Among Other “Pranks,” Black Sabbath Once Set Their Drummer On Fire
Rock bands are known for excess. Just ask Bill Ward, who, while drumming for Black Sabbath, got set on fire, poisoned (repeatedly) and knocked off the side of a hill. Because pranks.
Dick Roth Won Olympic Gold While He Had Appendicitis
It's National Swimming Pool Day, so here’s a story of a guy who had to get into the pool: Dick Roth, who won an Olympic gold medal while trying to fend off appendicitis.
A Newspaper Called The Recycler Helped Bring Together Some Of The Biggest Rock Bands Of All Time
This month in 1973, a newspaper in California known as The Recycler started publishing. It was mostly a list of classified ads, but those ads have had a pretty big impact on music.
How To Keep Flying Robots Flying Even When Their Wings Are Damaged
Drones are becoming increasingly useful, but they can get damaged and grounded pretty quickly. A team at MIT has found bee-inspired workarounds that would keep impaired robotic crafts flying.
Cheers To The First Woman To Perform Shakespeare Onstage, Whoever She Was
Today in 1660, for the first time a woman took to the stage in England and performed a role in a production of Shakespeare’s Othello. We know she was a trailblazer. We know she was a pioneer. We don’t know who she was.
The Worst Sandwich Ever Was A Way To Get Around Anti-Liquor Laws
It's National Sandwich Day, and there are lots of great ones out there. The worst sandwich has a pretty clear champion - the Raines sandwich. Though to be fair, it wasn’t ever really intended to be eaten.
Florence Foster Jenkins Stunned Carnegie Hall With Her Singing
Today in 1944, the greatest concert in Carnegie Hall history, featuring a truly incomparable singer: the one and only Florence Foster Jenkins. Here's how the woman sometimes called the worst opera singer of all time ended up on one of the most famous stages of all time.
It’s September 21st, So Of Course We’re Doing A Show About Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September”
It was a hit when it was first released in 1978. Today it’s an anthem. Here's how Earth, Wind & Fire got everybody dancing and remembering each September 21st.
A 10 Month Old Kitten Once Climbed The Matterhorn… Somehow
Today in 1950, the Coshocton, Ohio Tribune carried a news story with one heck of a headline: “Kitten Scales Matterhorn: Veteran Mountain Climbers Are Astonished”! Here's how the cat, later nicknamed Matt, got there.
Pat Martino Became A Jazz Guitar Great – Twice
Today in 1944, the birthday of Pat Martino, a jazz guitar great who once had to relearn the instrument that had won him so much acclaim.