One game that has stood the test of time more than most is Chess. On an 8x8 grid, and 32 figurines, the game has enraptured the minds of kings and peasants, generals and poets, for over a millennia. This is the story of the game of chess.

Sources

"The Immortal Game: A History of Chess" By David Shenk

Image: By Alan Light - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ChessSet.jpg

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On August 19, 1951, 26 year old Eddie Gaedel stepped up to plate during a major league baseball game. He would promptly take a walk on four straight pitches - then be replaced at first base by another player. Eddie Gaedel never played another game. The reason - he was only 3’7” tall. This is the story of Eddie Gaedel - the smallest person to ever play Major League Baseball.

Sources

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Eddie-Gaedel/

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

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After the death of Emperor Nero and a century of stability, the Roman Empire was plunged into chaos. In the space of a single year four different men would hold the imperial throne, and tens of thousands of people would lose their lives. This is the story of the Year of the Four Emperors.

Sources

"The Year of the Four Emperors" by Kenneth Wellesley

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

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On Jan. 25, 1898, the American armored Cruiser the USS Maine sailed into Havana harbor. Three weeks later, an explosion ripped through the vessel - killing more than 250 sailors and marines. Although the cause of the explosion was unknown, it would be the catalyst for America’s intervention in Cuba - and war with Spain - leading to the battle cry, “Remember the Maine”.

Sources

https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/spanish-american-war/sinking-of-uss-maine.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_(1890)

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Maine_(ACR-1)_starboard_bow_view,_1898_(26510673494).jpg

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In April of 1978 over one hundred disability rights advocates occupied a federal building in San Francisco. Their goal was to force the Carter administration to fulfill a campaign promise. What followed turned into the longest occupation of a federal building in United States history. This is the story of the 504 Protest.

Sources

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/504-protest-disability-community-and-civil-rights.htm

https://dredf.org/short-history-of-the-504-sit-in/

https://longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu/patient-no-more/virtual-tour

Image: By Kenneth E. Stein - https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_557112

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In southern Africa - in the nation of Zimbabwe - an unlikely sight appears in the south-eastern hills near Masvingo. It is the ruins of what was once a great city - including the largest stone structure in precolonial Southern Africa. When Europeans first saw the sprawling site - they speculated who built it. Was it the Phoenicians? Arabs? King Solomon? It didn’t occur to them that the local people had done so - yet that is exactly what had happened. This is the story of the Great Zimbabwe.

Sources

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

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/364/

Image: By Jan Derk - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great-Zimbabwe.jpg

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On August 25, 1934, the Governor of Arizona, Benjamin Moeur, declared martial law, dispatching over 100 national guard troops to the site of an invasion. Not by a foreign power, but by California construction workers. It was a battle that made its way to the supreme court, and gave Arizona its own navy. This is the story of the battle over the Parker Dam.

Sources

https://www.nps.gov/articles/california-parker-dam.htm

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/parker-dam

https://www.phoenixmag.com/2014/08/01/whoa-nellie/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arizona_-_Parker_-_NARA_-_23933751.jpg

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On April 8, 1820, on the Greek island of Milos, a farmer, Theodoros Kendrotas, uncovered the upper part of a marble statue while working in his field. A visiting French naval officer paid the farmer and his son to uncover the rest of the statue - and when they were done, they would behold one of the greatest works of art in history. This is the story of the discovery of the Venus de Milo.

Sources

https://artjourneyparis.com/blog/story-venus-de-milo.html

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

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vénus_de_Milo_-_Musée_du_Louvre_AGER_LL_299_;_N_527_;_Ma_399.jpg

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Pad Thai is one of the tastiest most iconic dishes of Thailand. And yet, it has a history that is less than a century old, and it involves floods, a military dictator, and the nation's attempt to spread their culture all over the world. This is the story of Pad Thai.

Sources

https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-surprising-reason-that-there-are-so-many-thai-restaurants-in-america/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/who-invented-pad-thai

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-surprising-history-of-pad-thai-180984625/

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

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On March 1, 1896, near the town of Adwa, Ethiopia, the forces of the Kingdom of Italy - attempting to expand its colonial empire in the Horn of Africa - clashed with the Ethiopian army in the climatic battle of the First Italian-Ethiopian War. The result was one of the most stunning defeats of a European power in Africa - and left Ethiopia as one of the few independent nations remaining on the continent. This is the story of the Battle of Adwa.

Sources

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

https://ethiopiancrown.org/the-battle-of-adwa/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adoua_1.jpg

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