Alcohol and ships have gone hand-in-hand ever since humans have set out onto the oceans. In time, drinking became an honored ritual - and even a right. But in the 1600s, alcohol consumption within the British Navy became so troublesome a new concoction was developed to curb the excesses of the sailors. This was the combining of rum with water. This is the history of Grog.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grog

https://vinepair.com/articles/the-definitive-history-of-grog/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Royal_Navy_during_the_First_World_War_Q17966.jpg

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For over 1,000 years a massive, natural log jam covered great swaths of the Red River in Louisiana. Known as the Great Raft, it was integral part of the Caddo culture. Unfortunately, it also made the river unnavigable for ships. As such the United States government attempted to clear it, and only managed to do so thanks to the use of high explosives. But the process forever altered the course of the river thanks to extreme ecological damage. This is the story of the Great Raft of the Red River.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Raft

https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=RE009

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/042254248e6f471fa2a2cf1ec880ca08

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Photographic_Views_of_Red_River_Raft_25.jpg

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In 1962, the film Dr. No was released, introducing the world to one of the world’s greatest - and most enduring secret agents. Over the next 60+ years, James Bond would be portrayed by seven different men in 27 films. This is the story of the men who have played Bond. James Bond.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bond

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrayal_of_James_Bond_in_film

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Fleming

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In 1782, 22-year old Robert Shirtliff enlisted into the Continental Army to defend her young country. Robert would serve for a year, including seeing combat near Tarrytown, and being wounded. This would be a typical story of a revolutionary war soldier. Except that Robert Shirtliff was an alias for Deborah Sampson. This is the story of the American War for Independence's most famous female soldier, Deborah Sampson.

Sources

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/deborah-sampson-american-revolutionary-war-hero

https://www.samsonhistorical.com/blogs/reliving-history/deborah-sampson?srsltid=AfmBOorrqqUOKCvNDoYLvhP01nytyu_Qj3YLulu1JYPd_Yy5AlyLNwLq

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/deborah-sampson

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DeborahSampson.jpg

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In September of 1940, near Montignac, France, an 18-year old boy and his dog went to investigate a hole left by an uprooted tree. What they found was a network of caves - hidden from the world for 20,000 years. These caves feature some of the most magnificent pre-historic art that exists in the world today. This is the story of the Lascaux cave.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascaux

https://lascaux-ii.fr/en/

https://lascaux.fr/en/

Image: By Jack Versloot - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lascaux_II.jpg

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In 2024, the video game Concord released to the public after eight years of development and hundreds of millions of dollars spent. After release it would stay online for just two weeks, becoming one of the biggest flops in not just video game history, but any entertainment medium.

Sources

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2025/08/23/a-year-ago-concord-had-the-worst-video-game-launch-of-all-time/

https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/4/24235163/concord-cancellation-live-service-games

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord_(video_game)

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Concord_key_art.png

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In the late 1800s, a young woman from Pennsylvania arrived in New York City with dreams of being a news reporter. It took her four months to land her first assignment - a shattering undercover expose of the city’s mental institution for women. Many more adventures would follow, and the woman, Nellie Bly, would go on to become one of the nation’s most famous reporters.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Bly

"Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World" by Matthew Goodman

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nellie_Bly_2.jpg

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After being wrongly accused and sentenced to prison, William Buckley managed to make a daring escape. He slipped into the Australian wilderness, and was saved by several Australian Aboriginal tribes. He spent the next 32 years among them, before returning to British society. This is the story of William Buckley.

Sources

https://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/colonial-melbourne/convicts/william-buckleys-escape

https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/buckley-william-1844

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Buckley_(convict)#/media/File:William_Buckley_portrait.jpg

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The Resolute Desk has been used by American Presidents since 1880, and resided in the Oval Office for nearly 50 years. So, where did this stout wooden desk come from? And where did it get its formidable name? You might be surprised that all those answers rest with a British exploration vessel from the 1850s. This is the story of the Resolute Desk.

Sources

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/treasures-of-the-white-house-resolute-desk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resolute_desk

https://www.thoughtco.com/the-resolute-desk-4121120

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Photograph_of_President_Reagan_working_at_his_desk_in_the_Oval_Office_-_NARA_-_198593_(cropped).jpg

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In the mid 1950s, Australian-born Joan Anderson brought back an innocuous bamboo hoop from her home country to the United States. She would dub it the hula hoop, and present it to a major toy manufacturer. What followed was the hula hoop craze. Unfortunately, she did not see a single penny from the wildly popular toy. This is the story of Joan Anderson and the Hula Hoop.

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6J32JLRNOk

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70x4w4z138o

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