Memories of the Al Gore Administration
What if the Supreme Court had given the election to Al Gore instead of George W. Bush? New York magazine imagines.
Biographies
Amelia Earhart’s Finger Bone
According to this story from Discovery.com, a bone fragment found on the uninhabited Pacific island of Nikumaroro may be part of Amelia Earhart’s finger.
Amelia Earhart and her finger disappeared 73 years ago while attempting an around-the-world flight with navigator Fred Noonan.
Bernard Madoff’s Son Commits Suicide
Mark Madoff, the elder son of jailed-for-life investment fraud Bernard Madoff, has committed suicide. He hung himself with a dog leash in Manhattan. It happened on the second anniversary of Bernard Madoff’s 2008 arrest.
George Custer’s Last Flag Sells for $2.2 million
Yes, Sotheby’s in New York made headlines again today, with the sale of a 7th Cavalry standard (flag) that is one of the last remaining artifacts of the General Custer debacle at the 1863 Battle of Little Big Horn.
Neil Armstrong Answers Your Questions
Here’s a letter to Robert Krulwich of National Public Radio’s science blog, in answer to a question he posed about why the first men on the moon didn’t travel very far from the lunar module.
The letter is from Neil Armstrong, who just happened to be the first man to step foot on the moon. He also took a lot of the photos and video from Apollo 11’s 1969 trip.
Elizabeth Smart’s Captor Found Guilty
Today a federal jury in Salt Lake City, Utah found Brian David Mitchell guilty of kidnapping and raping Elizabeth Smart back in 2002, when Smart was just 14 years old.
Brian David Mitchell never denied that he took Elizabeth Smart from her home and held her captive for nine months of sexual abuse. Mitchell’s defense that he did it because he was out of his head with delusions.
Richard Pryor, The First Black President, +5
Surprising but true: Richard Pryor died only five years ago today, on 10 September 2005, of a heart attack. He was only 65.
It’s Not a Mugging, It’s Ad Copy
Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone was mugged in London recently. The thieves gave him a black eye and took $315,000 worth of jewelry — including a Breitling “H
John J. Audubon’s Big Expensive Book(s)
They’re calling it “the world’s most expensive book”: A copy of John J. Audubon’s Birds of America was sold at auction yesterday for about $11.5 million.
Read about the sale here at The Guardian.
It’s a big book. It’s actually four books, and they contain 435 prints — handpainted watercolors — that are about two feet by three feet.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Attacker Goes to Jail
It’s two years in the slammer for Aretha Wilson, the woman who in 2005 crashed a party and jabbed a broken beer bottle into the face of actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
Read the brief news item here.