Launchistory

What is Revisionism?

2015-11-28T15:50:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been several months, but I said I would write this, so I am. Here is the original post if you missed it. I'll just get to the point as quickly as I can. It is important to understand the truth and the whole truth. The only way we can advance as a society is if we understand ourselves and our history. Sometimes history does not tell us what we want to hear, but what we need to hear.

For a lot of people the word "revisionism" in the historical context is a dirty word. A lot of people seem to believe that revisionism is automatically a bad thing. I'm not exactly sure why, but it actually isn't the bad thing a lot of people on the internet believe. There are two types of revisionism out there: Good and bad. That should be obvious, but most people only believe it's bad.

I'll start with the bad kind of revisionism. The bad kind of revisionism usually features things that are not backed by evidence (just speculation) or they will do dishonest things like quote mine or cherry pick facts. A good example of the former is claiming that aliens built the pyramids all over the world. Well, we can't not prove aliens built the pyramids, even though we can deduct that they most likely did not. If you're not making arguments that can or can not be proven wrong or right you're not making an actual, honest argument. I could easily say that fairies like Tinkerbell are responsible for building the pyramids. It would be just as academically honest.

And example of bad revisionism:Assuming
the Confederate battle flag was not about slavery,
though evidence shows it was. Ironically anyone
that believes this needs a history lesson, and a
lesson in how historical research is conducted

Another example of bad revisionism is cherry picking, confirmation bias, and quote mining as a means to make an argument. A lot of Confederate apologists, for example, believe that the Civil War was about things other than slavery. They believe that the southern states that seceded did so because of state's rights issues, and not just the right to own slaves. The fact is that argument is way too obvious to pick apart, meaning it is bad revisionism. It is not grounded in reality or facts. Yes, there were other reasons that southern states seceded, but the biggest issue by far was their right to own slaves. These types of revisionists ignore any kind of written evidence that suggests they're wrong in favor of paying attention only to things that meet their preconceived understanding of the world. This is confirmation bias.

There is also good revisionism, as mentioned earlier. Just because I'm calling this type of revisionism "good" does not mean I'm saying that it's all factual. Unlike hard science, history still has a lot of subjectivity to it. So, two people can use the same facts, be completely honest in their research, but come up with two completely different interpretations. This is still fine, and it happens all the time. For example, some people believe that the Black Death (1348-1351) opened up economic opportunities for the survivors since it opened up new land for farming and changed inheritance, while others believe this was going to occur anyways due to how things were changing before. Both were obtained in honest, well researched ways, but are completely different.

Thanks to revisionism we no longer
believe lies about Native Americans
being savages that needed to be tamed
and conquered by white civilization.

There are various other ways revisionism can be good. For example, a historian can be honest is by giving a different side of the story. A Euro-American historian could write a historical book on how the West was won. A Native American historian can write a book on how the West was lost. Either one can be true, depending on the historian's perspective. Another way revisionism can be honest is by looking at sides of the story no one ever has before. Lately this has been a very common form of revisionism and has looked at history from the perspective of women or minorities. In researching other aspects of history some historians have found out that white males were not the only people that accomplished great things that helped shape the modern world. In fact, we've found out that the truth is completely different, and it was not done by being dishonest or cherry picking anything, but by looking at other people's documents or using archaeology to discover things no one else was paying attention to.

That's the end of this for me. Right now I'm busy trying to transition into either grad school or a job, so writing on here will sporadic. I'll gladly answer any questions that could pop up here, since I had to be as vague as possible in my writing. Entire books have been written on this subject, so narrowing it down to one small blog does not really do it justice, but I hope it has enlightened some people.

What is History?

2015-08-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

Edward Gibbon, author of "The Decline and Fall
of the Roman Empire."

This is a unique blog for me, coming off my two year sabbatical from this place. At no time have I ever referred to myself in any post before, and now I'm starting again and starting with a purpose.

When I started this blog so many years ago it was to help me in my undergrad years to keep me writing, and reading, and studying, and I surely didn't see the things I typed being read 200,000+ times by people from all over the world (at the time of me writing this, that is). I will go back to my classic style of writing, for anyone that has rediscovered this or reading this for the first time. First thing is first, though.

I've been noticing a pattern of historical illiteracy and complete distrust for academia. I've often seen people, particularly the conspiracy types, that dismiss scholarly research as being propaganda or someone's bias. Both of those can be very true, but typically it's in the popular press, not the academic press, where you see this. When you do see this kind of stuff in the academic press it is rigorously reviewed and criticized (which can be a good thing, of course) to check the honesty.

I've noticed, particularly on social media, people dismissing history as revisionism or propaganda because they simply don't like what it says, or they found a person who tells them what they want to hear, so they stick by this person's story and assume everyone else is lying. (Spoiler alert for my next blog: It's going to be on revisionism, so stay tuned.)

I have seen on Facebook one comment that particularly gets to me. After saying I have a formal (college) education in history, what I said was dismissed as "You have an education in what passes for history these days." Well, what passes for historical research these days is more or less the same as what it was 100+ years ago. In the US the Chicago Manual of Style has been the go to style of citation for historical works since 1906. It has been going on for that long. The Turabian Style of Citation, mostly used by undergrad students, has been used since 1937 in the US. Yes, technology has changed since then, but the citation styles have caught up with them, and some periods and commas have been moved around, but otherwise they still follow the same principle.

When you are reading a history work, though, you are reading more than just a set of facts. Modern history works (again, going back well over 100 years) are more than just grand narratives. That would be boring. Between the lines you are reading someone's interpretation of the facts, which is known as a "thesis." It's their argument about what the facts mean. Facts are used to back up these arguments.

For example, no honest person would deny the Black Death hit Europe. What you may see someone argue, though, is the impact they believe the Black Death had on Europe. For example, some historians would argue that it opened up economic opportunities for the survivors since more land was opened up and estates were left behind quicker due to an increase of deaths. You may hear some historians argue that the Black Death lead to modern day antisemitism due to the persecution Jews went through during that period.

History is rigorously documented. If you want to know how honest someone is being in a historical work, whether it's academic or in the popular press, look at the citations. In the popular press, my work included, citations are often missing. That isn't necessarily a sign they are being dishonest, or wrong. However, if citations are missing at least do further research before jumping to conclusions. A person shouldn't hold on to something because they like what it said or it fit in their worldview perfectly. Sometimes our worldviews need to conform to facts, but when we try twisting it to go the other way around the truth gets lost.

Harry Houdini's HUMBUG!

2013-06-30T16:54:00.003-07:00

Houdini in a seance

Harry Houdini is a name known throughout the world. Possibly the most famous escape artist in US history. He traveled the world doing his escapist shows going from New York to London. His rise to fame came in the early 20th century when he was travelling Europe(although was a US citizen at this point). People thought he was magical, as if he was guided by mystical forces. On person that thought this was famed author and Houdini's friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Of course, Houdini took no liberties in denying such claims and saying that spiritualism was "humbug".

Houdini in a doctored photo of himself and
the "ghost" of Abraham Lincoln.

Houdini came from a family of immigrants that moved from Hungary to the United States when he was a child. After a successful career in magic, escape stunts, and an acting career, Houdini began pursuing a career in exposing fraud and deceptive "mediums" and "spiritualists" who, as he saw it, preyed on the weak in their most vulnerable times(similar to the way so called "mediums" and "spiritualists" do today). He began this career in 1920, immediately after his mother's death.

Houdini knew all the tricks he was seeing. A lot of them fooled some of the best of scientists and academics, but not Houdini. Houdini even joined a Scientific American committee dedicated to busting so called practitioners of the paranormal. Houdini even published a book, A Magician Among the Spirits, in which he claimed to have been studying every piece of literature he could get his hands on regarding the spirit world over a 30 year span(presumably beginning around 1893 or 1894, since it was published in 1924 and obviously written prior to that). His collection dated as far back as 1489, but stated that, "nothing I have ever read concerning the so-called Spiritualistic phenomena has impressed me as being genuine".

Houdini reproducing "floating hands" felt in seances.

Houdini spent time intentionally forging pictures to make it seem as if a spirit were caught on camera. Houdini also showed how certain tricks during seances, such as the feeling of floating hands or anything else that gave people jitters, were performed. He would then reveal the techniques in an attempt to debunk all the people he saw as performing immoral and borderline illegal scams that preyed on people's emotions and hopes.

He also worked with American horror/pulp fiction writers H.P. Lovecraft and C.M. Eddy, Jr.(who also co-wrote A Magician Among the Spirits) to help expose frauds. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a believer in spiritualism and strongly believed that Houdini did in fact have magic powers and was using his powers to block the magic of others(which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about in the 1931 The Edge of the Unknown).

Houdini passed away in 1926, but his legacy carried on. He went on to inspire later magicians to follow in his footsteps and debunk the occult such as Canadian magician James Randi, British Magician Darren Brown, and the American magician duo Penn and Teller who would call what Houdini called "humbug" "bullshit"

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The Discovery of the Mycenaean Civilization

2013-05-22T00:39:00.003-07:00

The Lion Gate

The 19th century saw the birth of archaeology. People, both amateur and professional, were racing to find the new thing that would change history books forever. A lot of this craze came from trying to figure out where the places from the Iliad and Odyssey took place. While Britain seemed to be at the top of this field the remains of the ancient city of Mycenae were found by a native Greek and professional archaeologist, Kyriakos Pittakis, in 1841. Pittakis discovered the famed Lion Gate, but the real excavations would come 35 years later by a complete amateur by the name of Heinrich Schliemann.

