In 1804, Paul Revere wrote a letter to Congress regarding benefits for Deborah Sampson, the best-known female soldier of the American Revolution. The text is fascinating!
William Eustis Esq Canton Feby 20 1804 ( Read more... )

No, not the war of that name that happened in the nineteen-teens, but the one that happened in the seventeen-fifties, the one that is known in various parts of the world as the French and Indian War, or the Seven Years War (and involved Austria, England, France, Great Britain, Prussia, Sweden, and Portugal, who fought in Europe, India, Africa and ( Read more... )

Nu shu is a traditional written language that has been used secretly by women in southern China for hundreds of years.


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It turns out that the first long-distance trip by automobile was taken by Bertha Benz, who was tired of her husband endlessly perfecting his inventions without taking them on the road and showing them to people. She sneaked out of the house one morning with the children, and drove 65 miles to her mother's house. Along the way she had to by gasoline ( Read more... )

Here's a video about Hashima Island. I sure hope we don't do this to much more of the world.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=4368126

Here's an antidote to any Susan Boyle-induced giddiness you may have been experiencing lately ( Read more... )

In 1960, Joe Kittinger rode a balloon to 31 km (nearly 20 miles) altitude, and then JUMPED. He was the first human being to reach the speed of sound without a jet. He holds the record for the highest-altitude parachute jump, the highest balloon ascent, and the longest free-fall jump (though that's contentious because he used a drogue parachute for ( Read more... )

Not visitors from Chelmsford, who will be coming next week ( Read more... )

One time a friend of mine who is from Louisiana mentioned the Civil War. Noting his choice of moniker, I said, "You're a Southerner, but you don't call it 'The War Between the States'? or 'The War of Northern Aggression'?" He laughed and said, "I'm a thinking Southerner ( Read more... )

It surprised most everyone when rich tourists were allowed to pay to go on trips to the International Space Station, but it turns out that tourists have been paying their way on voyages of discovery since the Renaissance.

Our only immediate knowledge of Magellan's journey comes from the diary of the Italian Antonio Pigafetta. Antonio was not a ( Read more... )