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On this day in…

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Do you read the “Today in History” page in the paper?

Some folks probably just skim it or maybe even skip it altogether. After all, it’s not really “news” if it happened years ago.

Well, I’m a history nerd, so I always read it as I’m putting it on the page. It turns out some pretty big stuff happened on the 22nd of July.

In 1587, the English colony of Roanoke was established in North Carolina. The colony vanished under mysterious circumstances. It’s a story that has creeped me out for nearly 40 years.

In 1861, the first major battle of the U.S. Civil War began, the Battle of Bull Run. The Confederates won the battle and their win pretty much ensured that the war would not, as was hoped, be “over by Christmas.”

Ohm and in 1925, the famous “Monkey Trial” ended in Dayton, Tennessee, you know, the one about evolution.

We’re still arguing about that one.

There’s plenty of other cool stuff you can read about over on Page 7, but one thing that really got my attention was the very first entry, from all the way back in 1376.

Apparently, on this date 645 years ago, the legendary Pied Piper led all the rats out of the town of Hamelin.

Not gonna lie… I was about 100% sure that was just a made-up story. A little Google searching reveals there is at least some evidence that at least some part of that legend is true, right down to leading all the children away after the townfolk reneged on his reward. Leading all the rats out of town, though…

Maybe we should send him to Washington?

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