You saw nothing! (1 and 3)

1) The Korean War began 60 years ago and China had NOTHING to do with it…according to Chinese textbooks. (Link)

2) Georgia has torn down a statue of Stalin in his hometown of Gori. The President says Stalin does not have his place in the 21st century while his opponents claim historical vandalism. (Link)

3) The terracotta warriors of Xi’an lay dormant for many centuries but discoveries are now made every other week. (Link)

4) Two Canadian teachers were arrested for taking worthless rusty railway pins from the ground. They simply wanted a little souvenir from the Auschwitz Death Camp and thus do the metal spikes take meaning. (Link)

5) Many art thieves were arrested when trying to sell a painting by Renaissance master Caravaggio. People became suspicious when a $100 million painting that has been missing for years was offered up for sale. (Link)

6) In a spectacular bout of lack of foresight, Booker Prize winner Yann Martel is quoted as saying “Jews don’t own the Holocaust”. (Link)

7) New records reveal more on Hitler’s time in jail. Among others, a letter begs Mercedes for money. (Link)

8 ) This week on “Collectors With Too Much Money”, Marilyn Monroe’s chest x-ray sells for $45,000. (Link)

9) Discovery News tells us that Amelia Earhart may have survived months as a castaway. Discovery News: giving “grasping at strings” a whole new meaning. (Link)

10) I stand corrected, Discovery News now tells us that the Boy-Pharaoh Tutankhamun did not die of blunt trauma or malaria but of sickle-cell anemia. (Link)

ON THIS WEEK IN:

- 1919: On June 28th, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, officially ending the First World War. Germany was unfortunately not invited to this signing and would bear a grudge for, let’s say, 20 years. (Link)

- 1963: On June 26th, JFK gave his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech in Berlin. Unfortunately, in German, this means “I am a cake”. (Link)

THE LIGHTER SIDE:

- 11points.com’s “11 Most Badass Jews In History” – They can’t all look like Woody Allen. (Link)

- Cracked.com’s “5 Most Widely Believed Facts About WWII (That Are Bullshit)” – If we all believe it…is it still a lie? (Link)

End.

Who could've seen this coming? It was only 803 feet of Hydrogen contained by a sheet of fabric and next to a combustion engine...

Book research and writing continue this week so no poignant article but certainly a few history links to curb your appetite until next week.

1) German news service Der Spiegel claims there is now an “openness” to discuss war crimes by the Allied victors during WW2. This would unfortunately be more plausible coming from an Allied victorious country. (Link)

2) Veterans are apalled at the lack of enthusiasm with VE Day. Others wonder why we have a day to celebrate chlamydia. (Link)

3) Who would possibly spend thousands of dollars studying if Hitler was ‘cool’? Apparently the British National Health Service… (Link)

4) Pope Benedict XVI identifies the Shroud of Turin as ‘authentic’. Sure. Why not. (Link)

5) Come out and get down with your Red self. The Czech Republic now offers a Communist-themed holiday tour. (Link)

6) Some people say the apple falling on Newton’s head is pure myth, other are taking a preserved piece of wood from that apple tree and sending it into outer space. (Link)

7) Apparently half of the United States would back an official Confederate History Month. Scary, scary stuff. (Link)

8 ) A look at some old-school Soviet biological weapons and where they might be today. (Link)

9) Obama is not happy with our “xbox and ipod era”. The historian in me is not that overwhelmed by the summing up of our times down in two technological innovations. (Link)

10) How the oil spill in the gulf is the worst in recent History. (Link)

THIS WEEK BACK IN:

- 1960: On May 9th, the FDA approved the first birth control pill and soon 90% of catholic women embraced both blasphemy and freedom. (Link)

- 1937: On May 6th, The Hindenburg blimp, named after the deceased German President, burst into flames over New York. The highly-flammable aircraft industry has never been the same. (Link)

THE LIGHTER SIDE: Cracked.com’s

- “The 7 Most Disastrous Typos of All Time” – I don’t want to say Cracked gets its ideas from me but… (Link)

- “6 People You’ve Never Heard Of Who Probably Saved Your Life” – The immortal lady is awesome and terrifying all at once. (Link)

End.

On the one hand, why not. On the other hand, God help us all.

1) It’s all about the Reagans baby – Lobbyists push for President Reagan to replace Grant on the $50 bill. (Link)

2) Condolence letter to Mrs. Kennedy following the assassination of her husband have been published for the first time. It’s been long enough to profit from this right? (Link)

3) Nazis on bikes – How Hitler orchestrated a terrifying battalion of “spycyclists”. (Link)

4) 60% of American history textbooks may be “more concerned with political correctness than historical accuracy” – shocking. (Link)

5) Former Soviet PM Gorbatchev is more than a little ticked off at Russia’s slow decline back to the authoritarianism he helped destroy. (Link)

6) One of Israel’s lost tribes has been found…in Zimbabwe. (Link)

7) Czech archaeologists apparently found a 150,000-year-old settlement in Northern Iraq. How exactly are they distinguishing ruins from rubble? (Link)

8 ) What’s in it for him you say? New book claims Robin Hood stole from the rich and LENT to the poor. (Link)

9) Sweden has agreed to extradite the man that allegedly stole the Auschwitz sign last Christmas. He truly was the ghost of Nazis past. (Link)

10) Biblical City found…maybe. (Link)

ON THIS DAY IN:

- 1876: On March 7th, Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone. Later research indicates his blueprints were stolen from less fortunate inventors. (Link)

- 1946: On March 5th, Winston Churchill does not look back at WW2 but rather makes his “Iron Curtain” speech, inaugurating the Cold War. (Link)

THE LIGHTER SIDE: Cracked.com’s

- “6 Famous Explorers Who Shaped the World (With Insane Lies)” – They were probably thinking “who’s gonna check?” (Link)

-”5 People Who Changed the World From Inside Prison” – Perhaps less directly than Mandela suffering the injustice of Apartheid or Hitler writing Mein Kampf but still, they did more than most. (Link)

End.

