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Rodney King, Latasha Harlins, Rooftop Koreans, and the Terminator

Rodney King, Latasha Harlins, Rooftop Koreans, and the Terminator

The grisly beating of Rodney King ultimately precipitated some of the worst rioting in American history. Early in the morning of March 3, 1991, Rodney Glen King was driving a 1987 Hyundai Excel along the Foothill Freeway in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. He was accompanied by his friends Freddie Helms and Bryant [...]

"Hoss" from Bonanza was a Real Life War Hero

“Hoss” from Bonanza was a Real Life War Hero

The fact that he was 6’4″ and weighed 320 pounds didn’t hurt his gridiron prospects.

Yang Kyoungjong: The Reluctant Soldier

Yang Kyoungjong: The Reluctant Soldier

In 2011, Yang’s story formed the basis for a South Korean movie titled My Way. However, documentary filmmakers in Korea have researched the story and cast doubt on its veracity.

Oberscharführer Franz Staudegger and the Origins of the Tiger Legend

Oberscharführer Franz Staudegger and the Origins of the Tiger Legend

During World War 2 the German Tiger tank earned an outsized reputation among those who faced it.

1SG Bradley Kasal: A Real-Live Superhero Amidst a Company of Superheroes

1SG Bradley Kasal: A Real-Live Superhero Amidst a Company of Superheroes

In the winter of 2004 a joint US, Iraqi, and British operation kicked off in Iraq. Local forces called it Operation Al-Fajr. Allied troops titled it Operation Phantom Fury. The world came to know this simply epic scrap as the Second Battle of Fallujah.

Bukit Kepong: The Malaysian Alamo

Bukit Kepong: The Malaysian Alamo

There is something visceral about the last stand. A small forlorn band bereft of support arrayed against insurmountable odds fighting to the last simply strikes a primal chord. Examples are well-documented. The Hot Gates at Thermopylae, Custer’s slaughter, and the Alamo stand out. These many tales of selfless bravery are profound and powerful. One lesser-known example is the siege of Bukit Kepong.

Albert Johnson: The Mad Trapper of Rat River

Albert Johnson: The Mad Trapper of Rat River

Why the heck couldn’t they have just left this poor guy alone? He lived in a cabin about the size of a large dinner table some sixty miles from civilization. He clearly just wanted to be by himself. Yet the Canadian government just couldn’t stand it.

Roy Chapman Andrews: The Real-Life Raider of the Lost Ark

Roy Chapman Andrews: The Real-Life Raider of the Lost Ark

The similarities between Roy Chapman Andrews and the fictional Indiana Jones were uncanny.

Marc Lépine, Militarized Misogyny, and the Ecole Polytechnique Massacre

Marc Lépine, Militarized Misogyny, and the Ecole Polytechnique Massacre

I don’t carry a gun every day because I am paranoid or insecure. I carry a gun because my family and I share the planet with homicidal lunatics like Marc Lépine. If you feel differently then good for you. Do whatever you want, just leave me alone to make my own choices. There was exactly one thing that could have stopped Marc Lépine on that horrible day in 1989, and it wasn’t some ill-conceived piece of feel-good legislation. It was a good guy with a gun. 

Maria Susan Flores Gamez: Beauty and the Beasts

Maria Susan Flores Gamez: Beauty and the Beasts

Maria Gamez was not the first Mexican beauty queen to get caught up in cartel violence. However, she was the first I could find reference to who was killed in action. Powerful criminals always seem to surround themselves with pretty girls. It has become a trope in movies.