July 2, 2009
on the web
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No, this is not Egypt it is North Dakota! And yes that is a pyramid, but it is not what you think.
The Safeguard Program was developed in the 1960s to shoot down incoming Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles. Built at a cost of 6 billion dollars in Nekoma, North Dakota, the site was a massive complex of missile silos, a giant pyramid-shaped radar system, and dozens of launching silos for surface-to-air missiles tipped with thermonuclear warheads.
However due to both its expense, and concern over its effectiveness and the danger of detonating defensive nuclear warheads over friendly territory, the program was shut down before it was even operational. Today its a military-industrial shell in the middle of nowhere, or in the words of Kaluz who added this great site to the Atlas, “a monument to man’s fear and ignorance.” [Boing Boing]
Image credit: Boing Boing
July 1, 2009
on the web
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Free Classes are the best! The blog World History Blog just posted three! Check them out here.
Image credit: Maine Coast Semester
June 30, 2009
your emails
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I received this email from Laura R. last week:
I feel I must point out some critical mistakes in your video podcast chronicling the six wives of Henry VIII. Firstly, please note that the picture you displayed on the slide about Anne Boleyn’s coronation is NOT of Anne Boleyn, but her daughter, Elizabeth I, at the time of hercoronation. Also, when you mentioned the reasons for Anne’s emprisonment and execution, you failed to mention that these were almost certainly falsehoods concocted by Henry’s advisors as a way to “get rid” of Anne, as she never managed to provide a living male heir. These inaccuracies place Anne in a bad light similar to that of The Other Boleyn Girl, which is a work of fiction, not fact. This information can be found in the excellent The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Laura R., 15
Thanks for keeping me honest Laura!
June 29, 2009
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I’ve created a timeline using the information in this LA Times article, images from flickr and BeeDocs Timline application. Click here for the free download.
Image credit: Roadsidepictures
More Michael Jackson history resources:
Jackson in Orang County
R.I.P. Michael Jackson
Watch Captain EO on Youtube.
June 25, 2009
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Today I stumbled upon a website with quite a large collection of old photos from the 19th century and really early 20th century. The site contains several collections, including a Civil War collection and an Old West collection.[History Rhymes]
Image credit: http://old-photos.blogspot.com/
June 24, 2009
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An ancient burial pit containing 45 severed skulls, that could be a mass war grave dating back to Roman times, has been found under a road being built for the 2012 British Olympics. Archaeologists, who have..[Digg]
Image credit: Peter Blapps
June 23, 2009
on the web
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Well we missed flag day with this one but, its still interesting. For example, did you know…
It was 1916 that Woodrow Wilson set aside June 14 as the the date for honoring the flag. But it wasn’t actually declared National Flag Day until 1949, when it was established by an act of Congress. Why June 14? Because that’s the day in 1777 that the Second Continental Congress adopted Betty Ross’ (according to popular legend, anyway) flag as the official flag of the United States.[mental_floss]
Image credit: jcolman
June 22, 2009
on the web
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This site is dedicated to those hardworking and underpaid Angels of Mercy who, over the years, have made a stay in hospital that much more bearable. It’s a growing collection of images of Nurses taken from Film, TV and The Media from the 1930s to the present, showing how uniform styles have changed over the years. [Metafilter]
Image credit: east_lothian_museums