Schliemann had already developed a reputation in the field of archaeology after discovering the remains of Troy in what is today Turkey. When he set his sights to Mycenae it was yet again to prove the world of
Homer to be true.

Like he did with Troy, Schliemann would get a lot of things wrong in his rush. Of course, Schliemann was no professional archaeologist, but a businessman by trade. Some of the important things Schliemann did discover were a funerary mask(which he mistakenly applied to King Agamemnon) and signs that he couldn't identify. Schliemann helped shape early understanding of this civilization that was around hundreds of years before Homer.

Heinrich Schliemann

The digs and discoveries at Mycenae would continue for some time and were shared with British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. Evans began to be interested in the site after being presented with a sealstone that was discovered in Crete in 1886. Evans identified them as Mycenaean due in part with the discoveries made by Schliemann.

"Agamemnon's Mask", discovered
by Schliemann

Evans named the Linear B in contrast to the Linear A writings discovered in Knossos of an earlier civilization since the symbols were very close. Evans would never crack the language to figure out who these people were, but guessed they were possibly proto-Phonecians. Of course, that couldn't account for why Schliemann found similar texts on the mainland at Mycenae.

The discoveries and research of the Mycenaean's would continue beyond both Evans and Schliemann's deaths. Mycenaean era sites were beginning to be found all over mainland Greece and Crete, including Pylos and Athens. There was giant speculation as to who these people were. It was a civilization that existed from around 1600-1200 BCE and ended 400 years prior to Homer.

Despite the best efforts of professional archaeologists all would come up short in deciphering Linear B script. It wasn't until the 1950's when two Englishmen would crack the code and discover the language and the people that left behind these records. Michael Ventris, who believed these people were not Greek(agreeing with Evans) and John Chadwick were the two that made the discovery.

Linear B writing on tablets discovered in Pylos

Unfortunately for Ventris, he was wrong. When the language was deciphered it turned out these people were were, in fact, Greeks.. This pushed back the beginning of Greek civilization nearly 1000 years. Thanks in large part to the discovery of these archaeologists and linguists, the origins of Greek and Western Civilization is better understood.

How Galen Shaped Modern Medicine

2013-04-29T18:10:00.002-07:00

Since the dawn of history humans have hurt themselves and have always needed someone to perform some sort of surgery. Mankind has worked long and hard over the centuries to prolong our lives and to fix injuries that would otherwise leave us crippled for life. The Ancient Greeks were experts at anatomy, and none more so than the second century physician Galen of Pergamon.

Galen was born around 130 AD in Pergamon in what is today Turkey. His father was a wealthy architect by the name of Aelius Nicon. His father would pay his way through school and insure he received the best education the world had to offer at the time. At the age of 19 Galen lost his father, but continued his studies as inspired by the Greek physician Hippocrates. Galen would travel the Greek world before going to Alexandria in Egypt, the epicenter of Greek knowledge in the ancient world.

Galen lived in an era of peace in the Roman Empire. Technology and knowledge were booming. The one plus side of Roman imperialism was the peace and stability that helped thinking flourish. The only hindrance Galen and other physicians had was the Roman law that outlawed dissection of deceased humans. Before Alexandria was conquered and absorbed into the Roman Empire dissection was practiced in Alexandria, so some of the writings of previous Greek and Egyptian physicians gave proper guidelines. Another loophole was the fact vivisection, which involved dissections on living creatures such as primates. Humans during surgery, particularly gladiators and soldiers, proved to be good learning tools for physicians, including Galen.

Among his discoveries Galen was the first to recognize the circulatory system. Before Galen most physicians and philosophers believed the arteries carried air instead of blood. Galen was also known for recognizing certain parts of the nervous system.

Surgical tools similar to the ones Galen
worked with.

Galen made many discoveries, but his biggest reputation was as a practical surgeon. Physicians like Galen had surgical tools similar to modern ones at their disposal. Galen would eventually operate on gladiators in Rome and would also work as the personal physician of the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Galen would pass away at 70 in 201 AD. His treatises would be the guideline for physicians until the 19th century.

Gladiators: Ancient Rock Stars

2013-04-13T17:53:00.001-07:00

Popular sports heroes are nothing new to the world. While most people today may think of people like Michael Jordan, Brett Favre, or Pelé as examples of great sports starts in their field the sports star craze is nothing new. In Ancient Rome everyone cheered for their favorite gladiator, and women dreamed of being with them. Some women would become gladiators themselves.

Retiarius vs a Secutar

Gladiators in Anceint Rome were insanely popular and some gladiators were known by name. Gladiators were, of course, kept as slaves and were worth money to their owners. Contrary to popular belief most gladiators weren't killed in the arena during a fight, mostly due to the fact they were slaves. When a gladiator was killed his lanista, or gladiator manager, would receive a payment for his "property". Another contributing factor in gladiators living was also their popularity. After all, if a fan favorite lives through the fight that looks good on the emperor who can, in turn, keep the crown pleased longer.

The earliest gladiator games are attested to being held around 264 BCE if Livy's account should be taken seriously. There were several different types of gladiators in Ancient Rome. Each one specialized in their particular field, including people that fought large, beastly animals, and humans that fought other humans. Two popularly depicted gladiators were the retiarius("net fighter") who fought with a trident and net, depicting Neptune, and the secutar, a heavily armored sword bearer.

As far as actual fights being recorded in Ancient Rome only one survives. It was a match held on the opening day of the Flavian Amphitheatre(known more commonly as the Colosseum) that was recorded by the poet Martial who attended the event. It was the spectacle of the night, which is saying something for the opening day of the Amphitheatre.

Martial, who recorded
the match between Verus and Priscus

The match was between two extremely popular gladiators by the names of Verus and Priscus. The two fought a long, hard, and exciting battle where neither side had the upper hand the whole battle. The crowd roared as both gladiators poured their everything into the battle. The match was ended by the Emperor Titus with an extremely rare result. Both men were given their freedom and were given wooden swords and palms by Titus. In the words of Martial, "two fought and both won."

After their matches gladiators were often treated for any wounds they may have had during their fights. Considering they were worth a lot of money for their lanistas the best medical care of the day was given to them. Even the most famous and important doctor in the Roman Empire, the Greek doctor Galen, was a doctor to the gladiators. When Rome split in half and became a Christian Empire the games still survived for a short period. The gladiatorial games were banned in the Western Empire by the Emporer Honorius in 399 AD.

Qin Shi Huang's Quest for Immortality

2013-03-05T17:06:00.001-08:00

Qin Shiu Huang

Throughout history many fables, myths, and actual quests for immortality have sprung up throughout various civilizations. Whether it be the Gilgamesh trying to become immortal after Enkidu died or Ponce de Leon searching for the Fountain of Youth in what is today Florida, the quest for immortality has been hunted by humans for many generations. One such man was Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang who was driven to death by his lust for immortality.

Qin Shi Huang became king of Qin then conquered and united China for the first time ever.Shortly after conquering China Huang became obsessed with finding immortality. Huang would be the victim of many snake oil remedies promising immortality according to legend.

An island in northeast China, Zhifu Island, was home to a fabled Mountain of Immortality. The Mountain of Immortality was very similar to the Fountain of Youth fable that Europeans would come to believe during the Age of Exploration. Huang visited this island 3 times and some inscriptions survive that were allegedly written on his visits.

Huang's Empire

Huang would be driven to paranoia about death. During this time he began taking mercury in order to help build his resistance to death. Huang also never wrote a will claiming a successor to his throne due to him trying to avoid death. It was a strange twist of attitude if the 2nd century BCE historian Shui Jing Zhu was correct about Huang's tomb(with the famed Terracotta Army) began being build in 246 BCE, upon Huang's ascension to the throne of Qin.

Huang's quest for immortality because the death of him. In 210 BCE Huang died on a tour of his empire due to mercury poisoning. Huang was laid to rest in his tomb protected by his Terracotta Army until it was uncovered in 1977.

Due to the fact Huang never named a successor his empire would fall apart 4 years after his passing. Huang himself never directly achieved immortality, but his name survived his death and will live on for thousands of years more.

The Terracotta Army

Giovanni Aldini's Shocking Experiments

2013-02-12T12:09:00.001-08:00

Galvanism being carried out

In Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein", first published in 1818, a corpse is reanimated by a mad scientist known as Dr Frankenstein. Frankenstein's monster is brought to life after shock treatment using electricity ran through him. Though this work may be labeled as gothic horror, the truth is this story was also an early form of science fiction. It was inspired by an Italian scientist named Giovanni Aldini, who at the time was traveling Europe and conducting similar experiments in real life.

