Posts Tagged ‘History’
Churchill, “Blood, Sweat, and Tears.” Quote or No Quote?
With the popular film, The Darkest Hour, getting even more attention now because Gary Oldman won the Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Winston Churchill, 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…
Read MoreBenjamin Lay, Quakerism, and Anti-Slavery
We interview Professor Marcus Rediker about his new book, Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf Who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist. Benjamin Lay was one of the most famous anti-slavery protesters in colonial Pennsylvania in the early 1700s. He agitated against slavery and the slave trade in very unusual ways, and was eventually kicked out of…
Read MoreWCW Alison Palmer
It’s a Woman Crush Wednesday! Alison Palmer was a pioneer in gaining increased women’s rights and human rights in the American State Department. While working there in the 1950s and 1960s, Palmer ran up against the glass ceiling when trying to advance in the civil service at the State Department. She found it almost…
Read MoreThe Pentagon Papers
The Pentagon Papers Professor Phil Nash helps us explain the complicated and much-mythologized history of the Pentagon Papers, which is shorthand for the government-funded study of US involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. According to New York Times in 1996, the Pentagon Papers showed that the government had, “systematically lied, not only to the…
Read MoreSt. Francis of Assisi
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…
Read MoreTy Cobb Myths
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…
Read MoreThe Hindenburg Disaster
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…
Read MoreCocaine & Coca-Cola
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…
Read MoreThe Rise of Cowboy Hats
“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…
Read MoreUS Currency Changes
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…
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