Banning Sliced Bread Was Not The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread (Cool Weird Awesome 930)
Today in 1943, the US government tried to help the war effort in a way that did NOT go over well. They tried to halt the sales of sliced bread.
Betsy Ross May Not Have Made The First Flag, But She Really Did Make Flags (Cool Weird Awesome 917)
Today in 1752, the birthday of the woman known today as Betsy Ross. The legend goes that after meeting with General George Washington, Mrs. Ross put together the very first version of what would become the flag of the United States. Historians are pretty sure that’s just a legend, but there are reasons why the story came to be.
President Franklin Pierce Got An Acclaimed Author To Write His Campaign Biography (Cool Weird Awesome 894)
Today in 1804, the birthday of President Franklin Pierce. He's not well known today, but in his time, people learned about the 14th president through a biography written by the acclaimed novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne.
A Comanche Code Talker Sent The First Message From Utah Beach On D-Day (Cool Weird Awesome 886)
For Veterans Day, the story of the Comanche Code Talkers, 17 veterans of the second World War who created an unbroken code in their native language that saved lives and helped the US military effort.
The U.S. Had An Aunt Sammy As Well As An Uncle Sam (Cool Weird Awesome 857)
Today in 1926, America’s aunt made her debut on the airwaves. That would be Aunt Sammy, who gave cooking tips to millions of listeners in the early days of radio.
The Original Declaration Of Independence Had A Rough Century Or So (Cool Weird Awesome 855)
Today in 1921, President Warren Harding issued an executive order that would finally protect the United States’ most important documents after decades of wear and tear.
There Was A Movement To Make Sicily Part Of The US (Cool Weird Awesome 824)
On this day in 1943, an interesting headline in the New York Times: “Sicily Vying With Hawaii To Become 49th U.S. State.” Of course, neither Sicily nor Hawaii became the 49th state; Alaska did. But there really was an effort to bring Sicily into the Union.
The Time Pittsburgh Lost Its H – And Then Got It Back (Cool Weird Awesome 813)
Today in 1911, a big day for the city of Pittsburgh: after an effort that lasted decades, the city won back the H at the end of its name!
How Did U.S. Dollars Get Their Name? (Cool Weird Awesome 804)
Today in 1785, the US Congress decided that the name of our country’s currency would be the dollar. Getting to that point was kind of a trek.
The U.S. Once Got A Fourth Of July Card From Over 5 Million Polish People (Cool Weird Awesome 802)
Back in 1926, Poland wanted to thank the US for its aid during World War I, but instead of sending the usual diplomatic letter, they sent papers all around their country and got one out of every six Polish people to sign.