Throwback Thursday – Petticoat Duels
A Petticoat Duel is pretty much the same as a regular duel, except that it is fought between women and the duel is considered over when first blood is drawn, not when someone dies. The most famous one was between Princess Pauline von Metternich and Countess Anastasia Kielmansegg. The fame of this duel, besides the […]
Happy Thanksgiving America
If you are celebrating Thanksgiving today, there are two people you should be thanking. Tisquantum and Sarah Josepha Hale. Tisquantum, also known as Squanto, is one of the reasons the pilgrims even survived and Sarah Hale is the reason Thanksgiving became a national holiday. Tisquantum was a member of the Patuxet tribe and part of […]
Deadly Nightshade
I recently watched MatPat’s video about Snow White and I was more than a little intrigued about his mentions of Belladona. I’ll post the video at the end so you can see for yourself. Atropa Belladonna has an interesting history having been used as medicine, cosmetic and poison. I know it best for its use […]
Warrior Women – World War 1
Today is Remembrance Day, a day in which we remember all of the wars and those who fought/contributed, but most specifically the end of The Great War on November 11, 1918. It seems so long ago, but not even a century has passed since that day. There are many other wars that have occurred since […]
Warrior Women – WW2
War is always an interesting time for the world. The World Wars were major turning points in history, culture and technology and there are some people who stand out above the crowd in terms of their contributions. With that in mind I want to introduce you to some female warriors from World War II that […]
The Fight for Pants
When you get dressed you probably put on some form of pants and a top. What if you weren’t allowed to? If you live in certain areas, are part of certain communities/religions/cultures or work in certain jobs, pants may be frowned upon or even entirely banned. As far as religion goes it is usually only […]
The Blood Countess – Elizabeth Bathory
The crimes: murder, torture, cannibalism The perpetrator: Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed The accomplices: Family, friends, husband The victims: up to 650 women, low and noble birth Mythos: Vampire If ever there was a woman in history who fit the topic of Halloween so perfectly, it would be the Blood Countess. Elizabeth Bathory is, no […]
The Winchester Mystery House
To kick off our week coming up to Halloween, I thought we’d start with an interesting real life example of ghosts and paranoia in someone with enough money to do something about it. That someone is Sarah Winchester who was convinced that the ghosts of people murdered by Winchester rifles were out to get her. […]
VOTES FOR WOMEN! Alice Paul and Lucy Burns
Women’s Suffrage was a long and difficult journey in the world. In many countries women fought and died to give other women the right to vote. There was violence, imprisonment, loss of families, ostracization and loss of life involved in this lengthy quest for equal rights. In America it’s the 19th Amendment that guarantees women the […]
Throwback Thursday – Ravishing Romanovs
Anyone who has studied the monarchical history of Russia will probably recognize the acronym of OTMA. Only the A part of OTMA really gets any attention so I thought I would focus on the OTM. For any who have no idea what I’m talking about, OTMA is the initials of the last Grand Duchesses of […]