History Dispatches

In 2010, a Nicaraguan dredging crew accidentally trespassed on a small island controlled by Costa Rica. Why? Because they were using Google Maps to navigate. Unfortunately, Costa Rica sent in the police, then Nicaragua sent in their military, and the whole thing turned into an international incident. This is the story of the Google Maps War.

Sources

https://web.archive.org/web/20151222112623/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/150/18848.pdf

https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/the-first-google-maps-war/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Distintivo...

William Hoy - known as Dummy - was a celebrated major league baseball player in the early days of the game. He led the league in stolen bases, hit over .300, and was one of baseball’s finest centerfielders. The amazing thing about Dummy Hoy is that he was deaf.

Sources

Join the campaign to add Dummy Hoy to the Hall of Fame: https://www.signforhoy.com

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7610652/2026/09/20/deaf-mlb-dummy-hoy-hall-of-fame/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dummy_Hoy

https://sa...

Once called the Jewel of Central Asia, the Aral Sea was the third largest lake in the world, and supported a unique ecosystem, and millions of people. But after irrigation projects in the 1960s began diverting water, the Aral Sea started to shrink. Today it is almost completely gone, replaced by desert, in one of the greatest ecological catastrophes of modern times.

Sources

https://www.columbia.edu/~tmt2120/introduction.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea

https://growtheflowutah.org/2025/08/27/overview-of-the-aral-sea-disaster/

Image: https...

In 1991, two German tourists spotted something in the Alps at an elevation of more than 10,000. It was the remains of a human being. But not just any human - this was a man who had died a violent death more than 5,000 years ago. This is the story of Ötzi the Iceman.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi

https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/otzi-the-iceman/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ricostruzione_di_Ötzi_-_Particolare_del_volto.jpg

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In the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, in some of the most pristine and untouched wilderness in the world, lived Dorothy Molter, the last permanent resident of the region. She lived alone for decades, and was called the loneliest woman in America. Except she wasn't quite alone - considering she was visited by thousands of tourists every year to drink her world famous root beer.

Sources

https://www.rootbeerlady.com/dorothy/

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Molter#/media/File:DorothyMolterWelcome.jpg

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Margery Booth was a British opera singer who became popular in Germany in the 1930s - and was even a favorite of Adolf Hitler. She married a German man, and became a naturalized German citizen. In WWII, she continued her career as best as she could - but also, she became a spy for her native land. This is the story of the daring - and often overlooked - exploits of Margery Booth.

Sources

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a73538836/margery-booth-spy-hitler/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margery...

What goes around comes around is often a saying to make someone feel better - but in the case of the Brazen Bull it was apt. The Brazen Bull was a legendary and cruel torture device from the ancient world. And its first victim was the man who created it.

Sources

https://www.livius.org/articles/person/phalaris/bull-of-phalaris/

https://www.livius.org/articles/person/phalaris/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pierre_Woeiriot,_The_Brazen_Bull_of_Phalarus,_NGA_54032.jpg

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Rikers Island - the New York City jail complex - was the home for nearly 40 years to a painting by surrealist master Salvador Dali. He donated the painting to Rikers in 1965, and it hung in the facility until 2003 - when it disappeared - and has never been found. This is the story of the Rikers Island Art Heist.

Sources

https://www.insideedition.com/how-a-salvador-dali-drawing-was-stolen-from-rikers-island-58539

https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2004/jul/15/warden-sentenced-for-stealing-dali-painting-from-rikers-island-jail/

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a22854081/rikers-island-stolen-salvador-dali-painting/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org...

The deadliest day in on the Great Lakes was not a ferocious storm far out to sea. But rather a calm day in a Chicago harbor. That is when a passenger steamer listed and rolled into the lake, claiming 844 lives. This is the story of the SS Eastland Disaster.

Sources

https://eastlanddisaster.org/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Eastland_disaster#/media/File:Eastland_Postcard_-_View_of_Eastland_taken_from_south_side_of_river_shortly_after_accident.png

History Dispatches...

In 1958, Richard Loving - a white man - married Mildred Jeter - a black woman. The newlyweds would be arrested a year later in Virginia - where mixed race marriages were illegal. Eight years and countless court cases later, the Supreme Court - on June 12, 1967 - would strike down that law. This is the story of Richard and Mildred Jeter - and Loving Day.

