Holy Cow History
36 results total, viewing 1 - 25

HOLY COW! HISTORY: How a kids’ toy named the Super Bowl

Lamar Hunt had a problem. The big game, the biggest of its kind ever held, was being planned. And it needed a name worthy of the occasion. Hunt, an oil tycoon’s son, had been crazy about … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Gilbert’s star-spangled excellent adventure

Gilbert Bates was getting madder by the minute. The 31-year-old farmer was chewing the fat with a neighbor in November 1867. The man was a Radical Republican (like being a “woke” … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: An inauguration blunder gave us a president for 6 minutes

History surrenders this secret grudgingly. Several people technically were president, but aren’t considered presidents of the United States. You have to look hard to find them, but … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: They were crazy about Kate

If any woman was ever born to be the first lady of the United States, it was Kate. Glitteringly beautiful and dazzlingly charming, she was an engaging hostess whose table and conversation sparkled. … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: The Jewish man who created a Christmas classic

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. And yes, you still recall the most famous reindeer of all. But how did that red-nosed misfit become a key character in Yuletide celebrations? He … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Nuts! To the Germans

You wouldn’t have wanted to have been Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe exactly 80 years ago this month. The handful of American soldiers he commanded were ordered to hold a small but critical … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Secession, a very American tradition

“Secession” is back in the news these days. Oregon’s conservative western counties want to break away from the liberal part of the state along the Pacific Coast and join like-minded … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Meet the real James Bond

He is dashingly handsome, dazzlingly sophisticated and equally handy with firearms and female admirers. He prefers martinis and loves the latest gadgets. He famously introduces himself by last … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Britain’s lost knocker-uppers

Technology has eliminated many jobs over the years. Buggy whip makers have been out of business since McKinley was in the White House. The iceman hasn’t made home deliveries in nearly as long. … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Lee Harvey Oswald’s unintended victim

The yellow taxi pulled up to a sidewalk in downtown Milwaukee. It was Friday afternoon, the weekend before Thanksgiving, and traffic was brisk. A 27-year-old man hopped inside. As he sped off, … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: The baby bump that wasn’t

An out-of-wedlock pregnancy … Palace intrigue and backstabbing … A headstrong monarch scorched by public fury … Sounds like business as usual at Buckingham Palace, … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Will the real Charlie Chaplin please stand up?

The image is indelibly stamped on the early 20 th century. A bowler hat and a toothbrush mustache, baggy trousers with worn-out shoes, a cheap cane, and a funny walk, all garnished with an impishly … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Odd last wills of the rich and famous

Certain chores in life aren’t fun. But they are necessary, such as preparing your last will. People often put it off as long as possible, dreading the day when the Man In The Bright Nightshirt … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Hollywood’s first canine star

Back in the 1940s, comedian W.C. Fields had this advice for colleagues: “Never work with children or animals.” He knew what he was talking about because kids and critters can steal a … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Yetta Bronstein, the candidate who never existed

It’s time to pick a president again. In a few weeks, we’ll know who’ll be moving into the White House next year. Then again, as crazy as 2024 has been, we may not. Sixty years … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: The baby that changed a battleplan

Babies are stubborn. They alone determine when the blessed event will occur. And more often than not, they pick the worst possible time for it. Such was the case with one baby’s arrival … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Peter's incredible inventions

Inspiration is unfair. To most inventors, it gives a miserly good idea to two, yet it rewards a select few with a string of amazing discoveries. Take Thomas Edison, for instance. He came up with the … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: An old woman, a flag and a legend that just won’t die

 The words once echoed through countless school classrooms. “Up from the meadows rich with corn, clear in the cool September morn; The clustered spires of Frederick stand, … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: The tragedy that produced a hi-tech discovery

The U-boat skipper stared through his periscope into the murky September waters of the North Atlantic. He smiled at what he saw. It was the prize every sub in each German Wolf Pack dreamed of … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Lincoln’s forgotten duel

President Abraham Lincoln and his wife were chatting with Union officers. One asked, “Is it true you once went out to fight a duel for the sake of the lady by your side?” Lincoln … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: The tragedy you’ve never heard of

Transportation safety has made such incredible progress in recent years we now take it for granted. Yet there was a time (and not that long ago, either) when even the simplest trips carried risks for … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Phoebe’s unlikely namesake

If you are of a certain age, you’ll remember when you couldn’t turn on your TV without being bombarded by helpful advice during commercials. Mr. Whipple warned against squeezing the … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: Hairy politicians, revisited

What’s old has become new again in presidential politics. And it’s been a mighty long wait, too. For the first time in nearly a century, there’s a candidate with facial hair on a … more

HOLY COW! HISTORY: The assassin, automaker and Academy Award-winning actress

Admittedly, it sounds like the start of a joke: “So a presidential assassin, a pioneering automaker and an Academy Award-winning actress walk into a bar…” But it’s not.  … more

The Forgotten Historic July Day

In America’s vocabulary the phrase, “Fourth of July,” is synonymous with “star-spangled party.” It’s been that way from the very beginning. Founding Father John … more
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