Ninety-one years ago, Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks, leading to the third case to be described as “The Trial of the Century.” Here are some things you may not have known about it: First: Leopold and Loeb decided to kill Franks as an intellectual exercise to demonstrate that a perfect…

Ninety-nine years ago, Norman Rockwell made his debut on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. Here are some things you may not have known about Rockwell: One: His artwork appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post 323 times, the final time in 1963 with a memorial portrait of President John F. Kennedy.…

Today marks the 69th anniversary of the birth of Andre Rene Russimoff, better known as Andre the Giant. Here are a few things you may not have known about him: One: He was born in Grenoble, France, and was raised in a small village near Paris. One of his neighbors was Irish playwright Samuel Beckett,…

On this date, 35 years ago, Mount St. Helens in Washington state erupted, killing 57 people. Here are a few things you may not have known about the eruption. One: There was plenty of warning that the mountain was going to erupt. On March 18, a 4.2 magnitude earthquake was centered beneath the northern flank…

Today marks the 140th anniversary of the first Kentucky Derby horse race. Here are a few things you may not have known about the first Kentucky Derby: One: The first race was won by Aristides with jockey Oliver Lewis aboard. Including Lewis, 13 of the 15 jockeys in the race were African-American. Aristides’ trainer Ansel…

On this date in 1842, the first major group of pioneers departed Elm Grove, Missouri on the Oregon Trail. The movement of nearly 400,000 settlers between 1841 and 1869 inspired the landmark “Oregon Trail” video game. Here are some facts about the game that you may not have known. First: It was originally written in…

On May 15, 1940, Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald’s restaurant. Here are a few things you may not have known about the early days of McDonald’s. One, the first location started out as a barbecue restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948 the brothers pared their menu from 25 items to just…

Today marks the 118th anniversary of the public debut of John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” Here are some things you may not have known about the march and about Sousa: One: Sousa’s father was a trombonist in the U.S. Marine Band. When Sousa was 13, his father enlisted him in the Marine…

Today marks the 65th birthday of Stevie Wonder. Here are some things you may not know about him: First: He was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950, in Saginaw, Michigan. He was six weeks premature, which led to him developing retinopathy of prematurity, causing him to lose his vision. Second: He had his first…

On this date 78 years ago, George VI was crowned King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland following the abdication of his brother King Edward VIII. Here are a few things you may not know about King George VI. First: If you’ve seen the film “The King’s Speech,” you know George VI had a stammer…