Candy Land, The Board Game Made For Kids Who Couldn’t Leave The Polio Ward
For National Board Game Day, we look at the history of Candy Land. That game was designed by a schoolteacher who was trying to help kids in a polio ward pass the time.
The HMS Challenger Expedition Showed The World What Ocean Life Was Really Like
The HMS Challenger spent years studying the world's oceans and the creatures that call them home. Today in 1875, the mission made one of its most astonishing discoveries.
Dinosaurs Got Sore Throats And Sniffles, Apparently
There were cold-like illnesses and sore throats long before there were humans to catch colds and to get sore throats. A research project has found another creature that got sniffles: dinosaurs.
The Time Chicago Had To Be Raised Fourteen Feet
Today in 1837 an act to incorporate the city of Chicago passed. A decade or two later, thousands of workers helped raise many of its buildings up 14 feet to make way for a badly needed wastewater and stormwater system.
The Highly Photographic Life Of Frederick Douglass
Today is the assumed birth date in 1817 or 1818 of Frederick Douglass, who is known for his powerful writing and speeches, but was also probably the most photographed person of his time.
Stevie Wonder Went On Tour To Make Martin Luther King Jr. Day A National Holiday
On this Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, we look at how music legend Stevie Wonder and his song "Happy Birthday" helped raise awareness in the effort to create a national holiday in Dr. King's honor.
Richard Nixon Once Had The White House Guard Dress In Fancy White Uniforms
In early 1970 President Richard Nixon introduced new uniforms for the guards at the White House - European-style suits that Americans thought looked better for movie ushers or marching bands.
After The Civil War, William Oland Bourne And Veterans Organized A “Left-Armed Corps”
Poet and newspaper publisher William Oland Bourne organized penmanship contests for injured Civil War veterans to encourage their writing.
John Hanson, The Guy Who Was Sort Of President Before George Washington
Today in 1781, the first U.S. president, John Hanson, was elected. Of course, being a U.S. president in 1781 was very different from the job George Washington, the first president under the U.S. Constitution, would hold eight years later.
The Undertaker Who Developed Automatic Phone Dialing
Today in 1892 a phone system that made automated calls - no switchboard operator - began operating in Laporte, Indiana. The first automatic dial network happened, as the story goes, because of a business dispute between two undertakers.