Video Description:
Fast forwarding from ca 1000 AD until 2005 showing Europe’s shifting borders, alliances, unions, territories, occupied land etc.
Tag: History
A Short History of Medicine
I have an earache…
2000 B.C. – Here, eat this root.
1000 A.D. – That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
1850 A.D. – That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.
1940 A.D. – That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.
1985 A.D. – That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.
2000 A.D. – That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root.
Building The Golden Gate Bridge
Video Description:
Great footage from 1930s of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in every phase of construction.
Stock shots of completed bridge; informative narration; explanative illustrations illuminate bridges dimensions and other structural aspects of design.
05:01:00:13 VS statue of Joseph Strauss, Chief Engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge in front of Golden Gate Bridge.
05:02:22:26 Graphic illustration in red and white of San Francisco Bay area animated to highlight San Francisco, Marin and the Golden Gate passage. Narration explains necessity for the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge.
05:02:59:10 Illustration animated to highlight dimensions of the Golden Gate Bridge. Center span tower to tower 4200 feet. Side-spans each 1125 feet. Roadway 250 above water.
05:06:42:18 Pan up rendering of single Golden Gate Bridge Tower; arrows indicated dimension of tower.
05:07:57:23 VS craning in large steel sections of the Golden Gate bridge off boat in San Francisco Bay.
05:26:10:08 Pan down from north tower of Golden Gate Bridge to view down empty newly completed bridge; fade in spinning newspaper to CU San Francisco Chronicle headlines “100,000 Cross Span”, “Gateway to An Empire”, Pedestrians Jam Structure from Morning to Night.”
05:26:24:29 VS Golden Gate Bridge inauguration and ceremonial first crossing.
The Nazis’ Chocolate Bomb
From Now I Know:
The term “Death by Chocolate” usually refers to a dessert recipe — chocolate cake served with chocolate ice cream, chocolate syrup, sometimes with chocolate brownies or chocolate candies or chocolate shavings on top. Chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. For most, Death by Chocolate seems like a wonderful idea. The Nazis agreed — but took the term more literally.
In 2005, the British intelligence agency MI5 released a treasure trove of documents and photographs of camouflaged equipment used up by Nazi saboteurs. Among the documents released was the item depicted above — a sketch of what seems to be an ordinary chocolate bar. But instead of containing nougat, caramel, or Rice Crispies, these chocolate bars contained a bit more punch. This unique brand of Nazi chocolate were rigged to explode.
The chocolate bars were more akin to hand grenades than the confections they purported to be. They were steel-encased explosives covered with chocolate, all wrapped up in a candy bar-like wrapper. To detonate the bomb, the operative (or would-be victim) would break off the first row of “chocolate,” revealing a canvas strap. The strap worked like the pin in a hand grenade; once it was removed, there would be only a few seconds before the bomb would explode.
The likely target of the chocolate? Gizmodo states that the Nazis envisioned the British Royal family falling prey to the ruse, opening up a bar of chocolate only to find a very rude — and deadly — surprise. According to the BBC, while explosives camouflaged as food were found on Nazi agents in Turkey, none made it to the UK. However, four similarly constructed cans of peas, en route to Buckingham Palace, did make it to Ireland before being intercepted.
Of course, it’s incredibly unclear as to why the Nazis believed that a member of the Royal family would be opening up their own cans of peas.
Load More