William Walker, The Diver Who Saved Winchester Cathedral
Today in 1912, high honors for William Walker, who saved the UK’s famous Winchester Cathedral from partial collapse through five years of foundation work… all of which he did underwater.
Buckminster Fuller Proposed Putting A Big Dome Over Manhattan
Today in 1895, the birthday of Buckminster Fuller, the “engineer, architect and futurist" who once proposed building a see-through dome over part of Manhattan to save energy and money.
Ina Koenig Saved A Kid Who Fell Into A Mine Shaft By Keeping His Head Above Water
Around this time in 2012, a teacher in Germany saved a young student's life, literally keeping the three year old's head above water after falling into an abandoned mine shaft.
Alvin Straight Couldn’t Drive To See His Ailing Brother, So He Took A Road Trip On A Lawn Mower
Today in 1994, the start of a very unusual road trip: Alvin Straight drove 240 miles by lawn mower.
The Washington Monument That Was Built Before The Washington Monument
Today in 1827, the people of Boonsboro, Maryland marked Independence Day by trying to build a stone monument to George Washington in a single day.
Utah Restocks Its Remote Lakes By Dropping Fish Out Of Airplanes
Around this time of a year you may come to witness an eye-opening process in parts of Utah: it’s known as aerial fish stocking.
A Town In Japan Built An Anne Of Green Gables-Themed Park
L.M. Montgomery's books have a lot of fans in Japan, which is why a community in northern Japan built a park called Canadian World, complete with a recreation of Anne's hometown of Avonlea.
Medieval Europeans Really Could Have Banged Coconuts Together, Like In Monty Python
According to a 2017 research paper, that running gag in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” where the characters keep running around the countryside banging coconuts together... that could’ve happened.
Sallie Gardner Was The Galloping Horse In The First Proto-Movie
This month in 1878, a horse named Sallie Gardner ran past a series of cameras in Palo Alto, California. The series of photos those cameras took paved the way for motion pictures.
Every Year Readlyn, Iowa Elects An Official Town Grump
Today in Readlyn, Iowa, it's the start of Grump Days - because Readlyn proudly bills itself as home to "857 friendly people and one old Grump!"