Giovanni Aldini

Giovanni Aldini was born in Bologna, Italy on April 10, 1762 and would eventually attend the University of Bologna. Galvanism was his primary focus in his career, which was named after his uncle Luigi Galvani, who first conducted the experiments.Of course, Galvani used frog legs in his electric experiments, and not much more. When Galvani shocked the frog legs he noticed they kicked as if they were alive. As a young child Aldini would have seen his uncle's experiments, and no doubt inspired by him later in life. The biggest influence in carrying out these experiments was Galvani's rival Alessandro Volta, without whom none of Aldini's experiments would have happened.

In 1798, the same year Galvani passed away, Aldini had taken a position at the University of Bologna as professor of physics. Alessandro Volta was an opponent of Galvani's electric theories, which prompted Aldini to use this chance to prove it was a real concept with medical applications. The rivalry also involved both the University of Bologna and the University of Pavia, which sided with Volta.

Aldini did numerous experiments on animals using electricity. Muscles always twitched, and the creature shocked always seemed to come back to life. The ball seemed to be in galvanism's court. Aldini took his experiments on the road, so to speak, and traveled Europe proving this worked. It became kind of a show that shocked the people watching the animals being shocked. One instance involved a dog's head being shocked after it was removed from the rest of the body. The dog's teeth chattered and eyes rolled around, as if it were reacting to the shocks as a living being again.

Rendition of Aldini's experiments

Aside from shocking animals, Aldini also was the first to use electroshock therapy on the mentally ill. He eventually took his experiments to London in 1802. He also carried out other galvanism experiments on humans, as well as animals during his stay there. He wrote in great detail about his experiments in a book written in London in 1803 called An account of the late improvements in galvanism, with a series of curious and interesting experiments performed before the commissioners of the French National Institute, and repeated lately in the anatomical theaters of London.

1803 was a big year in London for Aldini, and not just because he published a book. He also received the liberties to conduct his experiments on Goerge Forster, who had just been accused of murdering his wife and child. After being executed in 1803, his body was quickly brought to Aldini. Aldini shocked him at the Royal College of Surgeons in London. The crowd seemed to believe Forster had come back to life, even though it wasn't so. Local reports mention how Aldini had made certain parts of the body come back to life depending on where he shocked Forster.


An illustration of Aldini's Experiments

Aldini would eventually leave London and went to the Austrian Empire where he was made a knight of the Iron Crown. He also became the councilor of Milan, where he would spend the rest of his life. On January 17, 1834 Aldini passed away. He left one final gift for both science and his native Bologna by giving a sum of his wealth to found a school for natural science and artisans.

Antikythera Mechanism

2013-02-06T10:46:00.001-08:00


The Antikythera Mechanism

In 1900 a group of sponge divers began a normal diving trip by Antikythera, an island between the Peloponnese and island of Crete. Sponges weren't the only thing they would find on that trip. The divers also found an ancient shipwreck which contained numerous artifacts from Ancient Greece. The ship crashed on its way to the west towards Rome. The Mediterranean is full of shipwrecks from the era, so the idea a ship was found there may be amazing, but what makes it more incredible was the discovery of an ancient machine the likes of which were never seen before or since from that era.

Closeup of the device, showing how it looks today.

The machine was complicated and full of gears. The design was so complex no one believed it came from Ancient Greece. Most people of the era believed it was more modern and somehow got lost at sea in the same area as the ship was. More importantly, no one knew what it did.

After a century of trying to find answers the purpose was revealed: the Antikythera mechanism(as it was dubbed) was an ancient astronomical device. Essentially it was a calculator and similar in design to the forerunner of modern computers. It was, in fact, invented in Ancient Greece in the 2nd century BCE. It was so accurate that it amazes scientists, archaeologists, and historians alike today.

The Antikythera mechanism was operated by a crank with a series of 30 or more gears. When the crank was turned it would position the date on the front dial. It calculated the position of the sun, moon, and stars almost to a pinch. The device showed that the inventor, or someone working with the inventor, was also able to calculate when eclipses would be successfully.

Reconstruction of how the device may have looked
before the wreck.

Some of the gears are lost today, but the ones that do survive are the gears that operated the sun and moon positions. Many proposals for possible gears have been included, including the 5 planets the Ancient Greeks and Romans were familiar with.

The full functions of the Antikythera mechanism is still subject to debate. No one is 100% certain who invented it. While many believe it was used to navigate ships only one has been found. Another expedition to the region began in January 2013. If another device is found it may shed more light on the complicated nature of such a thing. If no other device exists and this is one of a kind it makes for an interesting idea of where technology would be today if this wasn't lost. Regardless of the situation, this device proves that people of the ancient world were far more intuitive than most people today realize.

The Tragedy of Franklin Pierce

2013-01-23T11:53:00.001-08:00

Franklin Pierce

Tragedies are things that strike all humans. No one is without their own drama, heartache, and share of disappointment. This extends to everyone: World leaders, successful business people, and movie stars. One such man that faced a string of unfortunate events was former US president Franklin Pierce, who served one disastrous term due to his misfortune.

Born in New Hampshire in 1804, Pierce would have a respectful career as both a politician and a war hero. He married his wife Jane on November 19, 1834. He would serve as a senator and a congressman from New Hampshire, as well as a brigadier general in the Mexican-American War. Pierce had a reputation as a doughface, though, that is a northerner sympathetic to southern interests. This may have helped him win the presidency years later.

Pierce's first success in the world of politics came in 1832 when he won New Hampshire's at large district for Congress, which he held from 1833 to 1837. It was in this time his first disaster struck. On February 2 of 1836 Pierce's first son, Franklin Pierce, Jr., was born. 3 days later Franklin Jr. had passed away. Infant mortality rates were high at the time. However, this served as a precursor for things to come in more ways than one.

Franklin Pierce in the Mexican-American
War

1836 was the year that Pierce had won a new election and became a senator in New Hampshire. During his one term as senator the Pierce family introduced a new baby boy into the world, Frank Robert Pierce, on August 27, 1839. Benjamin Pierce was born April 13, 1841. These child, unlike Pierce's last one, would survive the end of Pierce's term as senator. However, a year after Pierce had resigned from the office his son Frank died at the age of four from typhus in 1843.

A few years had passed and the US and Mexico had a border dispute that wound up changing the shape of the US and Franklin Pierce's career. Mexico had ordered the first shots on American soldiers, prompting the war. An ambitious Franklin Pierce got commissioned as a colonel to fight in the war in 1847.

A few months later Pierce was promoted to brigadier general. The war carried on for a year after this and ended in a US victory. Pierce, along with several other future US presidents, gained enough political momentum from this victory that won the US the continent all the way towards California.

Pierce, now a famous war hero, would go on to win the Democratic candidacy for president in the 1852 election. His career mixed with his southern sympathy also won him the presidential election over his Whig opponent by a landslide, winning 27 of the then 31 states. His celebrations were short lived. A few short months after the election the Pierce family was involved in a train accident. Everyone except one person survived: Benjamin Pierce, who was decapitated in the process.

Benjamin and Jane Pierce

It was Franklin's last son, and since he and his wife were too old to have more that cemented Benjamin as the last. He would serve his presidency only having his wife. Franklin Pierce spiraled into alcoholism and became more difficult to work with than before. He became so unpopular that he didn't even win the Democratic candidacy for the next election. Alcoholism would be the deciding factor in the rest of his life.

When the American Civil War broke out Pierce supported the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America, also served as Pierce's Secretary of War. Pierce was a strong states rights advocate and opponent of the Lincoln administration. It was during this war that another tragedy struck Franklin Pierce. On December 2, 1863 his wife Jane had passed away from tuberculosis. Pierce was no alone. His only friend was his alcohol. Pierce's tragic life of isolation and loss would end October 8, 1869 after leading the life of a Shakespearean tragedy.

The Fall of Eliot Ness

2012-12-19T19:02:00.000-08:00

Eliot Ness was a bright young man that graduated from the University of Chicago in 1925. He earned fame and recognition in Chicago as being the man that helped bring down the notorious mafia leader Al Capone and ended his alcohol ring during prohibition. He became thing of legend after his exploits in Chicago turned into multiple televisions series, silver screen films, and even lampooned in Looney Toons cartoons. Unfortunately all the fame and glory came after Eliot Ness' life ended, and the last few years were spent in shame and disappointment due to a failed investigation in Cleveland.

Ness became the Chief Investigator of the Prohibition Bureau in 1931 and eventually moved to Ohio where he held the position until 1934, the end of prohibition. Following that Ness became the Public Safety Directer of Cleveland, a position which oversaw the police department in Cleveland. On September 23, 1935, under Ness' watch a decapitated body was discovered in Kingsbury Run. Shortly after, on the same day, a second body was found in the same manner. The only difference was this body's head was found and identified as Edward Andressy.

Eliot Ness

Kingsbury Run was a shantytown on the east side of Cleveland. During the Great Depression a lot of people lived like this. Some of the citizens of the area were pegged as suspects later. Bodies began to pile up in the area, making the area only more suspicious.The first woman was found in January of '36. Between 1935 and 1938 a dozen or more people, both men and women, were found murdered by a man known simply as The Butcher of Kingsubury Run.

Ness had no suspects, but believed the killer was in the Run. On August 18, 1938, 2 days after the final body was uncovered, Ness and a squad of police cars overran the shantytown of Kingsbury Run. Clues were searched for with no evidence ever uncovered. The incident was a mess and was wrecking Ness' already tarnished reputation. Even worse for Ness' reputation was that one suspect arrested, Frank Dolezal, was found dead in a cell with broken ribs after being arrested in 1939.

