History Dispatches

In late 1867, the Headmaster's house at Christ College, New Zealand, caught on fire. This was not uncommon at the time, but what is uncommon is this fire involved a quack fire chief, false accusations, and a comedy of errors.

Sources

"College!: a history of Christ's College" by Don Hamilton

Special thanks to Taurapa

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Gargoyles are creepy. They are twisted, leering, tortured looking statues. Their mouths are often wide open - and serve as the exit of a water spout. So what is the story behind this unnerving bit of architecture? Was the gargoyle a ward against evil? Or was it something more sinister? This is the story of the gargoyle.

Sources

https://mymodernmet.com/what-is-a-gargoyle/

https://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/gargoyles-0012253

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gargoyle

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In September of 1987 two looters in Goiânia, Brazil, stole an unattended device carrying the highly radioactive Cesium 137. After breaking open the device, the radioactive material spread throughout the city, causing massive panic and taking four lives.

Sources

https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/Pub815_web.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_accident

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Owney the Postal Dog was a stray terrier mix adopted as a mascot by the Albany, New York, post office around 1887. Owney loved to ride on the mail trains - and went on to travel over 140,000 miles throughout the United States - and even around the world.

Sources

https://americacomesalive.com/owney-the-post-office-dog/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owney_(dog)

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Illustration_of_Owney_on_Mail_Sack.jpg

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Running a marathon is extremely impressive feat, but still fully attainable by most people with some grit and dedication. But its distance - at 26.22 miles or 42.195 km - is a little bit odd. So, why is the marathon as long as it is? That history goes back to a battle fought in ancient Greece, an army running a long distance, and some British royalty wanting to see the start of the race in 1908. This is the history of the marathon.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon

https://web.archive.org/web/20080924220856/http://www.european-athletics.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6235&Itemid=2

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phidippides.jpg

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