Tag Page history

I just found out they customized FDR's 1938 Ford with a cigarette dispenser 😂

It's wild how much car priorities have changed. Old cars used to be all about smoking.😂😂 A 2019 Subaru has 19 cupholders and no ashtrays. But in a vintage Mercedes, you'd find three ashtrays just for the back seats and zero cupholders. And nothing beats what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had in his 1938 Ford. He loved smoking, so the car had a steering wheel-mounted dispenser that would automatically light a cigarette as he pulled it out. You didn't even have to press a button. A lit cigarette would just pop into a little tray. It sounds crazy, but since he had polio and used hand controls for everything, it was actually a pretty smart way to make his life easier 😂 Cute, right #CarFacts #FDR #VintageCars #WeirdInventions #History #Automotive #OldSchoolCool #CarHistory #Cars

First Flight: Inside the Wright Brothers Historic Design

The Wright brothers’ first powered airplane, the Wright Flyer, achieved controlled flight on December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Orville and Wilbur were inspired by earlier aviation pioneers and by observing birds. They focused on control and stability, not just engine power, which had hindered prior inventors. Their breakthrough was a three-axis control system: a forward elevator for pitch, a rear rudder for yaw, and wing-warping for roll. Wing-warping twisted the wingtips via cables attached to the pilot’s hip cradle, rolling the airplane side to side. The elevator tilted the nose up or down, controlling pitch. The rudder turned the plane left or right, controlling yaw for directional changes without losing balance. Together, these controls allowed the pilot to maneuver safely in all three dimensions. Construction took about three years, from 1900 glider experiments to the powered prototype. The airframe used spruce and ash, with muslin stretched over the wings. Components were hand-shaped with saws, planes, and chisels. The 12-horsepower gasoline engine powered two chain-driven wooden propellers on a reinforced frame. To refine designs, the Wrights built a wind tunnel in Dayton: a small wooden box with a fan producing airflow, a track for miniature wings, and a balance to measure lift and drag. Many airfoil shapes were tested before full-scale construction. A wooden launch rail helped smooth takeoffs. On December 17, 1903, the Flyer’s first flight covered 120 feet in 12 seconds; later flights reached 852 feet. Afterward, the Wrights developed the 1904 Flyer II and 1905 Flyer III, with stronger frames, more powerful engines, refined control surfaces, and longer-range capabilities. The Flyer proved that mastery of three-axis control: roll, pitch, and yaw and careful engineering, including wind-tunnel testing, was essential to powered flight. laying the foundation for modern aviation. #USHistory #History #America #Aviation

Finding an Assassin: The Manhunt for John Wilkes Booth

On the night of April 14, 1865, after assassinating President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre, John Wilkes Booth vanished into the darkness of Washington. He crossed the Navy Yard Bridge into Maryland, his leg broke from the leap to the stage. Within hours, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton launched one of the largest manhunts in U.S. history. Telegraphs carried his description to surrounding states and mounted patrols sealed the capital. Rewards of $100,000 prompted tips, rumors, and informants. For days, Union forces pursued Booth and his accomplice David Herold across Maryland and Virginia. Cavalry swept roads, infantry scoured forests, and scouts tracked footprints through barns, and swamps. Detectives questioned locals, tavern keepers, and ferrymen, compiling leads that shifted squads across counties. At Surratt’s Tavern, Booth and Herold collected a carbine (gun), whiskey, and field glasses (portable telescopes for observing distant roads), left earlier, evidence later used against Mary Surratt. Farther south, they bartered for food and supplies, which locals soon reported. At Dr. Samuel Mudd’s home, Booth’s broken leg was set, as patrols pressed closer. The chase became a deadly game of anticipation. False sightings and misdirections tested Union coordination, but telegraph lines kept updates flowing. Cavalry patrolled roads, foot soldiers scoured farms, and units redeployed with every lead. Booth’s options dwindled as the net tightened, forcing him deeper into Virginia. The pursuit ended on April 26 at Richard Garrett’s farm near Port Royal. Lieutenant Edward Doherty’s cavalry surrounded the barn. Herold surrendered, but Booth refused, declaring he would never be taken alive. Soldiers torched the structure. Booth came to the door, raised his gun, and was struck in the neck by a bullet fired by Sergeant Corbett. He lingered for five hours before dying at dawn. The twelve-day manhunt was over. #USHistory #History #USA #America #Virginia #AmericanHistory

The Man Who Tried to Become a Car Sea

Back in 2001, one very determined man tried to sneak into the U.S. by literally being sewn into a car seat. Yes — he thought the border agents wouldn’t notice that one of the seats had, uh, arms and legs. Unsurprisingly, his plan failed immediately. I mean, imagine the agent leaning in like, “Sir, your upholstery just blinked.” Honestly, you’ve got to admire that level of commitment. I can barely sit in traffic without losing patience, and this man became the traffic. 😂 #FunFact #History #UnexpectedFinds #UnexpectedHistory

