December 9, 2011

On October 30, 1974 World Heavyweight Boxing Champion George Foreman faced off against challenger Muhammad Ali. The undefeated Foreman was heavily favored. Yet, eight rounds later Ali raised his gloves in victory. How did Ali win “The Rumble in the Jungle?” What was the Rumble in the Jungle? By 1974, Muhammad Ali seemed by many…

December 8, 2011

In 1844, Lysander Spooner launched the American Letter Mail Company, a private alternative to the government-owned U.S. Postal Service. His young firm took the country by storm, leading to dramatic improvements in delivery time and vast decreases in postage costs. But the U.S. Postal Service didn’t appreciate the competition and fought to regain its monopoly….

December 7, 2011

Seventy years ago, the Japanese Navy launched an attack on Pearl Harbor. The vicious assault killed over 2,000 people, damaged some 300 planes, and crippled 18 vessels. In the aftermath, FBI Agents conducted a secret raid on the New Yorker magazine’s offices. They were searching for clues related to a code…a code which may have…

December 6, 2011

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union wielded enormous arsenals of nuclear weapons. Citizens of the world lived in fear that the conflict would someday heat up, resulting in a devastating nuclear war that would destroy the world. Into this confusion and terror stepped the RAND Corporation and a team of…

December 5, 2011

On September 24, 1869, the price of gold on the New York Gold Exchange hit $162 an ounce. Shortly after, it plunged to $133 an ounce, ruining scores of investors in the process. What was the Black Friday New York Gold Conspiracy? Jay Gould & James Fisk: The Plot to Corner the Gold Market? During…

December 4, 2011

In 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster unleashed Superman upon the world. With a secret identity, strange powers, and a costume, Superman is perhaps the quintessential superhero. But was he the first of his kind? Who was the First Superhero? Superman was certainly not the first fictional character to exhibit powers. Long ago, ancient civilizations…

December 3, 2011

I’m willing to bet that many of you have held a $50 bill in your hands. Maybe even a $100 bill. But have you ever held a $500 bill? Or something even larger? What is the most valuable legal tender bill in existence today? And what about the fabled 100,000 dollar bill? Does it exist?…

December 1, 2011

In 1937, President Roosevelt proposed his notorious “court-packing plan.” It altered the ideological composition of the Supreme Court and singlehandedly changed the course of a nation. What was “the switch in time that saved nine?” The Four Horsemen vs. The Three Musketeers? During the 1930s, the Supreme Court contained two voting blocs. The “Four Horsemen,”…