December 2017

Winter 2019

Secret Race to the Pole

The first Nautilus attempted to go under the Arctic ice park in 1931. Although the WWI-era submarine was ill-equipped for the task and ultimately failed, it did obtain information that later proved useful.
The first submarine, named Nautilus, attempted to go under the Arctic ice pack in 1931 in a privately funded polar expedition. Although the World War I-era submarine was ill-equipped for the task and ultimately failed, it did obtain information that later proved useful. The Submarine Force Museum and Library Association.

Lincoln's Boys

Nicolay and Hay were Abraham Lincoln's closest aides and the President treated them almost like sons.
Nicolay and Hay were Abraham Lincoln's closest aides and the President treated them almost like sons.

Less than three weeks before his death, John Milton Hay awoke in his cabin room on the RMS Baltic as the great ocean liner, still the jewel of the White Star Line, steamed a course from Liverpool to New York. He reached for his diary and composed one of its final entries.

McKinley Reconsidered

McKinley speaking at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY.
Edison Studios filmed McKinley speaking at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, shortly before he was assassinated.

The Strangest Army-Navy Game Ever Played?

In the weeks after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese conquered most of the areas of Southeast Asia that produced rubber and cut off supply to the U.S. By the following year, the situation became so dire that the government formed 7500 tire ration boards each staffed by three volunteers to manage the allocation of scarce tires around the country.

A gas ration card from WWII
The government strictly rationed gasoline during World War II to curtail travel, conserve gas, and reduce wear on rubber tires. 

To help conserve gasoline and especially rubber tires, the government ordered gas rationing in 17 eastern states beginning in May and then nationally in December, and a speed limit of 35 miles per hour enforced nationwide. Drivers who used their cars for work essential to the war effort received additional gas ration stamps.

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