1863, Nashville… The Day New Soldiers Changed the War

On November 19, 1863, the 13th United States Colored Infantry officially formed in Nashville, Tennessee. Hundreds of Black men stepped forward to wear Union blue at a time when the nation still refused to recognize their full rights. They volunteered anyway. They took up weapons in a country that denied them protections, hoping their service would help crack the walls holding their people down. The 13th USCI was one piece of the larger United States Colored Troops, a force created after the Emancipation Proclamation opened the door for Black military enlistment. The officers were white, but the spirit, grit, and discipline came from the men themselves. Some had escaped plantations. Others were freeborn. All of them were determined to see slavery fall. Their service came with barriers. Lower pay in the early months. Harsher treatment. Hostility from Union soldiers and Confederate soldiers alike. Still, the 13th USCI held the line. They fought in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, pushing Union control deeper into the South. Their formation marked a turning point. The Civil War shifted from just saving the Union to redefining what freedom would mean in America. Black soldiers made that shift visible. The men of the 13th USCI stood as proof that Black Americans were willing, ready, and brave enough to fight for their freedom and their families’ future. Their legacy still speaks: freedom in this country has always moved forward because of the people who were denied it, yet fought for it anyway. #history #americanhistory #blackmilitaryhistory #civilwarstories #LataraSpeaksTruth

Believe it or not, America's most iconic soft drink was invented by a Civil War veteran to treat his morphine addiction. He used a secret ingredient that is now one of the world's most illegal drugs. This is the real story of Coca-Cola. #history #facts #cocacola #HistoryFactsDebunked

The Monumental Nugget: America’s Largest Gold Nugget In the high reaches of the Sierra Nevada, where rivers carve steep valleys and the land still carries the memory of the Gold Rush, one discovery outshone all others. This was the Monumental Nugget, nicknamed “The Sierra Buttes Treasure,” unearthed in 1869 near Sierra City, California. The nugget weighed an astounding 103 pounds in raw form and contained about 82 pounds of pure gold. To visualize it, the nugget was heavier than an average eight-year-old child and larger than most bowling balls. The crew that discovered it had been working a claim with only modest returns. While clearing old gravel, one miner struck something unusually heavy. As they uncovered it, they realized the nugget was so large they needed several men to lift it. News spread rapidly, and miners from surrounding camps trekked miles to see the historic find. Local towns celebrated for days, and merchants saw a sudden rush of curious visitors eager to glimpse the treasure. Large gold nuggets are exceedingly rare because gold generally forms in thin veins. Natural erosion, pressure, and chemical changes break larger masses into smaller flakes over time. Experts estimate that fewer than one in many millions of nuggets exceeds twenty pounds. By comparison, the Dogtown Nugget at 54 pounds and the Carson Nugget at 45 pounds were enormous but still far smaller than the Monumental Nugget. Most modern prospectors recover only small pieces weighing ounces, making finds like this almost legendary. The Monumental Nugget was eventually melted down for its gold value, a fate common to historic nuggets. Even without the original piece, its story endures as a testament to the extraordinary surprises that once lay hidden in the American frontier and the enduring allure of striking it rich. #GoldRush #FoundTreasure #America #USA #History #USHistory #Science

Visiting the South Taught Me More About America Than Any Museum 🇺🇸

In Georgia, I stopped at a Civil War memorial. A couple beside me whispered that the “wrong side lost.” I couldn’t believe people still said that out loud. Later, an old man selling peaches told me his grandfather fought for the Union — and he still gets side-eyes for mentioning it. Traveling in the South isn’t just sightseeing. It’s stepping into a country still arguing with its past, one statue at a time. #Travel #History

This Connecticut Home Pre-Dates the Entire USA by Decades 😯😯😯

Obviously, not every inch of this home is that old. I would absolutely love to walk through the house and try to identify the original core structure. 😯 #OldHouses #HistoricHomes #RealEstate #History #Home

America’s First Serial Killers: The Harpe Brothers

In the chaotic years after the American Revolution, the frontier was lawless, and danger lurked behind every tree. Among its deadliest threats were the Harpe brothers, Micajah “Big Harpe” and Wiley “Little Harpe.” From the early 1790s until 1799, they terrorized Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Ohio Valley, becoming America’s first documented serial killers. Unlike ordinary thieves, they killed for pleasure. Travelers, farmers, and children alike vanished or were found mutilated. Witnesses recalled attacks carried out with rifles, knives, brute force, and bodies dumped in rivers or shallow graves. Families who showed them hospitality often paid with their lives. Investigators faced enormous challenges. Sheriffs patrolled vast territories with few deputies, relying on terrified settlers’ fragmented reports. Survivors recounted horrifying scenes: Big Harpe grinning as he stabbed a merchant in 1797, Little Harpe forcing a child to kneel before shooting him in 1798. Authorities tracked patterns in victim locations, repeated sightings along trails, and the brothers’ distinctive clothing, noting they often traveled with women and children. Wanted notices circulated and newspapers printed descriptions, sparking one of the earliest wide-scale manhunts in American history. The brothers’ unpredictability was chilling. They could appear courteous one moment, erupting into sudden, brutal violence the next. Patterns emerged: families slaughtered in cabins, lone riders gunned down on trails, infants killed for sport. Theft was rare, suggesting the murders were driven purely by sadistic thrill. Their reign ended in June 1799 when Big Harpe murdered the wife and infant of settler Moses Stegall. Stegall formed a posse, tracked Harpe through the Kentucky wilderness, and killed him himself. To send a warning, he decapitated Harpe and mounted the head on a stake by the road, leaving it there for weeks. Little Harpe initially escaped but was later captured and executed. #History #USA