How many murder attempts did it take to finally kill the infamous Siberian monk Rasputin? Five, and all in the same night! Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, was a Siberian-born peasant and monk. At the young age of 23, he left his wife and three children to follow his calling and join an Orthodox monastery. After onlyContinue reading “The Many Murders of Russia’s Rasputin”
Author Archives: andrewspaulw
An Immigrant’s Ellis Island Fate Depended on 29 Questions
CLICK HERE FOR AN AUDIO PODCAST For a vast number of Americans, including myself, our great-grandparents arrived in the U.S. as immigrants in the early 1900’s. There were no modern airports back then, just a vast, grey ocean to cross. So all the Poles, Russians, Italians, Greeks, Swedes, Hungarians, Germans and dozens of other nationalitiesContinue reading “An Immigrant’s Ellis Island Fate Depended on 29 Questions”
The Lindbergh Kidnapping – a Real Crime of the Century
Most know aviator Charles Lindbergh famously flew his single engine plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, for 33 hours from Long Island to Paris in 1927, becoming the first to cross the Atlantic solo.
The Race for the Polio Vaccine – Salk vs. Sabin
Long before COVID, during the early 1900’s, summer was not a welcomed season for both parents and children. For back then, summer was also ‘Polio Season.’ Children were susceptible to poliomyelitis, an incurable disease that affects the central nervous system resulting in paralysis. Polio is a highly contagious virus that spreads from contact with waterContinue reading “The Race for the Polio Vaccine – Salk vs. Sabin”
The Woman on the Dollar Coin – Susan B. Anthony
What does the average person know about Susan B. Anthony other than: ‘Hmm, she’s that stern-looking woman on a US coin, right?’
Australia began as a British Penal Colony over 230 years ago
It’s no longer a well-hidden fact, nor even an embarrassment, that Australia was founded as the Botany Bay Penal Colony in the late 18th century. But how exactly did an entire continent come to be settled by British convicts? Botany Bay is an inlet on the eastern coast of Australia, just south of Sidney. InContinue reading “Australia began as a British Penal Colony over 230 years ago”
6 Forgotten Secrets of Michelangelo’s David
How much do you think you know about Michelangelo’s David? You’ve no doubt seen countless pictures of the famous naked statue on the internet, television or in books.
Nikola Tesla and his Wardenclyffe Tower
The eccentric inventor Nikola Tesla had worked with the likes of both Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse.
The American Legacy of the Cherokee Trail of Tears
“Old Hickory” General Andrew Jackson won the nasty, negative election of 1828 and was elected to the White House.
APOLLO 1 – The Forgotten First NASA Disaster
Everyone remembers the Challenger and Columbia Space Shuttle disasters. We all know the famous Apollo 11 Moon landing and the historic first steps of Neil Armstrong in 1969. But few outside NASA recall the Apollo 1 Tragedy that happened just 2 years earlier. On January 27, 1967, during a launch rehearsal at Cape Kennedy, aContinue reading “APOLLO 1 – The Forgotten First NASA Disaster”