Contrary to popular belief, the Underground Railroad was not a series of underground tunnels. While some people did have secret rooms in their houses or carriages, the vast majority of the Underground Railroad involved people secretly helping people running away from slavery however they could. Alabama Arkansas Delaware Florida Georgia…
Numerous accounts of wars and battles that involved ancient Israel, Judah, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and other powers in the region are recorded in the Bible and other ancient sources. Some of these conflicts may never have taken place, while others occurred but didn’t have the results that the Bible claims.…
Wheeled chairs may have entered Europe about the 12th century, along with the wheelbarrow. However, the first recorded use of self-propelled chairs by disabled people in Europe dates to the 17th century. However, finding the history of wheelchairs has been difficult. Only one book was found that was solely on…
They came in arresting colors like turquoise and emerald green. Advertisements recommended scenery spectacles, and later sunglasses, for outdoor leisure activities like boating, “autoing,” and visiting the beach. Origins and History of Sunglasses. Inexpensive mass-production of sunglasses started in 1929 when Sam Foster introduced them to America. Foster sold his…
Five women fought at Gettysburg. One Confederate woman was shot in the leg, and two were cut down in Pickett’s Charge. Women soldiers fought in the First Battle of Bull Run. Mary Virginia Wade – better known as “Jennie Wade” – was the only woman shot and killed at Gettysburg.…
At Omaha, most of the DD tanks launched sank in the choppy waters. The DD tanks that landed on the other beaches, folded up their canvas screens, and were then able to fight like a conventional tank. How many tanks made it onto Omaha Beach? Facing them were around 50,000…
During the Civil War, and even after the war came to an end, Yankee was a term used by Southerners to describe their rivals from the Union, or northern, side of the conflict. After the war, Yankee was once again mostly used to describe New Englanders. What did the Yankees…
The average length of a telegram in the 1900s in the US was 11.93 words; more than half of the messages were 10 words or fewer. According to another study, the mean length of the telegrams sent in the UK before 1950 was 14.6 words or 78.8 characters. The average…
European explorers first began to search for the Northwest Passage in the fifteenth century, but treacherous conditions and sea ice cover made the route impassible, foiling many expeditions. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first to successfully navigate the Northwest Passage in 1906. European explorers first began to search for…
1940s. As telephones evolved, they became much more comfortable for the user. People could easily get their hand around the phone and the receiver fit nicely against their ear. In the ’40s, it was still a luxury to have a telephone in your house. These phones were supplied as part…