Month: July 2023

Samuel Colt (1814)

Colt patented his revolving-breech pistol in 1836, but the six-shooter was slow to gain acceptance, and his company failed in 1842. However, a US government order for 1,000 pistols during the Mexican War allowed Colt to resume its manufacture in 1847. Colt advanced the development of interchangeable parts and the assembly line, and his revolvers, including the famous Colt .45, became so popular that the word “Colt” was sometimes used as a generic term for any revolver. What else did Colt invent? Discuss

Brownstone

Brownstone is a red to brown variety of sandstone, whose unusual color is caused in some instances by the presence of red iron oxide which acts as a cement, binding the sand grains together. During the Triassic period, vast thicknesses of brownstone were deposited in the Connecticut River Valley of the northeast, and they were used to build the many brownstone houses and buildings in the area between Baltimore and Boston. Is sandstone a durable building material? Discuss

San Ysidro McDonald's Massacre (1984)

The deadliest shooting spree in US history at the time, the San Ysidro McDonald’s Massacre took place at a McDonald’s restaurant in San Diego, California, and resulted in 21 deaths and 19 injuries. It was carried out by James Oliver Huberty, who had moved to the area just six months earlier and recently lost his job. The 77-minute massacre ended when Huberty was fatally shot by a sniper. Later that year, McDonald’s razed the building where the killings had occurred. What was built in its place? Discuss

George "Machine Gun" Kelly (1895)

Kelly was an American gangster who became notorious for committing a series of robberies and killings during the prohibition era. After a stint in prison in 1928, Kelly married Kathryn Thorne, who reportedly purchased her husband’s first machine gun and coined his famous nickname. In 1933, he kidnapped millionaire Charles F. Urschel but was eventually caught and sentenced to life in prison, where he died in 1954. What less violent nickname did Kelly reportedly earn during his time at Alcatraz? Discuss

Lady Godiva

Lady Godiva was a noblewoman and a benefactor of several monasteries. According to legend, her husband agreed to remit the heavy taxation on the people of Coventry if she would ride naked through the town on a white horse. Lady Godiva took him at his word and, after issuing a proclamation that all the townspeople go indoors and shut their windows, she rode through, clothed only in her long hair. According to the legend, all but one of the townspeople obeyed her ordinance; who disobeyed? Discuss

RMS Carpathia Torpedoed by German Submarine (1918)

The RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship that first became famous for rescuing more than 700 survivors of the Titanic disaster in 1912. Six years later, during WWI, the Carpathia was travelling in a convoy when it was torpedoed off the east coast of Ireland by the German submarine U-55. Many of the passengers and crew members were rescued by the HMS Snowdrop the following day. When was the steamship’s wreckage discovered? Discuss