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Archives: Typhoid Mary: Spreading Disease #history #podcasts #trivia
Mary Mallon, also known as Typhoid Mary, was quarantined on March 27, 1915. Here are a few things you might not know about Typhoid Mary, the first person identified as a healthy carrier of typhoid fever: One: She worked as a cook for eight families in New York before her first quarantine, seven of the…
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Archives: Sandra Day O’Connor: A Supreme Court Pioneer
(Originally published March 26, 2015) March 26th marks the 85th birthday of former United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female jurist appointed to that position. Here are three things you might not know about Sandra Day O’Connor. One: She grew up on a cattle ranch near El Paso, Texas before attending…
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Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: A Turning Point for Labor in America
Today is the 105th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City. Here are some things you may not have known about it. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was located on the eighth, ninth and 10th floors of the Asch Building in Greenwich Village at the corner of Green Street and Washington Place.…
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Exxon Valdez: An Oil Spill Nightmare
Today is the 27th anniversary of the grounding of the Exxon Valdez and subsequent oil spill. Here are some things you may not know about the environmental disaster. The supertanker was carrying about 55 million gallons of crude oil from Valdez, Alaska, to Long Beach, California. Valdez is the southern end of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.…
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Elevators: Going Up!
On this date in 1857, the first successful passenger elevator was installed in New York City by Elisha Otis. Here are some things you may not have known about elevators and Mr. Otis. Elisha Otis was born in Vermont in 1811. He worked as a craftsman, turning bedposts, building wagons and making dolls. He was…
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Clint Malarchuk: A Gruesome Injury
On this date in 1989, Clint Malarchuk, the goalie of the Buffalo Sabres, suffered one of the most horrific injuries in sports history. Here are some things you may not have known about Malarchuk, that night and the injury. Clint Malarchuk was born in Grande Prairie, Alberta in 1961. He made his National Hockey League…
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Burned at the Stake: Dying for Religion
On this date in 1556, the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer was burned at the stake. Here are some things you may not have known about Cranmer and his time as archbishop. Cranmer was born in 1489 and educated at Jesus College, Cambridge. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1520. In 1532, Henry VIII…
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Archive — Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race #history #trivia #podcasts
(Originally published March 20, 2015) March 20 is the 20th anniversary of Libby Riddles becoming the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail sled dog race. Here are three things you might not know about the Iditarod. • It’s named after the Iditarod National Historic trail, which runs from Seward to Nome via the ghost…
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Archive — Gambling in Nevada
Today is the 84th anniversary of the legalization of gambling in the state of Nevada. Here are three things you may not know about gambling in Nevada. • In part, you have civil engineering to thank for the casinos of Las Vegas. The legalization of gambling coincided with the construction of the Hoover Dam, 30…
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Ben & Jerry’s: An Ice Cream Story
Today is the birthday of Ben Cohen, one of the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Here are some things you may not have known about the company and its founders. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield met in gym class when they were seventh-graders in Merrick, New York, in 1963. Cohen went off to…