Posts Tagged ‘Professor Buzzkill’
The Bombing of Dresden
Was it a war crime? The bombing of Dresden on February 13-14, 1945 was one of the most destructive of the Allies’ late-war bombing campaigns over Germany. Somewhere between 22,000 and 25,000 people were killed and a famously beautiful city was leveled. It’s been called an Allied war crime, and Kurt Vonnegut’s famous novel “Slaughterhouse…
Read MoreThe Star Spangled Banner
There are so many aspects of American history and patriotism that we think originated in the revolutionary period of the 1770s, but are actually products of a hundred years later, in the waning decades of the 19th century, and sometimes are products of the 20th century. The national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, is perhaps…
Read MoreEve and the Apple
The apple of Adam’s eye Many of us “know” that, in the Garden of Eden, Eve was tempted by a serpent to eat an apple from the tree of knowledge. She ate the apple, and that led to God expelling her and Adam from the Garden of Eden. This is known as the “Fall of…
Read MorePaul Revere’s Ride
Listen, oh Buzzkillers, and you shall hear,the true story of the Ride of Paul Revere All American children grow up hearing Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem that tells us this great story. On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, a Boston silversmith and American patriot, jumped on his horse and rode through “every Middlesex village and…
Read MoreThe Titanic
The “unsinkable” ship that sunk The myths about the RMS Titanic, which sank on April 15, 1912, are themselves so big and numerous that we could call them titanic in their own right. In fact, they’ve lasted so long they might be considered unsinkable. Let’s take that word, “unsinkable,” first. The story is that the…
Read MoreThe Truth About The Scopes Trial
Quit monkeying around On April 24, 1925, a high school teacher named John Scopes taught a class in Dayton, Tennessee, using a state-mandated textbook that included a chapter explaining Darwin’s theory of evolution. In doing so, Scopes was in violation of Tennessee’s Butler Act, passed earlier in the year. He was arrested, tried, convicted, and…
Read MoreThe Pony Express
The Pony Express “ponies” were actually mules The image of the Pony Express is very strong in the American consciousness. Here’s what we “remember” — a rider galloping as fast as the wind through the wild west, ignoring the elements, dodging hostile Native Americans, and delivering the mail. But that image owes more to Buffalo…
Read MoreThe Myth About Construction Workers Entombed in Concrete
Was the march of progress that heartless? It’s a story that drives tour guides and historians of engineering crazy. A worker falls into a pool of wet concrete that’s being poured as part of a major construction project. Before he can be saved, his body slips beneath the surface and he drowns in the thick…
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 MoreThe Spanish Flu Pandemic
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…
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