Sources

https://time.com/archive/6916188/loving-day/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loving_Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loving_v._Virginia<...

When Hannibal - the sworn enemy of Rome wanted to attack Italy - he had a problem. Going by sea was impossible, and invading by land was almost as difficult as it required crossing the Alps, which are some of the most formidable mountains in the world. The key word though is 'almost.' Because in 16 harrowing days Hannibal and his army did exactly that - crossed the Alps - in one of the greatest achievements in military history.

Sources

https://www.livius.org/sources/content/hannibal-in-the-alps/

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Crypto AG was a Swiss company that specialized in encryption technology with roots all the way back to 1920. In 1970, the company was sold. The buyers - the CIA and BND - the latter West Germany's intelligence service. The result was described as the 'Intelligence Coup of the Century'. This is the story of Operation Rubicon.

Sources

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/national-security/cia-crypto-encryption-machines-espionage/

https://www.cryptomuseum.com/intel/cia/rubicon.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Rubicon

Image: by Rama...

On a cold October night, on the Harvard Bridge in Boston, Oliver Smoot and his fellow MIT fraternity pledges were doing something odd - measuring how long the bridge was in Mr. Smoot's height. But they succeeded, and eventually this would cause the unit - the Smoot - to be born. It is a story that lives on in the lore of Boston, MIT, the Internet, and the very concrete of the Harvard Bridge itself.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot

https://news.mit.edu/2008/smoot-tt0924 <...

Over 10 days in 1913, Mexico experienced a coup d'état that would lead to the execution of its nation’s president. During this crisis, Mexico would end up having - in less than an hour’s time span - three different presidents. This is the story of the 10 Tragic Days.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Tragic_Days

https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/mexican-revolution-and-the-united-states/interactive-map.html

https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Ten_Tragic_Days

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Decena_trágica.J...

After Mexico gained its independence in the early 1800's it had a bit of a sore spot - Texas. This sore spot would eventually turn into the Texas Revolution, but before that, there was the Fredonia Rebellion. This was a series of evictions, fraudulent elections, and farcical arrests that eventually amounted to a declaration of independence.

Sources

Richard Fields - Cherokee Chief, True West Magazine, March 1987

https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/fredonian-rebellion

https://easttexashistory.org/items/show/166

Images: https://commons.wikimedia.org...

In 1918, 60,000 soldiers of the Czechoslovak Legion found themselves trapped inside Russia after the collapse of the Russian Empire in WW1. What followed was a nearly three year battle to cross the length of Russia - 6,000 miles - to a port on the Pacific - and ships to take these men home to their new nation. This is the story of the Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovak_Legion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolt_of_the_Czechoslovak_Legion

https...

In 1453 the walls of Constantinople were some of the most fear in the world. They had stood for a millennium, and kept almost every invader out. Even the rising power of the Ottoman Empire would not dare risk an assault. Until one of the greatest cannons ever constructed was built - the Basilica Gun - aka the Turkish Bombard.

Sources

https://historynet.com/the-guns-of-constantinople/?f

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilic_(cannon)

https://royalarmouries.org/collection/object/object-6177

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org...

On August 30, 1591, the British fleet was surprised off the Azores by a superior Spanish force. The English quickly fled - except for one ship - the Revenge. The captain, Richard Grenville, refused to abandon the British sailors who were on shore at the time the Spanish arrived on the scene. Grenville would thus stand and fight - alone - against the entire 55-ship Spanish fleet. This is the story of the Battle of Flores - or the Glorious Defeat of the Revenge.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle...

On a lonely island off the coast of Scotland, in December of 1900, the crew of a the lighthouse disappeared without a trace. And despite extensive investigation, the true cause has never been determined. This is the story of the Flannan Isles lighthouse mystery.

Sources

https://www.nlb.org.uk/history/flannan-isles/

https://blog.nrscotland.gov.uk/2023/12/12/flannan-isles-lighthouse-keepers-the-disappearance/

Image: By JMM - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Flannan%27s_Cell_and_Flannan_Isles_Lighthouse_-_geograph.org.uk_-_623920.jpg

It prowls the waters of a deep lake in Montana - long, serpentine and huge. Even the local native people - the Kutenai - tell stories of a great creature that lives in the depths of the lake. For more than a century, people have tried to catch this local legend - but so far - nothing. This is the story of the Flathead Lake Monster.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flathead_Lake_Monster

https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Flathead_Lake_Monster

https://gosailmontana...

