Real History

The Hitler-Mannerheim recording is one of the only recorded instances of Adolph Hitler not using his theatrical speaking voice. The conversation took place on June 4th, 1942 between Hitler and Finnish Marshal Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim in Imatra, Finland.

It was secretly recorded by Thor Damen of the Finnish broadcasting company. The recording was cut off when the SS realized it was being made but the tape was not destroyed.

Three Civil War veterans of the African American 54th Massachusetts Regiment are to be reburied with full military honors at Fort Indiantown Gap.

The practice of carving jack-o'-lanterns began in Ireland in the 1800s. Turnips were the most common material used and as seen here they are pretty terrifying. Halloween in Ireland itself having a complicated history tied to the per-Christian Samhain, the Celtic harvest festival. But by the 1800s, The folklore tied to the jack-o'-lantern would be more aligned to the celebration of All Souls Day in the Catholic Church. Hallows Eve, the night before, being a celebration of the dead.

The name jack-o'-lantern comes from a folktale repeated throughout Europe in different variations involving the eponymous Jack tricking Satan in some way. After the trickery in trapping the Devil, Jack would only agree to release him on the condition he never take his soul.

Eventually, Jack, the rascal that he was,died. Being too much of a sinner to make it to heaven and because of his deal unable to be taken to Hell, Jack was in a metaphysical bind. Mocking his plight, Satan gave him an ember from the flames of Hell to light his wanderings in the world. Jack carved a turnip into a lantern, lit with his ever burning hellspark, and began endlessly wandering the Earth for a resting place. He became known as "Jack of the Lantern", or jack-o'-lantern.

This story itself being one of many that seeks to explain the will-o'-the-wisp or ignis fatuus (foolish fire), the swamp fire phenomenon reported all over the world. The oxidation of phosphine, diphosphane and methane in swampy areas can produce ephemeral fires. Not exactly a comforting phenomenon for a traveler in a swampy area at night to witness.

In Pensacola, Florida three shipwrecks from the fleet that brought America's first European settlers are discovered.

November 4th 1791, America's first post revolutionary standing army, the First American Regiment, is destroyed at the Battle of the Wabash.

The Treaty of Paris had ceeded all land east of the Missippii and South of the Great Lakes to the United States. The local Indian tribes of the Ohio River Valley had not been privy to any negotiations and rejected the U.S claim. The newly created U.S. government was broke and hoped that land sales in the Ohio River Valley would help pay off international debts. General Arthur St. Clair led a force of over 1000 mostly militia backed by 320 regulars to put down the alliance of Shawnee, Miami and Delaware.

The summer had been wasted due to inept leadership, overly cautious movement and stiff Indian resistance. Winter had already set in when St Clair's forces were surprised by an equal number of native warriors. The militia panicked and retreated almost immediately, the heavily outnumbered regulars were quickly overrun. What followed was the almost wholesale eradication of the broken American force as it retreated into the snowy woods in a panic. 632 Americans were killed and 264 wounded out of a fighting force of 1,100. The Indian coalition suffered 21 dead. Total American casualties were around 97% making it possibly the worst US defeat in history by percentage of men lost. The standing army was so small at the time that the dead at the Wabash would account for nearly 25% of the entire army.