History Schmistory: September 24. @cs.com, y’all!!
Saturday, September 24, 2016
1979: Compu-Serve launches the first consumer internet service, which includes the first electronic mail service. They’re apparently still waiting for the interstate parties to catch on…
You checked your CS mail lately? Yeah neither have we. It’s been years. It’s probably all dusty and moldy and filled with venomous spiders.
CompuServe ad in Byte magazine, January 1983.
Deadword of the Day: Soul-case
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Soul-case: Body
As in: My soul-case doesn’t bend that way.
GO THERE!
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Teddy Roosevelt declared Devil’s Tower in Wyoming the first National Monument of the United States, today in 1906. There you go. Something good happened in 1906.
GO THERE!
Friday, September 23, 2016
Underneath the surface in Southeast London lies the Chislehurst Caves, over 22 miles of man-made caves with over 4000 years of history.
Deadword of the Day: Nurk
Friday, September 23, 2016
Nurk: A name for the runt of a litter.
As in: Poor little nurk…
History Schmistory: September 23. Mario Kard?
Friday, September 23, 2016
1889: Nintendo is founded as a playing card company by Fusajiro Yamauchi, and soon introduces Hanafuda, a flowery card deck with a number of applicable games, including Tyson’s Punch-Out! 
![I, Aldaron [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.teammarcopolo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/800px-Koi-Koi_Setup.jpg)
I, Aldaron [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons
Cryptozoology Break! Kongamato
Thursday, September 22, 2016
In the Jiundu swamps of western Zambia, a legendary pterodactyl-like creature known as Kongamato (“overwhelmer of boats”) had been terrifying the natives for generations. This elusive creature was known to capsize boats and deliberately pursue and destroy any poor soul who laid eyes on it. A few early 20th century explorers reported seeing and often being attacked by these crazy ugly flying monsters. Similar sightings were reported from as far away as Mount Kilimanjaro. Today, the real truth about the Kongamato remains a mystery…
You say Kongamayto, I say Kongamahto, let’s get the heck outta here!
GO THERE! Great art in Florence: FREE
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Our two favorite things: Florence and FREE! Great tips on free art you can see in Florence. Now’s a great time to go. Heck with the kids. How many soccer games can a parent see? Leave ‘em with Grandma and head East to the Old Country while the tourists are few and the gustatory pleasures are many!
photo: BBC
History Schmistory: September 22. Act now!
Thursday, September 22, 2016
1598: Playwright Ben Jonson, a contemporary of Billy Shakespeare, is arrested for killing an actor in a duel. Naturally, the actor only had his prop gun.
![By Joost J. Bakker from IJmuiden (Space Pilot X Ray Gun Uploaded by Oxyman) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.teammarcopolo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/800px-Space_Pilot_X_Ray_Gun_made_by_Taiyo.jpg)
By Joost J. Bakker from IJmuiden (Space Pilot X Ray Gun Uploaded by Oxyman) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
History Schmistory: September 21. The original prequel?
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
1937: J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is published. No Hobbits were harmed during the making.
![By Jeff Hitchcock (Flickr: Butterfly Catcher) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.teammarcopolo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/800px-Hobbit_Hole.jpg)
By Jeff Hitchcock (Flickr: Butterfly Catcher) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
