Great Love Affairs That Changed the Course of History, Part Three

Queen Isabella I of Castile (born April 22, 1451), and King Ferdinand II of Aragon (born March 10, 1452), were medieval Catholic monarchs of two neighboring kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain).  Following several coerced betrothals by Isabella's brothers aimed at uniting their kingdom with one of the neighboring kingdoms, Isabella announced that she was in love with Ferdinand of Aragon.  However, since Isabella and Ferdinand were second cousins and stood within the “degrees of blood-relative” prohibition, their marriage wouldn’t be possible unless a dispensation from the Pope was granted.  Finally, with the help of Rodrigo Borgia (later, Pope Alexander VI), Isabella and Ferdinand were granted a Papal Bull by Pius II authorizing Ferdinand to covertly marry within the “third degree of consanguinity,” making their marriage seemingly legal.  Finally on October 19, 1469, they were married in the Palacio de los Vivero in the city of Valladolid.  Read more . . .

Great Love Affairs That Changed the Course of History, Part Two

In 1894, Marie met Pierre Curie, a noted French physicist and chemist eight years her senior and Professor at the School of Physics at the Sorbonne. Immediately bonding over their mutual interest in physical magnetism and their fondness for cycling, they began what many historians describe as “an extraordinary partnership and love affair that would earn them international renown and influence generations of scientists.”  Marrying a year later in Sceaux, France, they invested the money they received as wedding gifts to buy new bicycles, and were often seen taking long, romantic rides together through the French countryside.  Read more . . .

Thanksgiving: A Day of Thanks? The History Behind the History

In the United States, Thanksgiving is often traced to 1619 Virginia, where colonists are said to have prompted a celebration on the anniversary of the colony’s settlement. Historic accounts show that in 1621, a feast of thanksgiving was also observed at Plymouth to acknowledge the Wampanoag Native Americans who’d helped the Pilgrims survive by providing food and seeds, and teaching them how to hunt and fish.  However, according to several modern scholars, the first official "Thanksgiving Day," held in 1637, had little to do with giving thanks for a prosperous year. It actually celebrated the massacre of 700 Native American men, women and children attending their annual Green Corn Dance at what is now Groton, Connecticut.  Read More . . .

Snake Handling: Seeking God Amongst the Serpents

Snake handling (or serpent handling), is a religious ritual practiced today in a small number of Pentecostal churches of the US (predominantly but not limited to Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Ohio) and a few areas of Canada, that first became popularized in the early 20th century in remote areas of the Appalachian Mountain region, which then spread to regional coal mining towns.  (Practitioners, or self-described “sign-followers,” prefer the term “serpent-handling” to “snake-handling” noting that they incorporate poisonous reptiles, not common snakes, into religious worship.)  Though snake handling plays only a small part in the religious services of such churches, the fact that followers routinely handle rattlesnakes, copperheads, water moccasins and other highly venomous snakes, has come to define them and their religion. And while always controversial, and in many areas illegal, the practice of snake handling shows no signs of disappearing from the traditional Appalachian landscape.  Read more . . .

Abandoned Towns and Cities of the United States

If you stray from the beaten path while traversing America, you’ll undoubtedly come across one of the country’s thousands of abandoned towns and cities, what many call “ghost towns,” hidden within the forgotten fabric of the land.  An especially prominent feature of the American West, abandoned towns constitute forsaken ideas and ideals, misguided ventures and adventures, untold natural disasters, and the end result of changing times and shifting timelines.  Indeed, these ghostly remains of what once was serve as stark reminders of the physical realities of our not-to-distant past, while directing us to consider the future.  Read more . . .

Yellow Journalism: Are You Guilty?

Yellow journalism is defined as a type of writing that presents little or no legitimate well-researched information and instead uses eye-catching headlines or catch-phrases to make articles appear more enticing to potential readers.  Today, "yellow journalism" is used to describe unscrupulous styles of writing that convey news or information in an unprofessional or unethical fashion including the use of unsubstantiated sources, exaggeration or fabrication of facts, opinion disguised as fact, self-promotion, and overt sensationalism. Techniques include:
> scary or misleading headlines
> over-use of pictures or imaginary drawings
> use of faked interviews
> pseudo-science disguised as scientific fact
> unqualified “expert” supportive arguments
> "underdog against the system” baiting
Read more . . .

Timothy Leary: Turn On . . . Tune In . . . Drop Out . . .

Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996), born in Springfield, Massachusetts, was a highly influential American psychologist and writer considered one of the most prominent figures of the 1960s counterculture, and once described by President Richard Nixon as "the most dangerous man in America.”   A hugely controversial figure during the 1960s and 1970s, Leary opening endorsed the use of LSD for its therapeutic, emotional, and spiritual benefits, and believed it showed incredible potential in the field of psychiatry.  While mainstream America–which was already reeling from the cultural impact of the Hippie movement–had assumed Leary’s views were a radical departure from the general scientific community, most were unaware that there had been ongoing experimentation with LSD for at least a decade, most visibly involving veteran actor Cary Grant who’d taken LSD more than fifty times under clinical supervision.  Read more . . .

American Counterculture Icon, Abbie Hoffman

Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936–April 12, 1989), was an American social activist of the 60s counterculture who first came to national attention in 1967 during the infamous New York Stock Exchange "money-burning" incident, which was followed by his arrest for conspiracy and inciting to riot during anti-Vietnam War protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.  A member of the infamous Chicago Seven ([originally, Eight], which included Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and future California state senator Tom Hayden), and co-founded of the Youth International Party ("Yippies"), Abbie’s legendary disruptive exploits have come to characterize the clash between American politics and the 60’s youth counterculture.  Read more . . .

