Temper

Fact- At the Battle of Thermopoli, Persian Emperor Xerxes I was so mad that rough waves ruined a wooden bridge he had built, he order that the water receive 300 lashes of the whip

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Fact- The most well known aviation mysteries is the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, but one even more intriguing might be the vanishing of renowned French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Saint-Expuery was a reckless pilot who became better known for his writing , especially Le Petit Prince, than his flying career, even though the later was very eventful.

He pulled strings (being a famous author and a minor noble helped a lot) and got reassigned to the Free French Air Force during WWII at the age of 44. While flying a reconnaissance mission, he mysteriously disappeared. Despite further clues that have appeared over the last 2 decades, the actual events leading to his death are still unexplained.

For further Information:

http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=antoine+de+saint-exup%C3%A9ry&hl=en&prmd=ivnsb&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ncl=dXsB9CReXYVpVBM&sa=X&ei=6h6RTZ-6EM_AtgfOtvBg&ved=0CGwQhg4wCw

Inez de Castro

Fact- In 1360, King Pedro of Portugal wanted to legitimize his children that were born to his mistress Inez de Castro. He had married her after the kids were born, but the Pope said that Inez needed to be crowned to make them truly legitimate. Problem: Inez had been dead and buried for years. This wasn't a problem for King Pedro, he dug her up and crowned her in an extravagant coronation.

Madame de Pompadour

Fact- Madame de Pompadour is one of the most infamous royal mistresses. She was the official royal mistress to French Louis XV for almost 20 years. She is thought to have had a STI that made sexual relations painful. However, by keeping Louis entertained outside the bedroom, she kept her place at court and in his favor until her death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boucher_Marquise_de_Pompadour_1756.jpg

Today in History

Fact- On this day (February 17th) in 1864, the Confederate States of America ship, the Hunley became the first submarine to sink a ship when the USS Housatonic suffered severe damage during the American Civil War.

Dead Sea Scrolls

Fact- Scholars had to piece together over 100,000 pieces of papyrus to reform the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Scrolls were found beginning in 1947

SSN

Fact- Social Security Numbers were introduced in 1936 as a part of The New Deal. 25 Million numbers were issued in just 3 months

English Monarchy

Fact- The English Monarchy is the oldest functioning political institution in Europe

Communist Manifesto

Fact- The Communist Manifesto, a book you can claim changed the world, is only 54 pages long

New Years

Fact- Up until the 17th century, the English celebrated New Years on March 25

Fact- Richard Carroll was the last man who signed the Declaration of Independence to die. He was also the only Roman Catholic to sign the document.

Werewolves

Fact- the idea of a werewolf predates the Greek myth of Lyacon, who was transformed into a wolf after eating human flesh

Rights

Fact- There were 14 original copies of the Bill of Rights made (one for each of the 13 original states and one for the Federal government). 5 states have lost their copies

Oops!

Fact- in the 1908 Olympic Games, the Russian team showed up late, missing their events in several sports. This is because they were still using the Julian calendar, one of the last countries to change to the Georgian calendar. The Russians were 12 days behind the rest of the world.

Still Catching Up

Fact- the Pilgrims brought a Mastiff with them on the Mayflower

Further Info- they also brought goats, pigs, and chickens

Behind the Scenes- the new job

Friday the 13th

Fact- Friday the 13th is deemed unlucky because of the Knights Templar

More Info- The Knights Templar were originally a monastic order belonging to the Catholic Church. They were, among other things, an elite military unit that guarded pilgrims to the Holy Land during the Crusades. They became too radical and the Church turned against them. The King of France outlawed them in 1307 and the arrests began on Friday the 13th. Thus, the unlucky connotation associated with that date.

Behind the Scenes- Netflix recommended this interesting series from Britain, Bonekickers, about a team of archeologists who solve mysteries! Could this series have been made for me or what?!