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THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN ANDSUPERSTITIONS, PART THREE: VAMPIRES, LILITH,...
Fun facts and information about vampires and related topics:The word "vampire" derives from the Hungarian word "vampir," which itself comes from an earlier Turkish word "uber" which means "witch." The...
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THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN AND SUPERSTITIONS, PART FOUR: WITCHES, BROOMS AND...
Just in time for Halloween, here is my last installment on "superstitions". As Donovan said in the 1960s, "Must be the season of the witch." What we call "witchcraft" has existed for the last 30,000...
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WHY DON'T HISTORY BOOKS EVER ACQUAINT US WITH THE OFF-COLOR, SCATOLOGICAL...
When Lincoln was a young lawyer in Illinois he "rode the circuit" and spent much time away from home following the circuit court judges who travelled from town to town, village to village, to convene...
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FUN FACTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS. HOW ARE SAINT NICHOLAS AND...
"Jingle bells" are a traditional sound associated with Christmas. However, they originated with the fact that when winter snows arrived in northern climates, people replaced the wheels of their wagons...
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DRUGS, WISE WOMEN, WITCHCRAFT, BEING BURNED AT THE STAKE, MEDIEVAL MEDICINE,...
During the Middle Ages, preceding the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration, women generally were responsible for the health and care of their families. The medicines we take for granted today were...
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HOW ARE THE "PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE," THE CHICAGO WORLD'S FAIR OF 1893 AND...
1892 was going to be a significant year in the United States. Plans for celebrating the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World ("In fourteen hundred and...
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THE "ROBBER BARONS" AND THE NEWLY RICH: THREE EXAMPLES OF EXCESS.
The unrestrained and unregulated capitalism which emerged after the Civil War in the United States created a class of people eager and willing to show off their wealth in creative and excessive...
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"DIAMOND JIM" BRADY."ROBBER BARON" SUPREME IN AN AGE OF EXCESS. HIS THREE...
James Buchanan Brady was born in a poor working-class section of New York City in 1856. He worked at his father's saloon, where he lived in such deprivation that he often went hungry for lack of...
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AN INTERESTING STORY ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON. TREASON, ESPIONAGE, KIDNAPING,...
Part of Benedict Arnold’s (see image above) plot to betray West Point to the British in 1780 was to lure General George Washington into being captured. In August of 1780 General Clinton in...
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WHY DID LEO HIRSCHFELD NAME HIS NEW PENNY CANDY THE "TOOTSIE ROLL"? HOW MANY...
The "Tootsie Roll" is 119 years old this year (2015). Who invented it? How did it get its name? The story goes something like this. Leo Hirschfeld (other sources spell his name Hirschfield) was an...
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WHY WAS (AND SOMETIMES STILL IS) A DANCE CALLED A "HOP"? WHAT DO GERMAN...
In the late 1800s the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, became the beer brewing capital of the United States. The German immigrants that came to the city brought an appreciation for fine beer with them...
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A BRIEF AND AMUSING HISTORY OF THE CONDOM: CROCODILES, SEA SPONGES, LEMONS,...
The first man/woman-made birth control device known to history was developed in ancient Egypt centuries, at least, before the birth of Christ. It was called a “pessary” and consisted of herbs, grasses,...
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A SHORT HISTORY OF TWINKIES AND BANANAS. HOW ARE THEY CONNECTED? WHAT DOES...
Bananas have an interesting history. Some horticulturalists believe that the banana was the Earth's first "fruit." Actually, the banana is not a fruit, it is an herb.They are believed to have...
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE "LOLLIPOP" WITH CONNECTIONS TO ANCIENT EGYPT, CHARLES...
The "lollipop" is something we take for granted. It's just there, in all its different forms, flavors and sizes. But as is so often the case, upon closer examination this simple, mundane object that is...
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WHY IS IT CALLED A "BLAZER"? SCULLING, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY, ARROGANT YOUNG...
In the late 19th century, Cambridge University was one of the most eminent schools in England. The sons of the rich and wealthy went there for their educations. Besides attending to their studies,...
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FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT AND "THE CHILDREN'S HOUR," HIS RELAXATION RITUAL IN...
As the year 2000 approached, lists of all kinds began to appear ranking the most important, most popular, most significant...etc...people and things of the last century. Time magazine rated Franklin...
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HOW ARE "BUGSY" SIEGEL AND MARY MAGDALENE CONNECTED? THE STORY OF EIGHT WORDS...
In the early 1600s a game was played in England by the wealthy as they rode their horses through the countryside. It was a form of what we would call “follow the leader,” and every rider followed the...
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WAS THERE EVER A REAL "BABY RUTH"? AND HOW IS SHE CONNECTED TO "SUPER GROVER"...
Few would have imagined when Stephen Grover Cleveland was born in New Jersey, in 1837, he would go on to make history in a number of ways: he would become President of the United States; he would be...
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WHY DOES THE YELLOW RIBBON REPRESENT THE DESIRE FOR A LOVED ONE TO RETURN...
A family in my neighborhood has a son serving in Afghanistan. Outside their house yellow ribbons are tied around the trunks of the numerous trees located along the street. It got me to thinking of how...
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A SHORT HISTORY OF WINNIE THE POOH. HOW ARE WINNIE THE POOH, WORLD WAR I, THE...
It is bewildering how an event remembered for its violence and brutality coincidentally left us, as one of its most enduring legacies, a piece of innocence, joy and fun which will exist in our...
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