Witch Hunts in America: America's Time of Darkness

As most everyone knows today, during the three centuries of witch hunts in Salem and in many other parts of the American colonies, hundreds of innocent men, women, and even children, were put to death.  According to official documents available to the public, once the accusation of "witch" was made, a process began during which the accused was confined and tortured, and it was only a matter of time before they were ultimately strangled, drown, or burned to death.  Once branded a "witch," tests were administered to prove guilt and allow the accused the opportunity to confess.  Among these tests were swimming, strappado, thumbscrews, the boot, and the Black Virgin.  These methods represent by far the more humane tactics used to extract confession, the more severe involving the tearing off of women's breasts, penetration of women's anal cavities, and spreading of the vagina using metal torture devices designed especially for this purpose.  Read more . . .

America's First Serial Killer: H. H. Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett)

Herman Webster Mudgett was born in 1861 in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, to an affluent family that was the first White settlers in the township.  Although Herman enjoyed a privileged childhood, he was ruled by a mother with strict religious ideologies and an authoritarian father who routinely administered harsh discipline.  And while Herman excelled in school–a boy of unusual intelligence, ambition, and drive–he was constantly bullied and abused by his classmates, causing him to spend his boyhood friendless, isolated, and alone.  Showing an interest in human anatomy from about the age of ten, Herman naturally gravitated toward the study of medicine after high school, and was accepted at the prestigious University of Michigan Medical school in 1882, the first university-owned hospital in America.  Read more . . .

Eastern State Hospital: America’s First Insane Asylum

Founded in 1773, Eastern State Hospital, located in Williamsburg, Virginia, was the first officially recognized institution constructed solely for the care and treatment of the mentally ill in the United States.  Initially intended only to treat and discharge the “curable” mentally ill and confine those deemed a threat to themselves and others, this public hospital was not designed with the chronic and harmless mentally ill in mind.  At this time in American history, treatment for psychiatric disorders consisted primarily of restraint and application of various types of discomfort and pain, as most social scientists of the era believed the irrational behavior exhibited by the mentally ill was a conscious choice they could be dissuaded from repeating.  Read more . . .

Lizzie Borden: Murder in Fall River

Lizzie Borden came to public prominence when she became the prime suspect in the hatchet murders of her father and stepmother on August 4th, 1892. The murders, trial, and notoriety of the incident has not only become part of American pop culture, it has made Lizzie a veritable icon of evil and treachery.  Although acquitted, (no one else was ever arrested or tried), Lizzie remains notorious in American folklore as the woman who “took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks, and when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.”  Read more . . .

Gibsonton, Florida: "Freakville" USA

For over two centuries, circuses, carnivals, traveling wild west shows, and street fairs were common fixtures of Americana.  Touring the countryside from spring to fall, they brought their unique–and often, bizarre–line-up of fire-eaters, contortionists, lion tamers, and high-wire acts to the far reaches of America.  For many living in rural areas of the nation, these rolling venues elicited the excitement of a rock concert, Disneyland, and a trip to Time Square all rolled into one.  And while for many it was the Big Top headliners most deserving the “oohs” and “ahhs” and adulation, for others it was the sideshows, or second acts, that offered the greater fascination.  These so-called “freak“ shows, as they came to be commonly known, provided onlookers a glimpse of the world’s oddities; those individuals most unlike themselves (or so they appeared).  These strange individuals–billed as having come from the far corners of the Earth–came in two general types: natural born freaks, and man-made freaks.  But the one thing most so-called “freaks” had in common was that when they weren’t on the road, they spent the winter months in one place: Gibsonton, a small town in Hillsboro County, Florida, long referred to as Showtown, USA.  Read more . . .

The Gullah Language

Gullah is a language spoken by the African American population living on the sea islands and coastal region of the US states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and northeast Florida, and those commonly known as the Gullah people. The Gullah language is what linguists call an English-based creole language, which develop in the context of trade, colonialism, and slavery when people of diverse backgrounds are forced together and must devise a common means of communication.  In the case of Gullah, the vocabulary is largely English in origin, but the African languages have altered the pronunciation of almost all the English words.  Linguists today view Gullah and other creoles as complete and independent languages with their own systematic grammatical structures.  Read more . . .

The History of Birth Control, Part Two: 1900 to 2010

For at least 30,000 years, humankind has sought methods of birth control to allow the pleasure of sex while avoiding unwanted pregnancy.  From life-like dildos to vibrators to robotic dolls, the search continues; a tribute both to our inventiveness, as well as our insatiable need for sexual fulfillment.  Read more . . .

The Most Deadly Gunslingers of the American Wild West

The gunslingers of the American Wild West have become as famous as any figures in American history.  In fact, names like Jessie James, Wyatt Earp, and Billy the Kid are more easily recognizable than the names of many U.S. Presidents.  And while many of the most notorious men (and women) of this era are remembered for their fast tempers and even faster guns, they have come to represent not just what many consider the most violent period of American history, they represent the pioneering spirit that tamed a frontier fraught with inherent dangers.  A romantic spirit that lives on in the hearts and minds of millions of Old West enthusiasts even today.
But, who can be said to have been the “deadliest” gunslinger of them all?  The one with the most kills?  The one said to have been the fastest?  Or perhaps, the one with the reputation for being the most ruthless?  Whatever the measure, here are ten who came to define what it meant to be “bad to the bone” during this age when men (and women) lived by the gun.  Read more . . .