Destruction of the shanty town in hunt
of the Butcher of Kingsbury Run

Another person was brought under suspicion around the same time. A man named Francis Sweeney that served in a medical unit in World War I, and also had experience amputating soldiers on the battlefield. He was related by marriage to the sheriff that arrested Dolezal earlier on. A man that was also related to Congressman Martin Sweeney, who had put pressure on Ness throughout the whole investigation. Francis Sweeney failed 2 polygraph tests regarding the murders. Ness believed he had his man, but not the evidence to prove it. Francis Sweeney eventually locked himself in a mental institution where he mocked Eliot Ness through a series of postcards .

Eliot Ness couldn't prove it was Sweeney, but was himself convinced. Til this day the case remains unsolved. Eliot Ness would run for mayor of Cleveland in 1947 unsuccessfully. He spent himself into massive debt. He was sure of the killer that brought down his career and was bothered by the rest of his life. On May 15, 1957 Ness died of a massive heart attack at the age of 54, possibly the Butcher's final victim.

Postcard Sweeney used to taunt Eliot Ness

The Day Disco Died

2012-11-11T13:13:00.002-08:00

The 1970s was another jump in American pop culture and saw many changes in the music scene from the 1960s. One of the most memorable, for better or worse, was the disco movement that began early in the decade. It became associated with cocaine use and wild orgies and parties, but most of all it was considered as being horrible by most rock n' roll enthusiasts. An anti-disco crusade was around since the beginning, but the beginning of the end came in 1979.

Steve Dahl during the anti-disco movement

It all began when Chicago radio personality Steve Dahl, who worked for a rock station, saw his station being changed to play disco. His program "Steve Dahl's Rude Awakening" failed to gain many listeners so his job was lost in the transition, but found another job at another Chicago radio station. Dahl, known as a humorist over the radio and has a band, parodied the disco movement. One notable song was "Do You Think I'm Disco?" which expressed some of his anger.

Dahl knew of the anti-disco movement and knew he wasn't alone. He created a faux group called the "Insane Coho Lips Anti-Disco Army". Working with the Chicago White Sox a promotion was created which saw people trading in their disco records to be burned in exchange for a $.98 ticket to a White Sox game on a Thursday July 12, 1979. Normally these games didn't draw many spectators, especially on a Thursday. Thousands of fans packed the stadium in an attempt to burn their records. Some fans started scaling the walls in order to get in because the game was sold out. An estimated 90,000 people showed up to destroy their records and send a message to the disco community.

The game was a double header seeing the White Sox face off against the Detroit Tigers. Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall made mention of strange people walking around. It was not a normal game at Comiskey Park, and not just because of the marijuana in the air or higher than normal attendants and attendance. The Tigers won the first game 4-1 and during intermission Dahl came to the field dressed with an army helmet to prepare the burning.

Boxes upon boxes of records were brought to the field to be burned. Some fans didn't have their records collected and just started throwing them into the field to be burned. A near riot ensued and some fans rushed the field, among them was Chicago native Michael Clark Duncan who took a baseball bat from the dugout. In an attempt to calm the crowd Harry Caray began to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" which fell flat with the audience that was more concerned about destruction.

Fans on the field at Disco Demolition Night

The incident made headlines around the world. 40 fans were arrested and a few were injured. It was day disco was dragged on Comiskey Park and murdered in a brutal fashion. It was a day that lived on in American pop culture and saw a reference in "That 70's Show". Disco would see one more year of popularity, but this incident forced disco out much faster than it otherwise would have.

News coverage of the demolition

Loup-Garou

2012-10-25T19:41:00.001-07:00

Woodcut of a werewolf

The Neuri were a tribe of Scythians that lived in the 5th century BCE and followed the normal Scythian culture of the time, according to Herodotus. Herodotus mentions one strange thing about the Scythians, however: that they happened to be wizards. While this is obviously false it was widely believed by the Greeks and other Scythians living near enough to them to see them. For whatever reason the Greeks and Scythians reported that every year one person turned into a wolf for a few days becoming human again. Herodotus wasn't convinced, but wrote about something that would come to haunt the human imagination till this day: werewolves.

Herodotus wrote in the 5th century, but later Roman writers made mention of people turning into wolves for various reasons. One such writer was the poet Virgil, writing in the 1st century BCE, claiming a concoction of herbs and poisons could turn someone into a wolf. It was a story of witchcraft and sorcery that seems ripped from Shakespeare's Macbeth that predates it by 1700 years. Another account came from his contemporary Ovid, writing in his famous work Metamorphosis and Bibliotheca. It was a recount of the Greek myth of Lycaon who was turned into a wolf after murdering a child.

In Rome a new religion finally took ground that shook the world: Christianity. Shortly after the Roman Empire collapsed in the west, sending Western Europe into a period incorrectly referred to as the dark ages. It was a period where varius so called "barbaric" German tribes were taking control of what was once the Roman Empire after conquering parts of it.

The Angles, Jutes, and Saxons took over Britain, the Franks took over the Gaul, the Ostrogoths took Italy and the city of Rome, and the Visigoths took Spain. These people became Christianized and began a new era of Western thinking that set it apart from the Greek east. Most of this was paranoia and superstition that was carried over from the past, giving extreme prejudices towards certain "demonic" animals such as the wolf. People were believed to have become werewolves and were executed on such grounds.

The fervor especially kicked off in the high Middle Ages and early modern era in mainland Western Europe. One of the most famous cases was of Peter Stumpp in 1589. Stumpp had allegedly killed up to 18 people in Cologne, Germany, after turning into a werewolf. He claimed to have practiced black magic since the age of 12 and was given a magic girdle by Satan. When he put it on he turned into a wolf and attacked his victims. He was executed in a brutal and inhumane way, having his flesh ripped off in 10 places by hot pincers, having his arms and legs removed, and finally being decapitated, all while being tied to a wheel.

Execution of Peter Stumpp

The French were strong believers in werewolves, which is called "loup garou" in French. They brought the legend with them into colonies in Louisiana and Quebec as well. Only a witch could make them, according to the legend, perfectly in line with older myths. While completely false, the myth of the werewolf has become popular to this day thanks in part to European immigrants from France and Germany that engraved the tale into US folklore and transferred into Hollywood classics like Wolf Blood, the first werewolf movie made.

Blood transfusion scene from Wolf Blood

Ancient Greek Astronomy

2012-10-04T18:51:00.002-07:00

For thousands of years man has looked to the skies and wondered what's out there. Myths of gods and astrology ruled our knowledge of space for most of human history. In Greece a revolution was springing from astrology and myth that would become astronomy.

The story of credible astronomy, as we know it, began in the 6th century BCE with the father of trigonometry, Thales of Miletus. Miletus was at a crossroads between ancient Greece and the more scientific Babylonians who knew a great deal more of space than most others that we know of up to that point. Most of this was purely theological and had little to do with actual astronomy, though, but was highly mathematical. Miletus had become the philosophy powerhouse of ancient Greece and Thales was its star pupil. Thales became the first to connect mathematics with astronomy and allegedly predicted a solar eclipse in 585 BCE.

Pythagoras

Pythagoras provided a great jump for ancient Greek astronomy, but took things in a different direction. Born in Samos in the 6th century Pythagoras also became a renowned mathematician. He is credited for being the first person to claim the earth was round, though some believed it was the poet Hesiod that first hinted at this in the 8th century.

A central body which the earth revolved around was also a Pythagorean theory, but this wasn't the sun. A body of fire was believed to be the center that the earth, sun, moon, and the 5 known planets revolved around. In typical Pythagoras style any movement of produced musical notes that no one could hear due to humans being too close.

There was much debate about the role of the earth in the solar system, including Aristarchus claiming the earth revolved around the sun. What was never put into question by any credible philosopher was the shape of the earth. The understanding of the stars and sky became better with time and inventions such as the Antikythera mechanism built in the 1st century BCE. It was one of many astrolabes that would be used by contemporary and later astronomers far into the Middle Ages, and the most complex device made for over 1000 years.

Remnants of the Antikythera mechanism

By the time the Romans had conquered all of the Greek world and absorbed their knowledge science continued at an even faster pace due to the stability and unification within the empire. Information traveled faster and safer than in the past thanks to the Roman road system. It helped people like Plutarch gather enough knowledge to write wonderful histories and scientific treatises. While not a scientist himself Plutarch did write on the moon and the "face" on it, and even speculated on life on the moon. It was an Alexandria born philosopher that would set the bar for astronomy for over 1,000 years, though, and his name was Ptolemy.

Ptolemy

Writing in the 2nd century CE, Ptolemy went with the traditional geocentric model of the universe and believed the earth was the center of everything. In his Almagest, most well preserved ancient treatise on astronomy, also cataloged the stars an 48 constellations.

It was another invasion in the Middle Ages that saved the Almagest, the Arabic conquest of Egypt in the 7th century CE. It saw translations throughout the Middle Ages in Latin as well and revered as the authority on astronomy until the scientific revolution. If not for the achievements of Ptolemy and his predecessors, no matter how wrong they may have been at times, astronomy as we know it today may be different or nonexistent.