This week, we're bringing you a special teaser of You're Dead To Me, the BBC's hit comedy podcast that takes history seriously.

In this episode, host Greg Jenner is joined by historian Dr Serena Dyer and comedian Vic Michaelis to explore the surprisingly fascinating history of underwear. From Roman underpants and medieval linen shifts to corsets, stockings and modern bras, they uncover how changing fashions, beauty standards and social norms shaped what people wore beneath their clothes.

Expect hidden history, myth-busting and a lot of laughs. If you enjoy...

There are many ways that we deliver mail today: car, truck, ship, plane, on foot. But one thing mail doesn't do is travel via rocket. Except for when the US Post Office tried to do so in 1959 by loading 3,000 letters onto a cruise missile. This is the story of Rocket Mail.

Sources

https://www.postalmuseum.org/blog/experimenting-with-rockets/

https://postalmuseum.si.edu/collections/object-spotlight/regulus-missile-mail-letter

https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/fad-to-fundamental-airmail-in-america-historic-airplanes-unusual-and-experimental/missile

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mail-delivery-rocket-never-took-180963557/

Image: https://commons...

In France in August of 1572, the marriage of the King’s sister - a Catholic - to a prominent Protestant prince was supposed to unite the nation’s warring factions. However, militant Catholics in Paris would instead launch a shocking attack on their rivals. When the killing ended, tens of thousands of Protestants would be slaughtered - and the Wars of Religion were reignited. This is the story of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/event/Massacre-of-Saint-Bartholomews-Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Ba...

In the city of Halicarnassus, the king Mausolus died around 350 BC. His wife then embarked on construction of a tomb so grand that it would rival the pyramids. Fourteen stories tall, three layers, immaculate sculptures, and enough grandeur to humble the grumpiest Roman, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus has gone down as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Sources

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Turkey/_Periods/Greek/_Texts/LETGKB/Mausoleum*.html#note:short_description_by_Pliny

https://turkisharchaeonews.net/site/mausoleum-halicarnassus<...

Public art is a common site in many cities. But not many pieces of public art are in such a prominent place, nor are they so weird as Blucifer - a 32-foot tall statue of a blue mustang with fiery red eyes right outside Denver International Airport. A statue that not only looks like a demon, but is rumored to be inhabited by one - and killed its creator. This is the story of Blucifer.

Sources

https://www.cpr.org/2019/11/04/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-blucifer-the-demon-horse-of-dia/

https://www.uncovercolorado.com/blucifer-blue-mustang-statue-denver-airport/

In Part 2 of our look at the creation of Star Wars - we talk about the challenges involving the casting, design, production and marketing of the film.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_(film)

https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/george-lucas-star-wars-facts

https://everything-everywhere.com/the-history-of-star-wars/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Star_wars2.svg

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In the summer of 1977 the film Star Wars was released - igniting a global phenomenon that continues to this day. But the Star Wars that we know and love almost never happened. It was rejected by almost every major studio. In Part 1 of our story about the creation of Star Wars - we talk about the roots of the film, its creator - George Lucas - and the struggles with the script and financing.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_(film)

https://www.biography.com...

The ability to tell if someone is lying has long been something humans have attempted to perfect. From torture to psychology, it is the holy grail of criminal investigation. In 1921, a PhD student and police rookie, John Larson, may have cracked the code by inventing the polygraph. It is an invention, many said, that was sure to change the face of criminology forever. Or maybe not. Did he instead unleash a monster into the world? This is the story of the polygraph.

Sources

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience...

On a blustery, wet day in May of 1954, British runner Roger Bannister - an Oxford medical student - accomplished a long distance running feat that many had said would never be achieved. It would make Bannister the sportsperson of the year - and his achievement is hailed as one of the greatest sports moments of 20th century. This is the story of Roger Bannister and the 4-minute mile.

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb5AtK08gPM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Bannister

...

Sliced bread is a simple yet ingenious invention with a surprisingly short history. Almost as soon as it came onto the market, it took over American bakeries and became a staple in every household. Except, for a brief few months in 1943 when the United States government banned this incredible product. This is the story of sliced bread and the time it was banned.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sliced_bread

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-ridiculous-reason-why-the-us-enacted-a-wartime-ban-on-sliced-bread-salesand-why-it-didnt-last-long-180985834/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/america-banned-sliced-bread

...

