The discovery of a dinosaur fossil in New Jersey in 1858 sparked a period of intense popular and scientific interest in dinosaurs called “Dinosaur Mania”. Competition between museums to collect specimens led to an oft-forgotten period and a professional rivalry between two men who helped change the face of paleontology - and destroyed each other in the effort.
In a time when the war news was almost universally disastrous for the US, the "Devil Boats" of John D Bulkeley's PT Squadron Three offered an important boost to American Morale.