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

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.

Confetti is hard to Clean

Fact- The first person to have a ticker-tape parade was Commodore Dewey, who was a hero of the Spanish American War

Civil War and the Medal of Honor

Fact- the last Civil War soldier to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor was Cpl. Andrew Jackson Smith. He was awarded his medal in 2001, 136 years after the war ended.

Further Info- There have been 3,447 recipients of the medal since its establishment by Congress in 1862. The Secretary of the Army, John McHugh, just approved a request to award the medal to another Civil War soldier, 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing.

Behind the Scenes- Completely and Utterly Random!

Graduation

Fact- The graduation tradition of throwing your caps in the air was started by the graduates of the US Naval Academy in 1912. The graduates, who upon graduation would receive officers' caps, and threw their no-longer-needed midshipman's caps to celebrate their promotions.

Further Info- The practice soon caught on and was copied at graduation ceremonies at other schools. But it's apparently dangerous to throw your mortarboard in the air. There have been several documented incidents of students becoming injured as a result and many schools have banned the practice.

Behind the Scenes- nothing interesting