Category Archives: History Blog

Great stories from the past!

The Heist of the (14th) Century

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Jim

Dick Puddlecote was angry. And not your average “oh, I forgot to pick up the dry cleaning” angry, either. He was angry to the very core of his being. Trillions of cells made up Dick’s body, and every last one … Continue reading →

Posted in History Blog | Leave a comment

Lucky Rusty

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Jim

Rusty Torres, a Puerto Rican-born baseball player, was one of the few baseball players in history to deal with not one, not two, but three baseball-related riots in his career. 22 year-old Rusty made his Major League debut on September … Continue reading →

Posted in History Blog, Sports | 1 Comment

The History of the Restaurant

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Jim

Inns have sold food to weary travelers for millennia. Pubs and other drinking establishments have sold munchies to drinkers for centuries. But the modern “restaurant” – a place people go to for a culinary experience, rather than out of necessity … Continue reading →

Posted in History Blog | 1 Comment

The Mystery Slab

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Jim

The town of Beit She’arim, in Galilee, has an important place in Jewish history. Founded during the reign of King Herod in the first century BC, Beit She’arim was a prosperous market town that became the de facto capital of … Continue reading →

Posted in History Blog | Leave a comment

The Bizarre History of Cereal

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Jim

One of the things that really attracted me to the Anglican church is their mellow approach to the minutiae of everyday life. In the Anglican worldview, most “things” aren’t inherently bad, but rather what’s bad is the way people apply … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, History Blog | 1 Comment

Who’s That Girl?

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Jim

This is a United States $1,000 silver certificate from 1891: The woman on the left of the note might seem unremarkable, little different from any of the other allegorical depictions of “Liberty” or “Columbia” often seen on American currency at … Continue reading →

Posted in History Blog | 3 Comments

The Nine Days’ Queen

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Jim

A few days ago, I stumbled across Suicide Blonde. It’s a blog that mostly features photographs, generally of pretty women, but also arty and\or kitschy pictures, too. I subscribed to their RSS feed, and got this in my inbox yesterday: It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in History Blog | Leave a comment

The Lost Persian Army

Posted on November 14, 2009 by Jim

Legend has it that Cambyses II – son of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian Empire – sent a massive army to Egypt in 525BC. Also according to legend, the army was swallowed up by a sandstorm and … Continue reading →

Posted in History Blog | 1 Comment