Stuff you Missed in History Class
Stuff You Missed in History Class
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Dazzle Camouflage
British Royal Navy lieutenant and artist Norman Wilkinson is usually ...
British Royal Navy lieutenant and artist Norman Wilkinson is usually credited with the idea of disruptive camouflage. But, another man, naturalist John Graham Kerr, claimed that he had the idea three years earlier.
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The Great Leap Forward
In the mid-20th century, Chairman Mao Zedong launched an ambitious ...
In the mid-20th century, Chairman Mao Zedong launched an ambitious plan to revolutionize Chinese agriculture and industry, build up the economy and turn China into a communist utopia.
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Hetty Green, the Witch of Wall Street
She was the wealthiest woman in the U.S., skilled when ...
She was the wealthiest woman in the U.S., skilled when it came to amassing wealth. But her eccentric behavior and miserly ways led to bad press and a less-than-flaterring nickname.
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The Heathen School
The Foreign Mission School in Cornwall, Connecticut was founded with ...
The Foreign Mission School in Cornwall, Connecticut was founded with the plan that it would draw young men from world cultures, educate them, convert them to Christianity, and then send them back to their native lands to spread their newfound religion.
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Andrews’ Raid, or: The Great Locomotive Chase Pt. 2
As the second part of the story picks up, James ...
As the second part of the story picks up, James Andrews and 22 men have commandeered a northbound train in Big Shanty, Georgia. Its conductor, William Fuller, has begun chasing them on foot with two other men in a valiant effort to thwart their plot.
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Andrews’ Raid, or: The Great Locomotive Chase Pt. 1
The Great Locomotive Chase was a very daring – but ...
The Great Locomotive Chase was a very daring – but very failed – plot to commandeer a train and destroy a crucial stretch of railroad during the Civil War. It's a wild and fun story that covers a lot of ground as it travels around the southeastern U.S.
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The Discovery of Longitude
People have known how to find their north-south position even ...
People have known how to find their north-south position even before we had the idea of “latitude."" But once people lost sight of land, they didn’t have reliable way of figuring out how far east or west they’d gone – how to measure their longitude.
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The La Scala Opera House
The Teatro alla Scala is one of the most renowned ...
The Teatro alla Scala is one of the most renowned opera houses in the world, and is Italy’s crown jewel of the arts. Even if you have only a passing knowledge of opera, odds are, you know a name connected to the history of this legendary cultural hub.
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Victor Lustig: Con Man Extraordinaire
He's most famous for selling an iconic structure he didn't ...
He's most famous for selling an iconic structure he didn't own, but Robert Miller, known better by his alias Count Victor Lustig, led a life of spectacular cons, daring escapes, smooth talking and counterfeiting.
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A Brief History of Colors
Pigments and dyes have come from all manner of animals, ...
Pigments and dyes have come from all manner of animals, vegetables and minerals. From ochre to cochineal red to the rarest of purples, color has been an important part of human life for centuries.
