A Look Into History: Bloody Sunday (1905)

Bloody Sunday was an event in 1905, when several groups of Russians marched peacefully to present a protest to Tsar Nicholas II. They protested that they needed better working conditions, wages, and some other things. Also an end to the Russo-Japanese War (which Russia later lost) was a list of demands. The Tsar did not care to meet demands (there was also a depression going on) of working

A Look Into History: The Katana

While American usually refer to any type of Japanese or "Samurai Sword" as a Katana it usually refers only to a certain type of sword from Japan. Modern katanas in Japan are only slightly curved and usually no longer than 73cm and no shorter than 60cm. It replaced the longer and curvier Tachi as the Samurai's favorite sword. Samurai would usually carry a Katana and the smaller Wakizashi. Like how

A Look Into History: Presidential Election 1792

Like last time, Washington ran unopposed. So like last time he gets all the electoral votes. John Adams faced less competition than last time, and won Vice President pretty easy. 

A Look Into History: 1896 Summer Olympics

1896 was the first year the Olympic Games were revived on a major international level. They were held in Athens, Greece. Despite some political turmoil and drama, the games were positive in their homeland. The king of Greece even opened the games. So they got their giant stadiums ready for the event. Most of it was standard summer games. Running, cycling, fencing, etc. James Connolly of the

A Look Into History: Wilhelm von Mirbach

Mirbach was a German diplomat who was served as German Ambassador to Russia in 1918. While he was serving in Russia, a group known as the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries wanted to start war between Russia and Germany again. So they hired Yakov Blumkin to enter the embassy and shoot Mirbach at point blank range. It didn't exactly spark a major war, but it was just bad blotch in a terrible

A Look Into History: Qin Shi Huang

Huang was the first Emperor of a fully unified China. After some drama and fighting he became sole ruler over one of the greatest countries of the East. Under his reign, we saw the first attempts at the Great Wall of China.The not so famous Lingqu Canal. And the bizarre Terracotta Army statues.  He also was a pretty serious ruler. He burned many books and people were severely discouraged about

A Look Into History: Julian the Apostate

Julian was born a member of the Constantinian dynasty. He was made Caesar by Constantius II, but later rebellion against him. Civil was was avoided by the mere fact that Constantius had died shortly before fighting would have begun. Despite their differences, Julian was named his rightful successor personally. After his death he became sole Emperor of the Roman Empire. However many people in the

A Look Into History: U.S. Presidential Election of 1789

The race for president during 1789 was an interesting one. George Washington was the only candidate for office. Nobody dared to oppose him. Once they convinced him to return from retirement, it was a done deal. So yeah everyone took time out of their busy day to vote for the 1 guy on the ballot. Well the race for Vice President was far more contested. For example many founding fathers like George

A Look Into History: Orlov Revolt

The Orlov Revolt was a uprising and precursor to the Greek War of Independence. It was a pact between a small group of Greeks and Russia. It was part of the Russo-Turkish War between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Count Orlov of Russia was the mastermind of it. The Greek forces were at first successful, but due to failure of gathering forces from around Greece and Russian back-up, the revolt was

A Look Into History: Rurik Prince of Novgorod

Rurik was a semi-legendary ruler of what is now present-day Russia. He was Varangian which was similar to that of the Vikings. Instead they were located in Baltic region while their Viking counterparts were more in Scandinavia.   Apparently a bunch of tribes within the region (there's not much recorded about his life) drove him and his friends out of the region. The tribes wanted to rule

A Look Into History: USS Indianapolis

The USS Indianapolis was huge warship used by the United States during World War II. This baby had a couple years of heavy service under heavy fire and important missions. Well until it was sunk by a Japanese submarine in 1945. Despite sinking about 900 men survived the torpedo bombings. However they were stuck in the water most of them without life boats, food, or water. They also had to survive

A Look Into History: Kabuki

The popular Japanese dance/singing genre was started in 1603 by Izumo no Okuni. She started peforming this new style of dance and entertainment in the dry river beds of Kyoto. The first era of Kabuki was mainly performed by women who later on went to also do um.. other forms of entertainment on the side. The genre was also later perfomed by men as well and lasted centuries. Kabuki never hit a big

A Look Into History: Zappas Olympics

The Zappas Olympics were the first major modern revival of the ancient Greek games. They were 3 events in Greece, set in 1859, 1870, and 1879. The were known simply as Olympics back when they came out. However they are referred to as the Zappas Olympics after their creator, Evangelos Zappas. He was also a businessman and philanthropist. The games even had their own tickets. And apparently a lot

A Look Into History: RMS Titanic

Oh the Titanic, how everyone remembers you. You might seem small to the big ships of today, but you remain big in our hearts. For it's time, it was the biggest ship at least for one that carried normal people. It also had some sister ships that were also pretty massive for their time. Once completed it featured a luxurious interior. Well for those who could afford it at least. I'm sure life

A Look Into History: Great Comet of 1861

The Great Comet of 1861 was a big comet that was visible to the naked eye for almost 3 months and for a bit longer through a telescope. It actually came very close to earth, giving astronomers a good peak at it. Currently it has gone near the distant planet Eris, which is about a couple billion miles away. 

A Look Into History: Army of Occupation Medal

The Army of Occupation medal was an award for more than 30 days service in an occupation zone in either Germany or Japan. It was first started in 1946, but was never awarded until 1947. Members of the United States Army and Air Force both received it. The first recipient was future-president General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The award lasted for many years, finally ending in 1990. Which makes sense

A Look Into History: Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He is well known for being a traitor, and there is even a nickname for traitor based on his name. His reasons? Well from what I can figure, he must of been mad for being passed on promotions, and Washington refused to let him resign. So when he took control of West Point, he planned on letting the British take it without force.

A Look Into History: Boshin War

The Boshin War was fought between 1868 to 1869 in Japan. It was a civil war with some complex political motivations. To put it simply, one side was loyal to the ruling Shogun. A Shogun was like a military general who also ruled like a dictator. The other side wanted to restore true power to the Emperor of Japan. That's just what they did too. After some bloody conflict and political drama,

A Look Into History: Winter War (Finland vs Soviet Union 1939-1940)

In 1939, Finland and the Soviet Union fought between each other for a short time. Finland also fought Nazi Germany later one, being one of the few (if only) countries that were attacked by a member of the Axis and Allied Powers. On a piece of paper, Finland looked as if they were finished. The Red Army had far more men, way more tanks, and a whole lot of aircraft as well. Luckily Soviet army

A Look Into History: Cotton Gin

Eli Whitney is known mainly for the creation of the Cotton Gin. Before he came along, cotton was picked by hand. It may not look so tough, but the cotton plant can destroy you hands (not literally) by the end of a long day. His invention separated the seeds from the cotton. Allowing farmers to keep their precious cotton, and having plenty of seeds for more plants or cottonseed oil. More powerful