History Schmistory: November 18. “How ya like them apples?”

1307: Brutal and outrageous meanie-head Hermann Gessler punishes William Tell for not bowing down to him. Williams’ bizarre sentence is to shoot an apple off of his own son’s head with a crossbow. After performing the task flawlessly, he sparks a rebellion against Gessler, leading ultimately to an independent Swiss Confederacy, and some sweet revenge for Mr. Tell… “How do you like them apples, Hermann?”

By Hans Rudolf Manuel Deutsch (1525–1571) (Sebastian Münster, Cosmographia) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

By Hans Rudolf Manuel Deutsch (1525–1571) (Sebastian Münster, Cosmographia) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons