Author Archives: andrewspaulw

The Wounded Knee Massacre ended the US Indian Wars

For decades, the Lakota Sioux watched helplessly as their way of life on the American plains faded away. They’d witnessed a generation of broken treaties by the U.S. government. They’d watched as the white man came come like a flood from the East. First they came after their land, then buffalo, then gold in theContinue reading “The Wounded Knee Massacre ended the US Indian Wars”

Podcast: White Friday 1916 – History’s Deadliest Avalanche occurred during WWI

The deadliest avalanche in history occurred at the worst possible time in the worst possible place.  A powerful avalanche killed hundreds of Austrian and Italian soldiers near Italy’s Mount Marmolada on 13 December 1916 in the middle of World War I. Over the next several weeks, more avalanches in the Alps killed an estimated 10,000Continue reading “Podcast: White Friday 1916 – History’s Deadliest Avalanche occurred during WWI”

A Diver’s Defection, Summer Love and the Montreal Olympics

For an Audio Podcast  CLICK HERE] In July 1976, at the Montreal Summer Olympics, 17 year old Russian diver Sergei Nemtsanov makes the gut wrenching decision to defect to Canada from Communist Soviet Union. He had won numerous Soviet diving competitions and was brought to Montreal with medal expectations. He finished only 9th in theContinue reading “A Diver’s Defection, Summer Love and the Montreal Olympics”

The Black Hole of Calcutta’s Infamous Night of Horror

In 18th century India, the power of the Mughal Empire lay in the despotic hands of the Nawabs, or provincial princes. At the same time, the British and French East India Companies had built competing empires on the lucrative sub-continent. The British had established a trading hub at Kolkata (Calcutta) and built Fort William toContinue reading “The Black Hole of Calcutta’s Infamous Night of Horror”

Podcast: Australia began as a Penal Colony 230 Years Ago

It is no longer a well-hidden fact, nor even a national embarrassment, that Australia was originally founded as the Botany Bay Penal Colony in the late 18th century.  Botany Bay is an inlet on the eastern coast of Australia, just south of Sydney.   But how exactly did an entire continent come to be settled byContinue reading “Podcast: Australia began as a Penal Colony 230 Years Ago”

Podcast: 10 Examples of Being on the Wrong Side of History

Here are 10 cases of ideas or theories that were once widely believed, but most definitely are on the Wrong Side of History – some are moral, some technological, and some philosophical.  Through today’s lens, some of these will appear ridiculous … or even repugnant.  Yet at the time, in their day, they were deemed Fact andContinue reading “Podcast: 10 Examples of Being on the Wrong Side of History”

The Long and Storied Life of Mont-Saint-Michel

Mont-Saint-Michel is truly an astonishing site.  An awe-inspiring Gothic/Renaissance Abbey rising out the sea like something from Game of Thrones.  Today it’s referred to as the “Wonder of the West,” a UNESCO World Heritage Site with over 3 million visitors a year.  But how on earth did such a gem get in such a place?Continue reading “The Long and Storied Life of Mont-Saint-Michel”