This week back in 1932, an Arkansas housewife suddenly became the first elected female Senator in U.S. history... and that was the easy part.
Fuzzy Screw Bomb
This week back in 1968, one of the coolest capers in criminal history went down, when a thief in Japan made off with 300 million Yen without firing a shot.
Extinction Level Event
A star falls in Alabama and the "Extinction Level Event" This week back in 1954, Alabama housewife Annie Hodges earned a dubious distinction: She became the first person in recorded history to get hit by a meteorite. She was just another in a long line of people who let a small brush with fame damage their lives.
Blood & Ashes
Krakatoa and the "Blood & Ashes". This week in 1883, the island of Krakatoa unleashed one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions in history — an explosion so loud it could be heard 2,000 miles away. After hearing about the chaos which followed, you'll need a drink.
King of Albania
This week in 1959 Otto Witte, an illiterate circus magician who impersonated the King of Albania, died. We celebrate his con or at least his imagination — with a "Ranglum" cocktail dressed up in King's clothing.
The Tomato Water Bloody Mary
On July 2nd 1881, one Charles Guiteau shot President James Garfield. But it wasn't like Guiteau's life was full of normalcy preceding that murderous act; a delusional meglomaniac, he was also at various times a corrupt lawyer, a writer of plagiarized religious tomes and the member of a free-love cult. We commemorate this most insane assassin with a most insane beverage: A clear — yes, clear — Bloody Mary.
The Butterfly Sting
This week in back in 1967, Muhammad Ali, a practicing Muslim, suffered a major blow in his battle to be recognized as a conscientious objector; a jury sentenced him to five years for draft-dodging. But Ali wouldn't go down without a fight — and we relive the battle in liquid form with a "mocktail" even the teetotaling Ali wouldn't mind going a few rounds with.
Casey’s Killjoy
On June 3rd, 1888. Ernest Thayer's baseball rhyme "Casey At the Bat" was first published in the San Francisco Examiner. Popularized by vaudeville actor DeWolf Hopper, soon everyone in America was in love with the poem except the author. And even he would surely appreciate this week's drink: a Mudslide reimagined for Mudville.
The Eiffel Tower
This week back in 1889, the Eiffel Tower opened to the public. Today's most beloved monument in the world, began as a despised lump of iron. But the hated Tower went on to win a contest, becoming the entrance to the World’s Fair in Paris.
The LSD-25
In 1938, Dr. Albert Hoffman synthesized a bunch of compounds based on the fungus "ergot." The 25th compound - LSD-25.