Origin of the Cartoon

2012-09-20T16:19:00.000-07:00

Zoetrope

Animated pictures of fascinating characters fascinate audiences everywhere. When people think of the oldest of cartoons usually Walt Disney or Warner Brothers come to mind. However, the origin of animation goes back 10 years before Walt was born and when the oldest of the Warner brothers were still children.

The predecessor of animation was the zoetrope, which had it's origins in China c. 180 AD. Invented by Ting Huan, this spun around using air power and looked as if the paintings on it were moving were spun. The zoetrope was reinvented in teh early 19th century by a British mathmetician William George Horner, which failed due to pick up popularity until Milton Bradley gave it the name zoetrope.

The zoetrope was too simple, though, and an advanced animation machine was invented by a French science teacher Charles-Émile Reynaud called the praxiniscope which also became popular as a toy. Though better, the praxiniscope was still very simple. Reynaud read periodicals and was fascinated by the animation techniques of his day. Despite the fact that people who bought his praxiniscope were fascinated there was need for a change. Reynaud was about to innovate animation further and create the illusion of reality more than he did before.

Charles-Émile Reynaud

In 1889 Reynaud began working on a device he called Théâtre Optique. The animation was painted on glass by Reynaud himself and was set up to project the images so the whole audience could see it. In 1892 the groundbreaking moment came, when a cartoon was shown to the public for the first time in Paris. No longer was animation a toy at home, and the characters were finally lifelike. The whole film lasted 15. Billed as Pantomimes Lumineuses it featured 3 cartoons: Le Clown et ses chiens, Pauvre Pierrot, and Un bon bock. Others in France did similar features later on.

Pauvre Pierro

Animation had finally reached the US in 1900 when John Stuart Blackton, working in Thomas Edison's studio, had made The Enchanted Drawing which featured Blackton drawing a face, which appeared to react to him erasing his cigar. In 1906 Blactkon animated Humorous Phases of Funny Faces which began with his hand drawing the faces, which then came to life and reacted with one another. This became a fad that picked up even in France with Émile Cohl's Fantasmagorie and continued with other early 19th century animators(though, not Cohl nor anyone else always introduced their animations with them drawing it on film).

At the time most animation were roughly 3 minutes long, though they were starting to reach nearly 10 minutes. It was in Argentina that feature length animations were first introduced to the world in 1917 with The Apostle directed by Quirino Cristiani and lasted around 70 minutes long, animated at 14 frames a second. It was a satire of then president Hipólito Yrigoyen who used Jupiter's thunderbolts to wipe corruption from Beunos Aires. The results of his rampage were a burnt city. Ironically this film, as well as the next feature length film in 1918 Without a Trace were lost in a fire and no known copies survive.

Quirino Cristiani, the pioneer who gave the world
feature length animation.

While Walt Disney did help pioneer animation, and introduced sound into animation, the process of animating films, even in color, came before even he did. Thanks to pioneers like Reynaud and Blackton kids today enjoy full length animations like Toy Story or Finding Nemo would have probably never been.

The Madness of Caligula

2012-09-12T19:06:00.002-07:00

Painted bust of Caligula, reproduced.

Madness in kings and rulers has always been popularly portrayed in art since actors took to the stage acting out Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex". Even today the thought of a mad dictator entertains audiences everywhere. When the ruler exists and the madness is all too real, the situation is different. Caligula, born Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus in 12 AD to a popular Roman general, was this ruler.

As a youth Caligula was born into the same family as great rulers like Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus and his father's reputation was enough to guarantee him a successful life. His uncle was the emperor Tiberius, who had evil tendencies as well. Tiberius was brutal and eliminated people for political reasons, including Caligula's father.

Caligula was kept a prisoner where Tiberius treated Caligula the same way he did other little boys: by sexually abusing him. Unlike most other youths that were part of Tiberius' disturbing sexual game, Caligula wasn't killed to the surprise of most people. After 6 years of being in Tiberius' service Caligula was free and his his resentment. He was named Tiberius' co-heir alongside Tiberius Gamellus, Tiberius' grandson. Until 37 AD he served as consul with his uncle Claudius.

When Caligula reached age 24 he found himself emperor after Tiberius died. At first Caligula became a right and just leader. He became popular and known as a great reformer. He ruled with an iron fist and was still strict, but no where near as bad as Tiberius. Rome had a sense of protection and felt safe with a less strict emperor over the Empire. Caligula fell sick, however, and disappeared after a few months in his rein. When he recovered things changed for the worse.

Bust of Caligula

Caligula's mental state spiraled downwards. Suddenly Caligula became more entertained by blood and violence than ever before. He was entertained by mystery religions that involved death and murder and put on shows for his own amusement. Caligula also imposed taxes on the wealthy and forced their estates to be turned over to him upon their deaths then reportedly would kill them. He even had Tiberius Gamellus killed on the paranoid thought of Tiberius plotting to kill him. People suspected of disobeying him were flogged and killed right in front of him. Rome was once again in fear of their leader.

Seeing himself as a god, Caligula went so far as to be worshiped. He was so convinced he was a god he began to act like one. He tried to one up Neptune by walking across a 3 mile long bridge along the Bay of Naples. This became a widespread scandal, but no one was brave enough to do anything.

Caligula also plotted a conquest of Britain in which he went to Gaul(modern day France) along what is today the English Channel. When the order to strike was ready and sail to Britain Caligula instead ordered his troops to collect sea shells. Historians write Caligula captured Gaulish people and paraded them through Rome claiming he conquered Britain. Inspired by the Greek kings of the Hellenistic era he had fantastic luxury ships, using the latest technology, to boost his feeling of greatness.

Caligula's ship, which was uncovered by Benito Mussolini in Lake Nemi.

Caligula did no better to the Senate of Rome. At one point Caligula had appointed a horse as a senator which damaged his reputation. He would have sex with the wives of Senators and other important people of Rome, forcefully, and tell the husbands how the experience was afterwards. Caligula's sexual appetite, according to historians of the time, was horrible. He even had incest relations with 3 of his sisters, as well as several men he forced himself on. It was a power grab and behavior that may be recognized as schizophrenia today. Caligula was assassinated on January 24, 41 CE by a member of the Praetorian Guard by the name of Cassius Chaerea at the age of 28 after 4 years as emperor.

Depiction of the assassination of Caligula

The Senators considered using this as an excuse to restore the republic. Caligula's uncle Claudius was found cowering in a corner thinking his assassination was next. He was found by a Praetorian by the name of Gratus and instantly named princeps("first citizen", a title of the emperor).

The senate, debating the change of government, discovered the Claudius was proclaimed emperor and demanded he come, but, out of fear for his life, Claudius didn't show up and became emperor anyways. Rome finally had an emperor that brought stability in Claudius and turned out to be the greatest emperor since Augustus. Claudius pardoned nearly all assassins in the plot against Caligula.

Claudius, the new Emporer

Basil the Bulgar Slayer

2012-08-31T15:29:00.002-07:00

Basil II

The 10th and 11th century AD was a golden age of the Roman Empire. The Macedonian dynasty was ruling the remnants of the once larger Roman Empire that dissolved in 2 and split in the west. The East saw its fair share of trouble, though it survived 1,000 years after Rome collapsed in the West. Troubled by the Arabs in the East and Bulgars to the north the Roman Empire was fighting on all fronts. From this came a ruthless Emperor that build a powerful army and crush his enemies. His name was Basil II, and he would strike terror into the foes of the Roman Empire.

Basil had a rocky start facing off against Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, who had raided Roman territory and terrorized the Greek world. Seeking glory Basil set off to fight. It was him against a rival kingdom with an army of 6,000. The campaign was a disaster and humiliation for Basil. After making it to the Bulgarian Capital of Sofia he did nothing more than annoy the citizens with a siege that was ineffective. It was on his way back to Constantinople, the Roman, capital, at Trajan's Gate that Samuel had Basil ambushed and caused Basil to suffer a crushing defeat. When word got back, Bardas Phocas had started a revolt.

Phocas was a respected general and believed himself better fit to lead an army than Basil. Basil raised an army of his own to overthrow the Emperor and take what he felt was his. Basil would fair better in this campaign against these dissenters than the Bulgarians who were now mocking him.While Bardas Phocas proved a tough foe, Basil was able to cause them to submit with a series of flamethrowers firing Greek fire and the imperial navy, along with the Varangians who were loyal to the emperor to the end. Phocas died after falling off his horse and shortly after the revolt was put down.

Coin depicting Basil and a beardless Constantine

Basil's success started politically at home. Most citizens were peasants, though richer and in a better living environment than in Western Europe. Civil wars had been plaguing the Empire, so he knew he had to make reform. Shrewd, untrusting, and surrounded by his Varangian Guards, Basil learned to become a great politician and was dedicated to the empire he inherited. He made the peasants happy by putting in a series of tax reforms that taxed the rich more than the poor, and if the poor couldn't afford to pay their taxes, it was up to their rich neighbor to pay on their behalf instead of facing punishment. The aristocrats were outraged, but this allowed Basil to weaken their influence which had plagued the Macedonian Dynasty before him, and allowed him to turn north and end his problems with the Bulgars by 991.

