History Archives - The Daily Research

That One Time We Wanted To Nuke The Moon

During the 1950’s a lot of curious things happened. The red scare was at its height in the US, and the USSR and USA were locked in a pretty insane nuclear arms race that had the rest of the world biting at its fingernails. Things were tense, to say the least. Like two ego-fueled high school jocks, two superpowers were always looking for an excuse to flaunt their power and superiority over the other, and heaven forbid if your nemesis outdone you in some manner. If you have this in mind, it might not be a surprise that the US […]

History

51 Interesting Facts About Albert Einstein

One of the greatest minds of our time came with a number of peculiarities and behavior that people of his time deemed “eccentric”. He was a kind, but passionate man, with numerous talents and a great love of life. At the same time, he was a very hard man to live with, and his devotion to his science often left his love life in shambles. A celebrity, an activist, a scientist, a friend, he was many things to a huge number of people in the tumultuous time of the past mid-century. One thing is certain: This amazing character has reshaped […]

Animals

Wojtek, The Army Bear Who Fought In WW2

Wojtek (Vojtek), the Syrian bear that garnered fame during the World War 2, led an interesting life, to say at least. This beer-drinking, Nazi-fighting bear was just a cub when he was found by the Polish army, but he went on to do great things that led to numerous statues of him being built. This is his story. Polish prisoners and an Iranian bear It was spring of 1942 and tens of thousands of polish prisoners, captured during the soviet invasion of Poland in 1939 where released from the soviet gulags in Siberia. These men and women, held in soviet […]

History

Maximón: In Mayan Guatemala, One Legendary Bad-ass has Become a God

Beloved by the Maya of western highland Guatemala, Maximón (pronounced Ma-shee-moan) is part ancient Mayan deity, part Catholic saint, part archetypal trickster. His complex character resonates with ancient religious associations between fertility, virility, the underworld, black magic, and sin. He is the patron saint of travelers and gamblers, and an associate of the devil according to the Catholic Church. A name with many meanings Many people identify him with the ancient Mayan underworld earth-god, Mam (or Ma’am) and may call him Rilaj Mam or “Great Grandfather.” In the local Mayan tongues “Ma” is an honorific title, similar to “Sir” or […]