In 60 countries across six continents, millions of people live in constant fear of landmines. There are many tactics to remove these explosives, but the most fascinating is using mine sniffing rats. And one of the greatest of those rats is Magawa.

Sources

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59951255

https://apopo.org/latest/in-loving-memory-of-magawa/

APOPO Website: https://apopo.org

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Around 800 AD, monks in Scotland and Ireland created a book containing the four gospels. But the book was more than just the religious texts. It was filled with intricate artwork, including full page illustrations, vivid colors, and elaborate Celtic knotwork. Today it is recognized as a masterpiece of Insular illumination and script. This is the story of the Book of Kells.

Sources

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

https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/hm50tr726?locale=en

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KellsFol032vChristEnthroned.jpg

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In the summer of 1979, Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox had a fantastically dumb idea. Sell cheap tickets if fans brought a disco record. The vinyl would then be all blow up. While it sounds dumb, it got far worse as this publicity stunt turned into a riot.

Sources

https://www.chicagohistory.org/disco-demolition-night/; https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230922-the-night-angry-rock-fans-destroyed-disco-music

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

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From March 13, 1884, to January 26, 1885, the city of Khartoum, Sudan, was surrounded by insurgents bent on establishing an Islamic state. For 10 months, 7,000 Egyptian troops and 30,000 civilians - under the command of Major General Charles Gordon - an Englishman - held out - hoping for relief troops to arrive. This is the story of Charles Gordon and the Siege of Khartoum.

Sources

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

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

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:General_Gordon%27s_Last_Stand.jpg

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In January of 1919, a tank containing millions of gallons of molasses burst in the north end neighborhood of Boston. The resulting flood claimed over 20 lives, millions of dollars in damage, and took months to clean up. This is the story of the Great Molasses Flood of Boston.

Sources

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

https://www.boston.gov/news/100-years-ago-today-molasses-crashes-through-bostons-north-end

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood#/media/File:BostonMolassesDisaster.jpg

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The Iron Brigade is the story of one of the finest fighting forces in United States history. Made up of 'western men' from Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan, the brigade would sustain the highest casualty rate of any unit in the American Civil War.

Sources

"The Iron Brigade, A Military History" by Alan T. Nolan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Brigade"

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_American_Soldier,_1862_-_by_H._Charles_McBarron.jpg

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In 1903, George Edalji was falsely accused of maiming several animals, and sentenced to seven years in prison. However, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, would take up the case, and exonerate an innocent man.

Sources

"The Man Who Would Be Sherlock: The Real Life Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle" by Christopher Sandford

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle#/media/File:Arthur_Conan_Doyle_by_Walter_Benington,_1914.png

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In July of 1771, famed naval explorer Captain James Cook returned to England after circumnavigating the world. And he had great praise and admiration for one of his crew - who had completed a second circling of the world. That crew member was a goat - who is only known to history as the Well-Traveled Goat. This is her story.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Well-Travelled_Goat

https://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2019/04/the-well-travelled-goat.html

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In 415 BC, the city state of Athens would embark on a campaign to conquer the island of Sicily. However, a series of decisions would turn this idea from bad, to worse, to one of the worst disasters in military history. This is the story of the Sicilian Expedition.

Sources

"The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition" By Donald Kagan

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

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Retreat_of_the_Athenians_from_Syracuse_(Litho).jpeg

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In the early morning hours of April 15, 1865, Dr. Samuel Mudd had a man come to his home with a fractured fibula. Mudd set the man’s injury. That man was John Wilkes Booth - the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. Mudd would claim not to have known Booth - or have been a part of the assassination plot. He said he was just a doctor doing his job. But was that true? This is the story of Dr. Samuel Mudd.

Sources

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

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Drmudd4wiki.jpg

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