a vote-counter…
How a technical error affected our interpretation of history 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. The initial reports are accurate enough, but usually are then misunderstood, misinterpreted, or deliberately tweaked…
Was Coca-Cola’s magic ingredient cocaine? Don’t you just love the jolt you get from Coca-Cola, Buzzkillers? It lifts you up when you’re down. And it gives you energy to get you through the draggy hours of the afternoon. But do you ever wonder where that magic comes from? Well, for decades, a story flew around that…
“I never trust a man who doesn’t wear a cowboy hat.”-Professor Buzzkill Everyone loves the cowboy hat. Even if you don’t wear one, you want to see your cowboy movie heroes wearing one. Anything else would be un-American, right? Wrong. The classic, iconic cowboy hat design didn’t appear until 1865 and didn’t become popular until…
The times they are a-changin’ Great news, Buzzkillers. The United States Treasury announced on April 21st that Harriet Tubman, the historic fighter for the abolition of slavery and leader of the Underground Railroad, will replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill. This, of course, is a huge victory for those of us…
Don’t get mudd on your hands The Civil War era has given rise to perhaps more legends and myths than any period of American history (apart from the country’s founding). This is not surprising, given that so many strange things happened during that time, and that emotions about the war have been running high ever…
“Patton” vs. Patton General George Patton was one of the most famous, colorful, and talked about US generals in World War II. He is also among the most misunderstood military men in history. Famously played by George C. Scott in the 1970 movie, “Patton” (co-written by Francis Ford Coppola, by the way), Patton’s image is…