Tsar Samuel

Returning to Bulgaria, Basil was far more successful against his rival Tsar Samuel. A year into the campaign the Fatimids were trying to conquer Syria hoping that Basil was too distracted with Bulgaria to take care of it. Seemingly materializing out of thin air, Basil's army chased out the Arab invaders and conquered some of their territory in return, showing the effectiveness of his reforms in Constantinople. After returning home, Basil heard that Samuel had taken advantage of his absence and was raiding the Greek coast and other parts of the Empire, and taken over Bosnia and Dalmatia.

Basil, hungry for the defeat of his old foe, stayed on the battlefield year round even when others would leave and come back. He pursued Tsar Samuel and conquered Bulgarian cities and burned their crops along the way. The Bulgarians tried taking a last stand at the foot of the Belasica Mountains. The results were a decisive victory for the Roman army. Samuel had retreated to a fortress in modern day Macedonia and vowed to fight to the end, but Basil had no patience to drag on this fight.

Basil had thousands of Bulgarian prisoners of war in his hands. In order to teach the Samuel a lesson he had every man blinded, leaving every 1500th with one eye in order to lead them to Basil. This was possibly the cruelest act in Roman military history and was never done even in the old days of the Republic when Rome and Italy were the centers of the superpower. The Bulgarians marched their way to Samuel where it is reported he died of shame after seeing his troops.

Basil had earned the name "Bulger Slayer" or Boulgaroktonos in Greek. The Roman Empire found itself in full control of the Balkans for the first time in hundreds of years. It was the most powerful empire in the Mediterranean and doubled in size from its previous size.

Basil's Empire

Ancient Lions

2012-08-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

Lion from the Ishtar Gate c. 575 BC

In 480 BC the Persian king Xerxes was on his way to exact revenge and add to his territory. Along his way his army encountered several lions. While lions are commonly held as being in Africa, Xerxes wasn't traveling through Africa, even though Persian territory was there. Xerxes was traveling through Macedonia, in Europe, on his way to Greece. Lions had a home in Europe, even though they no longer do, as well as Xerxes own native Iran and the rest of the Middle East.

The lion in both Europe and Asia had their own distinct history. In India and Middle East the lion was portrayed as a symbol of royalty, and appeared on the famed Ishtar Gates in Babylon. In Greece, Scythia, and later Rome, the lion was a famed beast and widely hunted. It was often considered a nuisance. Both had their own evolutionary paths as well, but saw the same fate in the end.

Lion depicted in prehistoric cave art from modern day Chauvet
Cave in France.

Lions first appeared in Europe around 700,000 years ago, according to fossil records, as a specie known as panthera leo fossilis. This lion was larger than modern African lions, but smaller than the American lion of the Pleistocene epoch. By 320,000 years ago the species evolved into the cave lion, which appeared in art from early man in caves. This lion itself lived in caves, and was depicted as being hairless, even though it's possible that, just like with modern African lions, the female did the hunting as was seen more by prehistoric man. While it is believed the cave lion went extinct around 12,500 years ago, with a possibility of it existing until 2,000 years ago in the Balkan mountain region.

The lions encountered by Xerxes were a different species of lions. Possibly related to the cave lion, or Asian lions that migrated further west and evolved accordingly. These same lions were depicted in Mycenae, one of the earliest Greek cities to have existed with a Greek speaking population founded roughly 1800-1600 BC, over 1,000 years before Xerxes. Lions became famed beasts in Greek mythology, at least in the myth of Herakles.

Herakles and the Nemean lion depicted
on a Greek vase c. 500 BC

The Nemean lion, most likely based off of a European lion, was a mythical lion that Herakles slain during his 12 labors. The king Eurystheus, Herakles cousin, asked Herakles for help killing the lion. The lion hid in a cave and disguised itself as a beautiful woman in distress to lead heroes into its cave after kidnapping a real woman. After luring the hero he would devour him and give his bones to Hades. Herakles strangled the lion, or shot arrows into its mouth, after he realized the lions pelt was too strong to be pierced by an arrow. With a tip from Athena, Herakles skinned the lion using the lion's own claws and wore it as armor. While this could be inspired by the lions in Europe of the day, it could also be remnants of a prehistoric fear of the cave lion that passed down through oral history.

While the lion was the royal symbol of the Persian court, it also became the royal symbol of the Macedonians who would unite Greece and conquer Persia. A man who loved imitating Herakles and believed himself a decedent of Herakles, Alexander the Great was known to slay lions himself while in Asia and wearing lion skin on his head. One image depicts him and his friend Hephaestion hunting a lion together.

Hunting lions was also common among the Scythians, who were very close to the Greeks and were often depicted along lions by Greeks. They were known for being fierce and strong. Despite having no writing system themselves they were written about by Greek and Roman writers, some of which gave them more of a positive light than other "barbarians". One image from the Solokha Mounds, in modern day Ukraine, shows Scythians hunting a lion, with Greek style artwork dating between the 6th and 3rd centuries BC.

Scythians hunting a lion on a piece discovered in the Solokha Mounds.

In Europe the lion saw its decline with the rise of Rome. The Roman Empire started conquering the lands once held by the Greeks and Carthaginians, and for a brief period the lands of the Parthian Empire in Iran. Gladiatorial games were very popular and lions from around the Empire were brought in for show. They would fight each other, other large animals from the Empire, and gladiators in a match of man vs beast. Mixed with farmers killing them to protect livestock, similar to the way Americans drove the jaguar into extinction in the US later, the European lion went extinct by the 1st century AD according to the Greek historian Dio Crysostom. Although this wasn't entirely true, lions did exist in the Caucus Mountains until roughly 1,000 years ago, they were gone from the Roman and Greek world in Europe, and barely survived in North Africa and Asia.

Asiatic lion

Lions were hunted in the Middle East as well as Europe. It took longer for lions to go extinct in the Middle East than it did in Europe. Assyrians had hunted lions, as well as other Middle Eastern civilizations. Lions went extinct in Turkey by the 19th century. In Iran, they went extinct in the 20th century. It was in the 1960s the last 5 lions in Iran were killed. The 6th, the male, was shot and killed before the locals in the Fars Province. The last 5 were in a cave, a mother and her 4 cubs, and were killed by locals. The media covered and celebrated it, and was met with great fanfare. The lions had done nothing to the Iranians. Their deaths were celebrated by local media because lions were depicted on the flag of the previous regime. Asiatic lions still live in India, where in 2005 they numbered around 55, and in 2011 their numbers jumped well above 400.

Ebla, a discovery

2012-08-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

Ebla's Ruins

In 1964 Itallian professor of the University of Rome La Sapienza was excavating the modern day city of Tel Mardikh in Syria. Like all archaeologists Paolo Matthiae hoped to find something that in the region of historical signifigance. What Matthiae didn't count on was that he would discover a historical missing link, and an entire forgotten civilization in the ancient city of Ebla.
Ebla was known to archaeologists of the time as at least existing due to the fact it was mentioned in Akkadian and Egyptian inscriptions of the time. It wasn't discovered that this city was in fact Ebla, though, until 1968 when Matthias and team stumbled on a statue dedicated to the goddess Ishtar that bore the name of Ibbit-Lim, known to be a king of Ebla by the Egyptian and Akkadian sources that mentioned him. On top of that there were antiques from Egypt bearing the names of pharoahs Khafra and Pepi I. Wooden furniture, composite statues, and many other artifacts were found in Ebla that may have influenced the Akkadians.
It was in 1974 the Matthiae made the major discovery that actually helped shape our understanding of history when his team stumbled across a building that housed thousands of clay tablets with inscriptions that featured both Sumerian logographs and writing in a then unknown language. 1800 complete tablets, 4700 fragments, and thousands of minor chips were found in collapsed bookshelves that dated between 2500 and 2250, when the city seemed to be destroyed the first time.

Tablet found in Ebla

The way the Greek language helped crack the code for the Egyptian heiroglyphs was exactly what the Persian language did in unlocking the secrets of the Sumerian language by British scholars. Thanks to the Sumerian language known to archaeologist it would be used to crack the code for this new language, which turned out to be a Semitic language, making it the oldest known semetic language to be confirmed(the Sumerian language, despite being in the Middle East, was a language class of its own and the Akkadians appeared around 200 years after the first tablets in Ebla were written).

Paolo Matthiae,
founder of Ebla

At first Paolo believed this language to be related to the Canaanite language that came later. Later he retracted this statement. It is speculated that the language is related to the Akkadian language spoken before the rise of Sargon the Great in 2334 BC the started the Akkadian Empire that was a trade partner of Ebla.
The tablets revealed a lot about life and literature in Ebla, as well as religious and political matters. It revealed some of the earliest mentions of the Semitic gods worshipped by the Babylonians and Akkadians, as well as the Assyrians and other later Semitic people. It revealed the city as being a major trade hub when the Akkadian Empire rose as well as having a beer named after it that was brewed and traded from there. If it was anything like Sumerian beer it would have included things such as smoked malt, rice hulls, hony, date wine, and beer bread to make it. Of course their records show a variety of beers made.
Some of the more controversial things speculated by this site is that it references cities listed in the Old Testement in the Bible almost 3000 years before it was pieced together. According to some it mentions the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Ur, Jeruselum, and prophets like Abraham and David(which, of course, would put the tablets at around 1000 BC, 1500 years after they were actually written). Whatever the case, the city of Ebla and its discovery by Paolo Mattiae have been a stepping stone into understanding our history and into simplified writing for the common man to read.

