The Story of the Real Sword in the Stone

The story of the Sword in the Stone comes from Arthurian legend. It is a well-known tale of the child Arthur, who pulls the mythical sword from the stone and becomes the future King of England. This legend may be partially based on truth. No, a boy did not pull a sword from a stone and become King of England, as far as we know. However, there is a sword lodged in a stone at the Monte Siepi Chapel in the San Galgano Abbey in Tuscany. That is Italy, not England, but it is close enough. After all, how many swords in stones can there possibly be?

The story of how the sword came to be in the stone at Monte Siepi is the story of San (Saint) Galgano Guidotti. Galgano was born in 1148. He became a knight, but not the sort of knight you would expect to see at the round table. He was ruthless and cruel. The Archangel Michael revealed himself to Galgano Guidotti when Guidotti was 32-years-old. The year was 1180. The archangel showed Galgano the error of his ways and how he could return to God.   Read more of this article.

The Malleus Maleficarum

The Malleus Maleficarum “The Hammer of the Witches” is a book that outlines the characteristics of “witches,” how to “interrogate” them and what their punishment should be. This infamous book was something of a manual during the Inquisitions. It was written by Inquisitors for Inquisitors. To the modern eye, it is a horrifying lesson in misguided power, the danger of false religious superstitions and the dangers of allowing a single religious institution to control the well-being of the public. It is quite possible that the authors of the Malleus Maleficarum are responsible for more torture and death than any other authors.

Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger finished the Malleus Maleficarum in 1486. It was published in 1487. Kramer and Sprenger were both members of the Dominican Order and they were both Inquisitors for the Catholic Church. Their book was intended to be a guideline for other Inquisitors. It was meant to aid them in detecting witches, tell them which rules to follow when questioning them and what punishment should be eked out to those who were uncooperative or found guilty. Read more of this article.

The Philadephia Experiment or "Project Rainbow"

The Philadelphia Experiment, otherwise known as "Project Rainbow," is a U.S. Navy experiment that conspiracy theorists claim took place in October of 1943. This experiment supposedly involved making an entire

 ship and its crew disappear, but that is not all. The Philadelphia Experiment allegedly involved making said ship teleport from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Norfolk, Virginia and then back again.

The Story of the Philadelphia Experiment or "Project Rainbow"

It is alleged that the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Eldridge was used to conduct experiments on making ships invisible and teleporting objects (in this case, the ship, its contents and crew). The one supposed witness of the undertaking of Project Rainbow says that the event took place in October 28, 1943. The man, Carl Allen, says that he saw the USS Eldridge teleport into the waters of Norfolk, VA from aboard the SS Andrew Furuseth. It is important to note that Mr. Allen's story became very unbelievable as time wore on.  Read more of this article here.

The Hutchinson Letters by Shelly Barclay

In December of 1772, Benjamin Franklin, who was the Postmaster General in what would soon become the United States, received a group of letters from an unknown source. These letters were written by Governor Thomas Hutchinson and they were bound for England. Benjamin found the information that they contained to be important, and so he shared the letters with his peers in Boston. This was an admittedly unprofessional move on his part, though he did make it clear that he wished for their contents to remain private.

Thomas Hutchinson was born and raised in the Massachusetts Colony. However, he was a British loyalist to the bone. He was of the mind that more British soldiers were needed in the town of Boston and he expressed this thought in the intercepted letters. This was exactly what the rebels in Boston did not want. The military presence in the area was already causing unrest and animosity between citizens and regulars. The people wanted the troops removed. Hutchinson was very much against it. The rebels in Boston did not need to know this to know that they disliked Thomas. He had already roused the ire of many people in his homeland. However, they would receive this information and it would cause them to loathe him even more.

In June of 1773, some of the contents of Thomas Hutchinson's letters were published in the Boston Gazette, against Benjamin Franklin's wishes. Statements made by Hutchinson like, "… I have been begging for measures to maintain the supremacy of Parliament." infuriated non-loyalists. They did not want Parliament to reign supreme unless they were represented in it. Hutchinson was forced to flee to England in the wake of this indiscretion and Parliament was left to sort out how their man's correspondence had come to be in the Boston Gazette.

Benjamin Franklin's secret regarding Thomas Hutchinson's letters remained safe until December of 1773. Three men who had not been involved were implicating each other. Two of these men had fought a duel and were preparing to do so again. Franklin's conscience led him to confess in a letter to the London Chronicle. Here is an excerpt of his letter. "Finding that two gentlemen have been unfortunately engaged in a duel, about a transaction and its circumstance of which both are totally ignorant and innocent, I think it incumbent on me to declare (for the prevention of farther mischief, as far as such a declaration may contribute to prevent it) that I alone am the person who obtained and transmitted to Boston the letters in question."

Benjamin Franklin lost his position as Postmaster General over the Hutchinson Letters Affair. His reputation was sullied irreparably in England. This may have caused him some distress at the time. However, it hardly mattered. He would go on to become fully immersed in the patriot cause. He was even became one of the treasonous men who aided in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Hutchinson, on the other hand, became and exile from his home. He stayed in England for the rest of his life.

Sources

The Hutchinson Letters, retrieved 6/26/10, postalmuseum.si.edu/outofthemails/huthcinsonpopup.html

Raglinen, B. Franklin's Confession to Leaking Hutchinson's Letters, retrieved 6/26/10, raglinen.com/2010/02/27/b-franklins-confession-to-leaking-hutchinsons-letters

raglinen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/thehutchinsonletters.jpg

The “Fathers” of Holocaust Revisionism and Denial

Holocaust Revisionism and Holocaust Denial are touchy subjects for many reasons. The knee-jerk reason being sympathy for victims of the Holocaust and their families. After that, people who accept what they have learned about the Holocaust as truth tend to be shocked that anyone would deny such a well-documented and tragic event. It is also touchy because some of the arguments Holocaust Revisionists and Deniers present are really irrelevant and disrespectful to those who bore witness to the atrocities committed during Hitler’s regime. Sure, the facts of the Holocaust need to be brought to light. The endless documents and testimonies need to be studied thoroughly so that history is not lost. However, many Holocaust Deniers call Jews who bore witness to the tragedy and lived to tell their stories liars. This is what gives revisionism and denial a bad name. This is where a want for historical accuracy meets anti-Semitism. Here are some of the men who ushered in this movement.  Read more of this article here. 

What is Holocaust Revisionism?

Some people question what we all know or think we know about the Holocaust. The quest for facts should never end. We should all seek the truth and hope to find it, but are Holocaust revisionists taking it too far? Is there an agenda behind their questioning of the most controversial and horrible times in human history? Read What is Holocaust Revisionism. Image Source.

Criminal Snipers in U.S. History

A criminal sniper is a killer who can strike without his victim ever knowing he was there. He can wreak havoc on communities and kill an alarmingly high number of people before he is taken down. These killers are typically spree killers and/or mass murderers. Alternatively, they may be assassins who wish to strike their target and leave without being seen. At least three of these frighteningly talented killers have stood out in United States history. Read more of this article. Image source.

Infamous Killer Couples in History

Serial killings and murders are typically a difficult thing to understand for those of us who do not commit them. Most of us respond to knowledge of these deeds with shock and disgust. How could a person behave so sinisterly? This feeling of shock is even worse when a couple commits the killings. How could two people like this find each other? How can both people be so sick that neither attempted to put a stop to it? Such was the case with the following killer couples. Two sick individuals managed to find each other and neither had enough conscious to stop the killings that followed. Read more of this article.

sinisterly? This feeling of shock is even worse when a couple commits the killings. How could two people like this find each other? How can both people be so sick that neither attempted to put a stop to it? Such was the case with the following killer couples. Two sick individuals managed to find each other and neither had enough conscious to stop the killings that followed.

Disappearance of Glen and Bessie Hyde in the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is one of the most magnificent natural wonders of the United States. It is also a very dangerous place to go rafting or hiking, especially without a guide or a proper map. Nonetheless, that is exactly what newlyweds Glen and Bessie Hyde did in the fall of 1928. Bessie was slight young woman who was five feet tall and weighed 90 pounds. She was relatively new to rafting. Glen was an experienced outdoorsman who was eager to raft the Colorado River. They both disappeared in the Grand Canyon.

Bessie was married once before, two years prior to her wedding with Glen Hyde. Her first marriage was very short-lived. The couple only lived together for two months before Bessie moved out. They were divorced on April 11, 1928. Bessie married Glen the following day. She moved to Idaho to be a farmer with Glen. Apparently, the Hydes needed more adventure than the farming life had to offer, so they planned a honeymoon rafting down the Green and Colorado Rivers. They left on their adventure in October of 1928. Their craft was a handmade wooden boat. Read more of this article. Image link.

Historical Events that Took Place on Halloween

Halloween or All Hallows Eve is a holiday that is associated with scary costumes and candy in many modern day societies. Despite all this spooky and sweet treat commotion; Halloween is really just a day like another. Nonetheless, many memorable events have occurred on Halloween throughout history.

Galileo Galilei Exonerated by the Catholic Church on Halloween

Galileo was a 17th century astronomer and physicist who strongly and correctly believed that the Earth moved around the sun, not the other way around. Leaders of the church found his claims to be heretical and chastised him for it. That did not work, so he was tried and put in jail. Shortly after his imprisonment, he was allowed to go home. However, he was put on house arrest and remained in his home until the day he died.

On October 31, 1992, Pope John Paul II announced that Galileo was exonerated by the Catholic Church. It only took them 359 years to figure out he was right. Read more of this article. Image source.