On January 31, 1945, twelve soldiers raised their rifles, pointed them, and fired. Fifteen minutes later, private Eddie Slovik was dead. He remains the only U.S. soldier executed solely for desertion since the Civil War, when it was a disturbingly common punishment. Why did Slovik suffer this fate? Desertion during World War II? “The person…
Between 1978 and 1990, Andrei Chikatilo murdered more than fifty women and children in Rostov, Russia. He seemed to act without pattern, sometimes waiting as few as three days to strike again while other times waiting as long as three years. Now, scientists believe they have unwrapped the method behind his madness. Serial Killers &…
On February 15, 1944, Private Dale H. Maple picked up two passengers in Colorado, and headed for Mexico. He was promptly arrested and charged with treason. Why? Because the two passengers weren’t Americans…they were Nazi prisoners of war. The 620th Engineer General Service Company: Nazi Sympathizers…in the U.S. Military? After enlisting in February 1942, Maple was…
Around 1450 BC, the famed Minoan civilization suddenly collapsed. The disappearance of these people remains one of history’s greatest mysteries. So, what happened to them? The Strange Collapse of the Minoan Civilization? One particularly intriguing theory about the collapse has come to light over the last few decades. About fifty years beforehand, a volcano erupted…
Today, the Drug War is a part of American life, just like the War on Terror, the War on Poverty, and any other number of “Wars on Concepts.” But how did the Drug War originate? The Origin’s of America’s Drug War? Few people realize the Drug War is a very new invention, launched in 1914…
Leondardo da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, architect, writer, scientist, inventor, and many others things. Now we can add one more profession to Leonardo da Vinci’s list: fashion expert. Leonardo da Vinci & the Pretiosa Handbag? Around 1497, Leonardo da Vinci took time away from his normal activities to sketch a unique and beautiful handbag. It…
On December 15, 1944, a plane carrying jazz sensation Glenn Miller vanished while flying over the English Channel. The plane, its crew, and the passengers were never seen again. What happened to Glenn Miller? The disappearance of Glenn Miller is one of the great unsolved mysteries of history. For decades, researchers have questioned whether the…
You’ve probably never heard the name John Elfreth Watkins, Jr before. But in 1900, he made a series of predictions…predictions of the future. Did any of them come true? John Elfreth Watkins, Jr.: Predictions of the Future Of course, some of Watkins’ predictions of the future were hilariously wrong (“A man or woman unable to…