Jewelry from Ebla

The Invasion of Russia

2012-08-09T11:33:00.002-07:00

339th leaving for Russia

The US has been known in recent years for it's involvement in overseas affairs which has been met with mixed reaction, and started as a way to stop the spread of communism after the USSR was considered the US' number one enemy. Although there was some overseas intervention prior to the 1950s, it was mostly relegated to the western hemisphere. However, in 1918 the US, Britain, France, and Japan had sent troops to stop the spread of communism for the first time: in Russia itself.

The effort started as a way to help the Czechoslovakian legion in Siberia, and to get the US military equipment that it provided Russia for its war effort in the Eastern Front in World War I. While the British and French cared very little for the materials the US was trying to protect and recover, it seemed as if Woodrow Wilson, then president, was almost exclusively interested in that and to return the Czechs, who were prisoners of war that were supposed to be returned due to the terms of a peace treaty that weren't. The primary focus for the rest was to help the White Russians(the republicans who just established a government after the Czar stepped down).

While the forces at hand should have been able to stop the Bolsheviks and help the White Russians, there were too many issues. Just like in the US in the 1960's and early 70's with the Vietnam conflict, too many people saw this involvement in the war as being pointless. Troop morale was low and no one understood why they were even there. On top of that the water cooled machine guns being used proved ineffective in such cold temperatures, and the horses used weren't used to the climate. The US at the time was more laissez-faire than it was later and believed less in the involvement of foreign affairs.

US soldiers in Russia

For the British their issue involved mostly the overstretching of its troops and resources. While such a powerful empire should have been able to stop the Bolsheviks dead in their tracks they also had campaigns in the Balkans after the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires dissolved that prevented them from focusing solely on Russia itself. On top of that the British Empire had the same issues with materials the US had. The British did help stabilize the Balkans and help Estonians, also involved in the Russian conflict, gain their independence.

Australian soldiers who fought alongside the British Empire at Archangel in northern Russia.

By 1920 all allies, except Japan, had pulled out due to political pressure at home, despite very few allied troops being lost(of the over 10,000 the US sent, roughly 500 died for various reasons). Rumours of mutiny in all camps also helped speed up the withdrawal. This war did help Warren G. Harding, a mostly libertarian Republican, win the presidency by attacking it and blaming this extremely unpopular war on the Wilson administration(which may be another reason Wilson didn't run for a third term). The Japanese stayed in Russia until 1925, when, due to pressure from the US and the fact it lost a couple key victories, had finally pulled out. Russia had finally belonged solely to the Bolsheviks and was the first major communist country in the work, the Soviet Union.

The US, Britain, and the other allies have mostly forgotten about this conflict, though the Soviets never forgot it. It fueled anti-American propaganda and bolstered distrust of the West in the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War. A monument to the conflict stands in Troy, Michigan with a polar bear statue, due to it also being known as the Polar Bear Expedition.

Polar Bear statue commemorating the events in Troy, MI

Siege of Multanese Citadel

2012-07-31T12:57:00.000-07:00

In 325 the 28 year old king from Macedon, Alexander the Great, had conquered everything from Greece to the Punjab in India. Bound for glory and a god-like reputation, Alexander showed reckless behavior when trying to conquer areas not in his empire, and several times it nearly cost him his life. In Mallian Campaign in India.

After conquering the Persian Empire, subduing Greece and Egypt, and moving into India Alexander had believed himself invincible and so did any he faced. After a fresh victory over the Indian king Porus Alexander set his eyes elsewhere. The Mallians were Alexander's new target, and at first everything went well. It was on trying to lay siege to the citadel that all troubles started.

Alexander split his forces into 2 factions: One led by himself, the other by his general Perdiccas. After forcing his way through the gates of this well fortified citadel Alexander went to tear down the next wall. His patience grew thin and decided to scale a ladder and begin the siege himself. First he scaled the ladder, followed by 2 more soldiers. A few more tried climbing with him to protect him, but the ladder, unable to support their weight, broke, leaving them outside the walls. There Alexander found himself against an army of Indians with only 2 people to support him.

The Indians rushed towards Alexander and the other 2 men, focusing mainly on Alexander because they recognized who he was. Alexander cut 2 of the soldiers down with his sword. After realizing they wouldn't be able to take down the king up close they started keeping their distance and using long range weapons such as arrows and spears. The two men that followed Alexander fell, and Alexander himself was pierced in the lung by an arrow that was 6 foot long after successfully fending off the enemies projectiles.

Painting of Alexander the Great in India

Alexander fell and laid there after losing a lot of blood. He tried pulling himself back up, but didn't have the strength. He began to lose blood at an alarming rate and began to just lay there. One Indian, thinking Alexander was dead, went to strip his body of any valuables he could have. After getting close and beginning to strip the king the Indian soldier realized he made a ghastly mistake after being stabbed with a sword in his side by Alexander, who somehow found the strength to protect himself.

The Greeks, Persians, Bactrians, and Indians on the outside of the wall who followed Alexander heard the king was down and believed him dead. They rushed to break down the wall in order to protect their king and rushed in with a feeling of vengeance. The people inside the fortified city began to be massacred by a frenzied mob of soldiers loyal to their king. None were left standing, not woman, child, or man. Alexander was dragged out by his soldiers in an attempt to save him. He was brought into an abandoned village where his surgeon, Kritomedos, worked to get the arrow out.

The arrow's head was cut off to allow the arrow to be pulled out easier. After realizing how badly it was in there they knew the only way to get it out was by a risky operation. At first Kritomedos was worried of failure and retaliation from the king dying in his care. Alexander begged him to remove the arrow, and after Alexander's pleas he began to operate on him. Alexander didn't flinch upon being cut open, despite having no recorded sedation.

The arrow, which had apparently went through Alexander's lung, had been pulled out successfully. The king rested a few days and recovered the blood he lost.Reports of Alexander's death spread through India and revolts were plotted. Alexander, in an attempt to boost morale for his Greeks and others in his army, and to let his subdued people know he was still alive, sailed down a river in a boat so they could see him. For both the conquerors and the conquered this showed Alexander was alive to rule his empire.

Map of Alexander's Empire, stretching from Greece and Egypt in the west to India
and Bactria(modern day Afghanistan) in the east.

Cahokia: The US' First Great City

2012-07-26T18:53:00.001-07:00

Artist rendering of Cahokia c. 1150 AD

In the late 17th century French explorers in what is today Illinois discovered a tribe of Native Americans that were an Illiniwek subtribe. This settlement was around a group of man made mounds along the Mississippi River. This subtribe were called Cahokia, whom the site was named after. However, the Cahokia weren't the original settlers of this location, nor were they the builders of this site. This settlement was once the largest city in what is today the United States.

The site of Cahokia, whose settlers are unknown, had built a city that averaged a population of 10,000 people during its existence, with a peak population of up to 40,000. In the 1960s an archaeological dig by Dr Warren Wittry accidentally uncovered oval shaped pits in the ground. He then noticed these pits formed a circle. It revealed a location similar to that of pre-historic European cities and was a hub for pre-historic sun worship, similar to that of Stonehenge or Woodhenge in Great Britain(in fact this discovery was itself of a woodhenge in Illinois named Woodhenge).

Monks Mound

Despite how impressive woodhenge building by these ancient people was, there is still one thing that makes Cahokia stand out: it's impressive mounds. When the French explored the area, they had no idea of the impressive wooden buildings or significance of the mounds, the largest being Monk's Mound standing at 955 tall. These mounds, as high as they stand, once looked more impressive with wooden political and cultural buildings standing on top of them.

The people who wants settled Cahokia lived in a prehistoric city that flourished. Cahokians had made pottery and enjoyed fine jewelry, including copper production. They also established a large trade network and their artifacts have been found scattered throughout the United States. Evidence suggests, though, by the 14th century people started migrating out of the urban area and didn't live there again until European settlement in the 18th century. It was the largest city in what is today the US until Philadelphia reached that population in the 18th century. With it went a glorious stage of Native American pre-history.

Archimedes Iron Hand

2012-07-12T17:56:00.004-07:00

The Roman Republic found itself once again entangled in a war with the Carthaginian Empire. Carthage, a city in north Africa which was the heart of this empire, had been the most powerful settlement by the Phoenicians who came from the Middle East. Rome and Carthage both fought over the island of Sicily due to its strategic location between the two powerhouses.

The west was dominated by Carthage and the East was besieged by Rome. Between the two, Rome found themselves the unfortunate ones trying to siege the Greek city of Syracuse and the great physicist Archimedes who used great war machines against the invading Romans.

Archimedes was born in 287 in Syracuse and travelled to Egypt, then controlled by a Greek dynasty after the conquest of Alexander the Great, and received a formal education. Archimedes excelled as a mathematician and physicist, even by today's standards. "Give me a lever long enough," he said, "and a place to stand and I shall move the world." To the invading Romans it seemed like he was capable of doing just that.

