January 2026
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On this day in 1953, flooding in the North Sea killed more than 1,500 people in the Netherlands and destroyed one million acres of farmland. The storm also caused death and destruction in Great Britain and Belgium. A combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm over the North Sea caused a
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Eddie Slovik was executed on January 31, 1945, becoming the only American soldier put to death for desertion since the Civil War. Of approximately 40,000 U.S. service members who deserted during World War II, only several thousand were court-martialed. Forty-nine received death sentences, but Slovik was the only one whose sentence was executed. Private Eddie
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The Basel massacre of Jews took place on 9 January 1349, as part of the Black Death persecutions of 1348–1350. Following the spread of the Black Death through the surrounding countryside of Savoy and subsequently Basel, the Jews were accused of having poisoned the wells, because they suffered a lower mortality rate than the local gentiles from the pestilence. The Black Death, which is estimated to
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(Repost from January 10, 2018) I hang my head in shame. For decades I have been boasting about my knowledge of all things music, and especially rock music,when suddenly it hits me like a wet fish in the face, I KNOW NOTHING. Well that might be too harsh but the fact is I had never
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It’s interesting how research can lead you to unexpected discoveries. While looking into one topic, I stumbled upon something even more compelling: the photograph above. It’s an identification photo from the Herzogenbusch Concentration Camp, aka Vught concentration camp, in the Netherlands, depicting prisoner Martinus T. Barbier taken by the camp photographer on January 20, 1944.
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It’s hard to believe that it has already been 40 years ago since the Challenger disaster happened. I still remember it as if it was yesterday. One thing that I hadn’t thought of was that there was a group of children watching while their Teacher died. Looking back it make sense of course that the
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The name of the town was taken from the yerba buena (Micromeria douglasii) plant, native to the pueblo site. Franciscan missionary Pedro Font, accompanying the Juan Bautista de Anza expedition of 1775-76, applied the Spanish name to the common native herb he found abundant in the landscape. The plant’s common name, yerba buena, the same in English and Spanish, is an alternate form
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A Recipe Most Noble for a Tuna Salad Sandwich Hark, fair chef, and lend thine ear to this tale of victuals fine! Prepare thy table, and let us commence: Ingredients Method To ServeCut the sandwich in twain, triangles or squares, as thy fancy dictates. Present upon a platter, garnished with fruits or chips, and share
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According to the Joods Monument-Jewish Monument, seven Dutch Jews were tragically murdered at Bergen-Belsen on this day, 81 years ago. Today, I am remembering one of them: Naatje Morpurgo-van Wijnbergen. Naatje was born in The Hague on March 11, 1874, and was murdered in Bergen-Belsen on January 30, 1945, at the age of 70. She
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The sinking of the Titanic may be history’s most infamous maritime disaster and the torpedoing of the Lusitania, the most notorious wartime naval tragedy. Yet, both—with death tolls of approximately 1,500 and 1,200, respectively—are overshadowed by the fate of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff. On January 30, 1945, the German ocean liner was struck by torpedoes
History of Sorts 
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