Two collided bullets from the Battle of Gallipoli
Future British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (far right) in a Boer prison camp. He was captured by the Boers after his train was ambushed in November 1899. He subsequently escaped in December 1899.
Elkhorn, Montana is named after the Elkhorn Mine, one of the nation's richest and longest operating silver mines. Today Elkhorn is the site of Montana's smallest state park - just one acre is set aside to preserve Elkhorn's only two remaining historic commercial buildings.
DID NEANDERTHALS USE CHEMICALS TO LIGHT FIRES? Yes, probably. Some researchers still believe that Neanderthals couldn't make fires from scratch and only used those taken from naturally occurring lightning-strike fires. Having experienced four winters in Germany, it's always been hard for me to imagine Neanderthals surviving for more than 250,000 years in Ice Age Europe relying solely on opportunistic fires. Although the Neanderthal body type was cold adapted, Aiello and Wheeler (2003) determined that our cousins could only tolerate about 4°F colder temperatures than modern man. Their research indicated that Neanderthals needed both clothes and fire to survive Ice Age winters. Other recent studies support the idea that Neanderthals not only made fires from scratch, they even used manganese dioxide powder as an accelerant. The Pech-de-l'Azé cave in SW France has yielded blocks of manganese dioxide with lots of scratch marks. Scientists used to think Neanderthals used the mineral for body decoration. But many other minerals are more suitable for that purpose and more readily available, and Neanderthals mostly collected the dioxide. Heyes et al. (2016) determined that the manganese dioxide lowered combustion temperatures for wood from above 650 °F to 480 °F, making fire starting much easier. So we can likely add chemistry to the growing Neanderthal repertoire
On June 1, 1813, during the War of 1812, the USS Chesapeake engaged the HMS Shannon off the Massachusetts coast. The USS Chesapeake was built in 1794 as one of the “Original Six” frigates of the U.S. Navy, constructed at a time when the new nation was beginning to face trouble from pirates located near the Barbary Coast of Africa. It was also meant to be comparable to competing British and French ships of the era. The Chesapeake was just over 150 feet long, had a crew of 340 men, and normally carried around thirty-eight guns (although at the time of the encounter with the Shannon it was carrying fifty). During its career, the Chesapeake was involved in the Quasi War with France from 1798-1800, participated in the First Barbary War, and was famously part of the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair in 1807.
During this famous incident, which is regarding as a major precursor to the War of 1812, the British vessel the HMS Leopard demanded to come aboard the Chesapeake and check for British deserters. The Chesapeake’s Captain refused, and the British vessel fired several broadsides at the American ship. Not expecting an encounter such as this, the Chesapeake was extremely unprepared, with no guns being primed and cargo being strewn about and in the way. The result was that the Chesapeake quickly surrendered. The incident brought both shame and outrage in the United States, with the Chesapeake’s commander being court martialed, and the Embargo Act of 1807 being enacted. By the time the War of 1812 was actually declared, the Chesapeake was in the thick of things, taking to the Atlantic and causing great damage to British shipping before returning to Boston in April 1813. At this point a new commander also took charge. His name was Captain James Lawrence, and he set sail on May 31 after hearing that the HMS Shannon was lurking just off the Massachusetts coast.
Flying a massive banner that read, "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights", the Chesapeake engaged the Shannon late in the afternoon on June 1. In an unfortunate turn of events, one of the Shannon’s initial broadsides destroyed the Chesapeake’s wheel, leaving her unable to maneuver. The battle was fierce, but the Shannon was able to get the best of the Chesapeake. James Lawrence was mortally wounded during the exchange, and as his men began to carry him below deck, Lawrence gave his last order to his officers, “Don’t give up the ship. Fight her till she sinks.” When Oliver Hazard Perry, a friend of Lawrence and fellow naval officer heard about these last words, he ordered a massive battle flag made with those words emblazoned on it. This flag was used by Perry throughout the rest of the war, including the famous Battle of Lake Erie. Ironically, immediately after these famous words were uttered, the British boarded the Chesapeake and took control of the vessel.