The Romans came to siege Syracuse for strategic purposes and was led by the general Marcus Claudius Marcellus. They knew of Archimedes and was famous for his inventions at the time. When the besiegers came knocking at the walls of Syracuse they met an entire population operating Archimedes' machines and using them against them.

Almost in unison the Greeks started hurling large boulders, some as much as 500 lbs, at the oncoming Roman fleet and soldiers. Archimedes also built, or at least gave design, for smaller weapons to ensure the Romans were almost constantly being pelted, even by smaller projectiles. One of these was "The Scorpion", a small catapult that fired iron balls at the oncoming Romans. No doubt the barrage of boulders and iron flying towards the Romans, no matter how powerful their army, was demoralizing.
The Roman ships found something even more terrifying than boulders if they made it close to shore: Archimedes' Claw. Also known as "the iron hand" this device was known to sink Roman ships by lifting them out of the water and capsizing them using its grappling hook and crane. When Marcellus had roughly 120 ships sail to the Syracusan walls at night many of them fell victim to this trap.

The "Iron Hand" taken literally by a painter.

Details of how it operated are few, but a few modern model makers have tried several different designs on model Roman ships, all of which worked, making this highly possible. According to legend, and highly unlikely, Archimedes also reportedly had several Syracusans line up with mirrors and use the sun's rays to burn Roman ships.

Archimedes

Regardless of what was true and what wasn't, the fact remains that the Roman troops became highly demoralized by these attacks. The Roman troops were afraid and thought all was hopeless. As a final resort Marcellus ordered no more troops in the area and decided to put up a blockade in an attempt to starve the Syracusans.

Luck and fortune were on the Roman's side, however, when an unknown Roman sympathizer opened the gates and allowed the Romans to attack and conquer. It was ordered the Archimedes be brought in alive, because he was considered valuable to the Romans who wanted more of his technology. Unfortunately a Roman soldier(either not knowing who he was or who didn't get the message) struck Archimedes to death.

Jonestown: A Love Story

2012-07-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

Jim Jones

The 1950s in the US was a time of great racial tension and division, especially in Indiana where the Ku Klux Klan had the greatest influence of any northern state. Not everyone there was in favor of racism, and one radical named Jim Jones set out to have an interracial society. Jones became a fiery preacher and opened a socialist church in Indiana in the 50s where he preached black and white brotherhood and became very charismatic, especially in the black community.

He felt pressure from locals and eventually moved his temple to northern California in the 60s, where he became even more popular. By the 1970s the People's Temple in San Francisco was one of the most powerful churches in the area, and Jim Jones was held with high esteem among even local politicians. this charismatic man and seeming defender of human rights turned out to have a dark, twisted side no one ever expected.
The People's Temple Jim Jones had opened had done exactly what he set out to do: mix black and white, and any other race that wanted, to mingle together under one roof in one church. In the early 1970s Jones began to negotiate with the government of Guyana in South America where he planned to establish a farming community.

In 1976 the Guyanese government approved and the "Peoples Temple Agriculture Project" was about to be acted on by Jim Jones, even though the 3,000 sq feet of land he purchased turned out to be extremely poor land. Jones sent 500 people to start working on this project in order to begin moving people in. In 1977 it was complete and Jones began convincing members to move there after mounting investigations by San Francisco media of alleged sexual abuse he committed. Hundreds flocked there with him, and by 1978 the ation was just under 1,000.

Jonestown before the migration

The people lived in terrible conditions and there was mounting legal issues from San Francisco and the Guyanese government in Georgetown involving a custody dispute. A Timothy and Grace Stoen battled to get their 5 year old son back from Jonestown in 1977. They won, but Jones wouldn't relent and the Guyanese government stepped in, causing Jones to distrust them.The Guyanese government promised not to invade Jonestown, and the Stoens never got their child back. They did lobby their local Congressman, Leo Ryan, to do something about it, as well as hundreds of other concerned family members. By November of 1978 Congressman Ryan, as well as 18 others, including NBC reporters, showed up to see what was going on.

They were warmly welcomed at first. A show was put on for them and as they were about to leave a couple families asked if they could leave. Jones assured Congressman Ryan and others that people were free to leave any time, and the families left with Ryan to get on a plane on an airstrip. A furious Jones, claiming to NBC reporters earlier these families were just going to go back and lie, ordered gunman to take down everyone at the airstrip, which they did.

The casualties at Jonestown

Several were dead, including Congressman Ryan, others injured, and a few fled for their lives. News broke out on NBC, but at the time they weren't aware of the scope of things actually happening, just that they had lost a reporter, delegates, and Congressman. During this time Jones broke out on his radio and said he didn't know who shot the Congressman, but for all he knew he was responsible. He called for a "revolutionary suicide" and ordered his members to drink cyanide laced Flavor Aid. Not all willingly did it, despite the misleading "drinking the Kool Aid" phrase popular in the US. Some were forced to drink by gun point, others fooled, and others still did so willingly.

When news got out of what had happened the first death count was around 400. A plane with cameramen flying above Jonestown videotaped the remains of hundreds of dead. Later the report was changed after more bodies were found. The death toll in Jonestown stood at over 900, including the Stoen's 6 year old child they fought hard to get back and Jones himself.Very few survived and made it back. Until 9/11 this was the largest mass casualty on US civilian life, and the largest modern mass suicide in history.

Jones' final speech

History of the Round Earth Theory

2012-06-19T12:37:00.002-07:00

The oldest known world map from 6th
century Babylon portraying the earth as
flat.

For thousands of years the earth was thought to be anything but a sphere by ancient people. The Mesopotamians and Egyptians saw the earth as being flat, as did the earliest Greeks. It was the Greeks, however, that changed the view of the earth and set forth a series of theories that proved the earth was round.

The earliest of Greek philosophers to comment on the earth's shape being round were very vague and offered little of an explanation. Plato was a prime example of this, telling his in Athens the earth was a sphere shape but offering no explanation of how. It was his greatest pupil, Aristotle, that would offer the first true explanation of how he believed the earth was round.

In Aristotle's "On the Heavens" he states that the earth was spherical due to the position of the stars and constellations seeming to change as a person traveled either north or south. Some travellers, he pointed out, noticed stars and constellations in Egypt and Cyprus unique to their sky. He also pointed out that the earth must be spherical because of the shape of the earth's shadow on the moon during a lunar eclipse. The shadow "eclipses the outline is always curved: and, since it is the interposition of the earth that makes the eclipse, the form of this line will be caused by the form of the earth's surface, which is therefore spherical." (On the Heavens Book II Chapter 14)

Aristotle, who believed strongly the earth was spherical.

It was Aristotle's tutor Alexander the Great, who conquered the known world, that helped spread his theory as far east as India. After the collapse of his Empire upon his death it was split into 4 parts. This time in history was known as the "Hellenistic" period, or Greek like, due to Greek influence being across the globe. Where the world was once thought to be flat the Greek influenced philosophers in Mesopotamia(under control of the Greek Seleucids) and Egyptians(under control of the Greek Ptolemies) produced theories that stood until the end of the Middle Ages.

Seleucus of Seleucia, who lived in the 2nd century BC, was a strong proponent not only of a round earth, but of the fact the earth revolves around the sun. Eratosthenes, a Greek philosopher in Egypt, used the round earth theory and shadows in order to measure the circumference of the earth. When both of these mighty civilizations fell to the Romans and Persians the science continued. In the 2nd century AD the Greek philosopher Ptolemy created a map the portrayed the earth as being round. It was this map that was the most popular map in the Middle Ages and considered cannon until the colonization of North America by Europeans in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Medieval copy of Ptolemy's Geographia, a map portraying the earth as round, originally made in the 2nd century AD

By the 8th century AD there were no people left in the civilized world strongly arguing for a flat earth. The last place to hold onto the flat earth theory was the Christian Syrians, who themselves quietly dropped. Christian philosophers of the middle ages, particularly in the Eastern Roman Empire, held the earth was round, as did the Muslim Arabs who recognized the truth in Aristotle and other philosophers claims.

In the west, which was going through a so called "dark age" had access to some of Aristotle's work and was known as "the Philosopher" in the Middle Ages, as if no one else mattered. The English philosopher Bede, writing in the 7th and 8th century AD, wrote the earth "is an orb placed in the center of the universe; in its width it is like a circle, and not circular like a shield but rather like a ball, and it extends from its center with perfect roundness on all sides."

Ferdinand Magellan

Though Europeans and Middle Easterners had recognized the spherical earth it wasn't put into test until the 15th century Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan who circumnavigated the globe after sailing out of Spain with finances by the Spanish crown. Though Magellan died in the Philippines during a battle against the natives, his second in command Juan Sebastián Elcano took control of the fleet and sailed back to Spain. There was no doubt in European circles now, the Greek philosophers were right about the shape of the earth along with Erotosthenes trigonometry formula 1,700 years earlier.

In the 17th century European Christian mercenaries brought the round earth concept to China, the last civilized place on earth to believe the earth was flat. Today the earth is known to be round, though a few doubters linger on(the Flat Earth Society). This is all thanks to the intelligence of the ancient Greeks and ingenuity of Renaissance Europe.