On October 8, 1871 the worst recorded fire in American history swept through Northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. It destroyed millions of dollars worth of property and took between 1,200 and 2,400 lives. It happened on the same day as the more famous Great Chicago, Illinois Fire but is much less widely known. On [more...]
Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri and was named after Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. Jefferson City was selected as the new capital in 1821. It was first called Lohman’s Landing. When the legislature decided to relocate there, they suggested the name “Missouriopolis” but later agreed on Jefferson [more...]
Jackson is the capital of Mississippi and the state’s largest city. Jackson was founded as Parkerville, later known as LeFleur’s Bluff. The city was later named Jackson after the seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, in recognition for his victory in the Battle of New Orleans. In 1839, Jackson was the site of [more...]
When Apple announced the details of the iPad, it was clear that a new type of computer was being produced — something like a netbook and yet something like an oversized iPhone without the telephone capabilities or an iPod Touch on steroids. My word for the device is “netpad,” but only time will tell what [more...]
If you are visiting the historic maritime port of Bristol in England, then a tour of one of the pioneers of ocean-going passengers ships is recommended. The Steam Ship (SS) Great Britain, designed by the great Victorian engineers, Isambard Kingdom Brunell, was in its time at the forefront of ship design and technology. But as [more...]
Saint Paul is the capital of Minnesota and the state’s second largest city. We have already learned of one state capital city which began as a land scam, now we will learn of one that became capital because somebody deliberately hid the official paperwork that would have made another city the capital. The Minnesota Territory [more...]
Lansing is the capital of Michigan, and the state’s sixth largest city. Lansing is the only state capital to begin as a ‘land scam.’ The city was founded by two brothers from New York who plotted the area now known as REO Town just south of downtown Lansing and named it “Biddle City.” It [more...]
Cass Elliot was the heavyweight of the 60s group The Mamas And The Papas in more ways than one. She had a fabulous voice and tremendous stage presence, but was also seriously obese. Cass died on 29 July 1974 at the age of 32 at Flat 12, 9 Curzon Place, Mayfair, London—the same flat where [more...]
Boston is the capital and largest city in Massachusetts and was founded in 1630, by Puritan colonists from England. The town was later named after Boston, Lincolnshire, England (United Kingdom). During the Revolutionary War, The Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the [more...]
Why is typewriter paper in most of the world not 8½ by 11 inches as it is in the United States? Even though the United Kingdom still measures distances in miles (despite being a member of the European Union) it uses the international metric paper sizes. But the most common metric page is not a [more...]
Some of you may have seen to film Shakespeare in Love, starring Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow. In one of the early scenes we see William Shakespeare, the great English playwright and poet, practising his signature in different styles and then throwing them away. This makes jest of just one of the problems associated with [more...]
Tourists to the Canary Island of Tenerife often hire a car, but that’s not necessary unless you’re staying in an out-of-the-way tourist enclave. Tenerife’s buses are cheap, convenient and efficient—and there’s a tram too. Services are frequent and regular. There are at least two services an hour between major centres such as Santa Cruz, the airports, [more...]
Steampunk is a label applied to a certain form of literature, and also to the subculture that has arisen from it. Before we go further, let’s deal with the “punk” part. “Punk” is just a naming hook that pigeonholes steampunk as a literary movement by analogy with cyberpunk. The “punk” hook, perhaps originally a cheeky [more...]
The skaters in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games will soon be competing on artificial ice, but when were the first artificial ice rinks created? The first artificial ice rink was made in London, England, in December 1841. It was chemically produced, not made from water. The very small ice rink, 12 ft by 6 ft, was [more...]
If you visit the bustling county town of Lewes in East Sussex and go into of the shops or pubs, you will be offered the opportunity of exchanging your UK Sterling pounds for the local Lewes pounds. The exchange rate is one-to-one and there are no commission fees to worry about. In exchange you will [more...]
Annapolis is the capital of Maryland and perhaps one of the more exciting of the small state capital cities. It is certainly not just another ‘big’ small town. And there is more to it than being the home of the United States Naval Academy. Annapolis was once even the Capital of the United States [more...]
A jackboot (or jack boot) is a boot worn by the military. It rises to mid-calf or up to the knee, no laces, and often with nails on the soles, or irons on the heels. They have been worn by the military from several countries for at least four hundred years. They are most commonly [more...]
BWV 1001 KV (or K.) 626 op. 25, D. 795 HWV 56 Op. 72C — What do these five sets of letters and numbers represent? They are musicologists’ catalogue numbers of the works of the composers of classical music: BWV 1001: Bach’s Sonata for single violin #1 in E minor HWV 56: Handel’s Messiah (an oratorio) KV [more...]
The use of gas for light was first demonstrated by William Murdock who lit his home and workshop in Redruth, Cornwall, England, in 1792. Soon after he became the manager of Boulton and Watt’s steam engine works in Soho, Birmingham, where erected an apparatus which lit the building by gas. He later installed similar apparatus [more...]
You may have read that walking is the only way to see historic Siena. It’s true that nothing beats exploring it on foot, and also true that the hilly medieval city has banned most cars from the narrow, uneven streets in the city centre. There is an efficient taxi service though, so if you are an [more...]