From 2008-10, the Lower Merion School District - in suburban Philadelphia - issued laptops to more than 2,300 high school students for school and home use. What they didn’t tell the kids or their parents was that the district loaded the laptops with secret software that gave officials the ability to remotely take photos from those laptops. What followed was WebcamGate - one of the biggest invasion of privacy incidents in the nation’s history.

Sources

https://time.com/7275031/spy-high-true-story-prime-video/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbins_v._Lowe...

Defenestrate is a highly specific word. It means to throw someone out of a window. And it comes from the city of Prague where several people were tossed out of a window and helped ignite a brutal religious war. And then it happened again 200 years later. This is the story of the Defenestrations of Prague.

Sources

https://english.radio.cz/blood-bohemia-second-defenestration-prague-and-window-changed-europe-8889193

https://english.radio.cz/first-defenestration-prague-what-was-it-and-why-did-it-happen-8124688

"The Thirty Years War: a documentary history" by Tryntje Helfferich

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File...

By the 1940s, government officials were looking to re-introduce the beaver to a region of Idaho to help improve the health of the area’s wetlands. But hauling live beavers through forests and over mountains was not easy - or cheap. And thus someone came up with the idea of parachuting beavers into these remote areas. This is the story of Idaho’s Parachuting Beavers - or parabeavers.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_drop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APLz2bTprMA

https://www...

On Dec. 29, 1975, a bomb tore through LaGuardia Airport in New York City. The blast killed 11 people and wounded 74. No one claimed responsibility for the bombing. And the bombers were never found. This is the story of the 1975 LaGuardia Airport Bombing.

Sources

https://observer.com/2016/01/why-hasnt-washington-explained-the-1975-laguardia-airport-bombing/

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/07/laguardia-airport-bombing-cold-case-terrorism-unsolved.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWEnG77vAPw

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_LaGuardia_Airport_bombing

File:Trans_World_Airlines_terminal_at_LaGuardia_Airport_following_1975_bombing.jpg

<...

One of the most beloved comic strips in history is Calvin and Hobbes. It is the adventures of a mischievous six-year old boy and his equally naughty stuffed tiger - who only comes alive for Calvin. To look at the history of Calvin and Hobbes, we brought on some experts - Ryan and Indy from the Magic of Calvin and Hobbes podcast.

Sources

Ryan and Indy from the Magic of Calvin and Hobbes Podcast

Website: https://ryanbaker712.podbean.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MagicofCandH<...

Henrietta Lacks was an ordinary women who lived and ordinary life. However upon her death scientists discovered that she had a real life superpower. Her cells were basically immortal, and their study has forever changed the face of modern medicine, and generated endless controversy.

Sources

"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henrietta_Lacks_(cropped).jpg

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According to legend, in the 12th century a Welsh prince, Madoc, sailed to the west - looking for a place to settle his people. They would find the Americas. And for hundreds of years rumors would persist about the descendants of these settlers. This is the story of Madoc and the Welsh Indians.

Sources

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofWales/The-discovery-of-America-by-Welsh-Prince/

https://clements.umich.edu/publication/the-best-of-the-west/a-profound-and-enduring-impression/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoc

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:01madog07.jpg<...

While being the county seat is important, it is probably not worth fighting a war over. However, for the people of Stevens County, Kansas, the decision for county seat turned violent, and culminated in the Hay Meadow Massacre, where four men were killed in cold blood. This is the story of the Hay Meadow Massacre.

Sources

https://www.ksgenweb.org/KSStevens/haymeadow.html

https://digging-history.com/2014/07/24/feudin-and-fightin-friday-the-hay-meadow-massacre/

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haymeadow_massacre.png

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At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Adolph Hitler hoped to demonstrate to the world the power, majesty and superiority of the resurgent German nation. That, however, would be foiled by a 22-year old African American track and field athlete - who would put on one of the greatest displays in Olympic history. This is the story of Jesse Owens and the 1936 Olympic Games.

Sources

https://jesseowens.com

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/owens/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Owens

Image: https...

Wars can drag on for years. Others might last only a few months, a couple of weeks, or even a handful of days. And then there was the Anglo-Zanzibar war - a conflict that lasted a record setting 38 minutes.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zanzibar_War

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-Shortest-War-in-History/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marines_in_zanzibar.jpg

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