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America: Facts vs. Fiction
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America: Facts vs. Fiction
The Truth About America's First Amusement Rides
When one thinks of America's first amusement ride Coney Island comes to mind, but another ride in Pennsylvania was attracting large crowds of thrill-seekers a decade before.
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Snake oil wasn't always a scam.Chinese immigrants who came to the United States brought with them actual snake oil to help with the pains and inflammation brought on by strenuous railroad construction.
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America: Facts vs. Fiction
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The Truth About Snake Oil and Snake Oil Salesmen
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Incredibly enough the mayor of New York City, Fernando Wood, suggested in 1861 that New York City secede and declare itself a free city because of its lucrative ties to the cotton industry.
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There's much about the events leading up to and the Boston Tea Party itself that is misunderstood.
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If all other manners of conflict resolution are exhausted a duel is the last resort.
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Dueling is the Last Resort
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Many know the research conducted around the first atomic bombs as the "Manhattan Project," but was it really based in New York City?
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Separating Facts from Fiction Around the Manhattan Project
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Did you know that NASA went out of its way to embrace the unlucky number thirteen?
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America: Facts vs. Fiction
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Unlucky Number 13 and Apollo XIII
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The two-day weekend wasn't always the case. What caused the 20th century weekend we've all come to know and love?
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The Origins of the Weekend
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In 1932 Rear Admiral Harry Yarnell mounted a simulated attack on Pearl Harbor utilizing carrier-based airplanes to expose how vulnerable it was to a carrier-borne attack. The Japanese took notice.
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In the fourth century A.D. Christmas supplanted the Roman Saturnalia festival, but the tradition of wild celebrations continued.
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Christmas Used to Be Like One Big Frat Party
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Before it was a federal penitentiary Alcatraz housed a military prison, and it was a lot easier to escape. Learn more about Alcatraz including how some prisoners made it off The Rock.
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Several Prisoners Did Escape From Alcatraz
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There are many myths surrounding the tragedy of the sinking of the Titanic, in particular with regards to the ship's captain, Edward Smith.
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America: Facts vs. Fiction
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The Myths Around Captain Smith and the Titanic
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From the War of 1812 to the renovation of 1948, the White House underwent several dramatic changes, but can you separate its facts versus fiction?
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America: Facts vs. Fiction
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The Truths About the White House
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Many myths and confusion surround the history and our understanding of slaves' flight from the South.
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America: Facts vs. Fiction
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The Many Myths of Slaves and the Underground Railroads
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The United States Bullion Depository, or the more commonly-referred to Fort Knox, is filled with as many misconceptions as it is gold.
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America: Facts vs. Fiction
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The Myths Surrounding and Inside Fort Knox
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It wasn't John Glenn's reentry into the Earth's atmosphere in Friendship 7 that caused the most concern for his Earth-orbiting mission but liftoff in the surprisingly fragile Atlas rocket.
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John Glenn's Atlas Rocket Had A 40% Chance Of Exploding On Launch
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A small anecdote from the crossing of the Mayflower to America reveals that an indentured servant, John Howland was swept off the deck of the ship during a storm, and that had he not been saved US history would have taken a different turn.
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Al Capone, a.k.a. Scar Face, was heavily involved with criminal activities before Prohibition, but the ban on alcohol served only to offer him the opportunity to amass enormous wealth. In the end it wasn't brute force that brought him down.
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Benjamin Franklin was inquisitive but never crazy enough to fly a kite in an electrical storm as is often depicted.
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