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The saying “American as Apple Pie” is a classic one that harkens back to American culture, to the days of home-baked pies and gingham picnic blankets. But apples, of course, are much older than the United States, and the humble pie has a history much longer than the nation.
In 1906, a famed explorer saw something on the horizon that would lead an expedition of men to search for a magnificent land they hoped would be full of new and undiscovered treasures for science.
One famous dolphin lived near the shores of New Zealand in the late 1800s, and swam alongside hundreds of ships, becoming a beloved figure to locals and foreigners alike, and described as ”the best known fish in the world.”
It was relatively common in the middle ages for Kings, royals, and various other titled men to die in combat, and they were at least usually expected to fight personally. Despite the dangers of medieval combat and the expectations of nobility, however, many at the highest levels of aristocracy died in less than noble mundane accidents, and even in embarrassing circumstances.
Two gunmen drawing on each other in the middle of town was actually a rare occurrence in the American west. Still, it did happen, and most historians agree that the first example came July 21, 1865, and involved one of the west’s most famous gunfighters.
Commercial passenger aviation was new enough that, when, in July 1948, the first attempt was made to hijack a commercial passenger plane in flight occurred, the word “hijacking” hadn’t yet been coined. Instead they called the criminals “Air pirates.”
On July 16th, 1439, King Henry VI of England banned kissing. The public attitude towards kissing, a very intimate act, says a lot about culture, the people and the times. A history of kissing is, to an extent, a history of human interaction that deserves to be remembered.
