Jean Baptiste Point du Sable was a man without a home, a country, or a culture. He was an outsider everywhere he went. He simply wanted a chance to make a life […]
How a Man Without a Country Created a Quiet Place of Refuge
How the Wizard of Oz Destroyed the Musical Career of a Famous Actor
It seemed that Christian Ludolf was destined for musical greatness. His father was a choreographer, and Christian was dancing as soon as he was able to walk. When he was ten years […]
Carl Tanzler and the Love that Creepily Continued After Death
Volumes of poetry and countless love songs are dedicated to the proposition that love endures forever. This is an honorable and appropriate sentiment. Even so, it is possible to take things too […]
That Time a Missile Successfully Struck a U.S. Military Base — and Why It Didn’t Start WWIII
It was during some of the scariest days of the Cold War that the submarine surfaced off the coast of the United States. On the submarine was the most powerful cruise missile […]
The Man Who Was President for One Day and the Day When There Were Two Presidents
If you had to list the names of the men who have served as President of the United States, you will almost certainly write the names Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt. If […]
Short-Lived Sovereignty
Traffic jams were responsible for the shortest-lived bid for national independence. The United States Border Patrol established roadblock inspection points on Highway US 1 at the point of intersection of the two […]
It Goes Without Saying that This Guy Isn’t a Partical Physicist
In September 2012, David Weber, a 53-year-old homeless man from Miami Beach, Florida, broke into a car, stole a credit card and then tried to use it to buy a beer — […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 