Where would we be without the wonders of the Interweb?

1) Can we learn any Soviet lessons from their own occupation of Afghanistan in the 70s-80s? Probably not… (Link)

2) 10 most memorable Internet moments of the past decade. The invention of Facebook poking isn’t there? (Link)

3) A disgruntled lover’s diary reveals that Mussolini wanted the Jews dead every bit as much as Adolf. (Link)

4) National Geographic is on the prowl trying to find the South American traces of Dr. Joseph Mengele, Nazi physician and torture-master. (Link)

5) If you have $130,000 to spend then this XIIIth century castle in Wales can be yours. You will need to install some serious insulation for winter… (Link)

ON THIS DAY IN 1945: Top-ranking Nazi officials are brought to court in what is called the “Nuremburg Trials”. Unfortunately, no Hitler, no Goebbels and Goering committed suicide by cyanide before we could hang him. (Link)

AND AS FOR THE LIGHTER SIDE: Cracked.com’s “6 inventors who got Jack S*** for Changing the Modern World” – I’m not sure if the inventor of Tetris fits in this category… (Link)

End.

Pictured: The dreaded Hitler ghost

1) Oddee brings us 15 vintage WWII ads and posters for our viewing pleasure. I always knew the Hitler ghost was following me. (Link)

2) Veterans are not too happy with a Hitler parody as we celebrate Veteran’s or Remembrance Day. You’d think the heroes of war would be less easily offended. (Link)

3) Germany and Egypt are to meet and talk about the possible return of the bust of Nefertiti to its homeland. Now watch the Germans try to prove it’s a forgery just to keep it. (Link)

4) The Czechs are not happy that a few of their soldiers are playing around with swastikas. Too soon? (Link)

5) In England, History will be taught to less and less high school students. As early as the age of 13, kids can now abandon learning anything about the past. The tyrants of the future will rejoice. (Link)

6) The sniper that terrorized Washington DC in the summer of 2002 has been executed for the murder of 10 people. No one seems to have protested this one. (Link)

ON THIS DAY IN 1918: An armistice was signed to end hostilities and the four years of bloodshed that was WW1. Here is a translated copy of the armistice that was to prevent all further international wars…at least for a decade or two. (Link)

AND AS FOR THE LIGHTER SIDE: Cracked.com’s “7 Most Badass Last Stands in the History of Battle” – Someone hide this from Michael Bay. (Link)

End.

What Che Guevara stood for: comfortable fabric at everyday low prices

1) Ty.rannosaur.us brings us 10 Doomsday cults throughout History. Carl Jung said that the End was only a state of mind…and a website! (Link)

2) History has not mustered up much respect for British PM Neville Chamberlain. Even Hitler apparently called him an a**hole. (Link)

3) 93 World Heritage Sites such as Macchu Picchu and Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia Church are disintegrating due to environmental and touristic factors. To be fair, a lot of these things existed before the industrial revolution. (Link)

4) Lazy Romans: England asks what the Roman Empire has ever done for them. (Link)

ON THIS DAY IN 1967: The CIA finally succeeded in executing revolutionary Che Guevara and a T-shirt industry was born. (Link)

AND AS FOR THE LIGHTER SIDE: Cracked.com’s “5 Most Overrated Jobs of All-Time” – hmm, soiling myself in a hot suit of armour or rotting away of scurvy and parrot-induced psittacosis? (Link)

End.

History and home economics: a legacy of bad English education?

Careless Whisper… -Mata Hari

1) A survey reveals that 75% of Oklahoma High-School students cannot identify George Washington as the first President of the United States. Speechless and depressed are words that come to mind… (Link)

2) Ellen Sauerbrey, a former official in the last Bush administration compares Obama’s new policies with those of Hitler. There were apparently a lot more crazy people in that administration than we realized. (Link)

3) The English Royal Family seem to be on the brink of bankruptcy as they sell Henry VIII’s stables to pay for utilities. (Link)

4) The only standing Nazi memorial in England was for the official burial tomb of the dog Giro. I’m starting to wonder if indeed all dogs go to heaven. (Link)

ON THIS DAY IN 1991: The Dead Sea Scrolls, the world’s oldest copy of the Old Testament (Torah), are made available to the public for the first time. That is, if you read fragmented ancient Hebrew. (Link)

AND AS FOR THE LIGHTER SIDE: Cracked.com’s “6 Famous Unsolved Mysteries (With Really Obvious Solutions)” – Can’t you see? The damned Caramilk is made with a mold! (Link)

End.