Abraham Lincoln and Akhenaten
You might think the only thing that Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States of America, and the ancient Egyptian King Akhenaten (who ruled from 1351-1334 BC) …
The Sailing Stones
Death Valley National Park in California and Nevada is known for its beautiful desert vistas, sand dunes, deep valleys, and extremely hot weather. It is also known for rocks …
What Happened to My Cow?
Throughout the 1970s, a rash of bizarre incidents occurred in western states of the U.S. that involved the untimely deaths of cattle and other farm animals. Animals dying on …
Not the Best Business Model
During the late 1970s and early ’80s, Americans’ love of all things kitsch combined with optimism for the year 2000 to create what was perhaps one of the most …
It’s Always Sunny in Arica
In northern Chile and the extreme southern tip of Peru is the six-hundred-mile strip of land known as the Atacama Desert. It is by far the driest place on …
Raise the Tally
You’ve no doubt heard or used the phrase “raise the tally” or “split the tally” plenty of times. Even if you don’t know the origin of these terms, you …
Knuckleballs
Today, Major League Baseball pitchers are known for their power, striking out batters with pitches that register around one hundred miles per hour. Sure, they throw the occasional curveball, …
Oxen, Not Horses
Before the First Transcontinental Railroad was finished in America in 1869, pioneers in the 1840s and ’60s who wanted to travel from the east to the newly developed territory …
Watch Where You Cut!
The circumcision of male children is ritually required in the Jewish religion and has become common among all religious communities in the United States over the last fifty years. …
A Criminal as Big as His Name
On August 8, 1963, a gang of well-organized criminals robbed the Royal Mail train headed from Glasgow, Scotland to London, England of £2.6 million, or about $3.2 million. This …