History Dispatches

In September of 1979, two East German families escaped to the west using a very unconventional method - a hot air balloon. It was an escape that required failed prototypes, a near disaster, and raw gumption. This is the story of the East German Hot Air Balloon Escape.

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Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germany_balloon_escape

https://thewallmuseum.com/en/balloon-escape-from-the-gdr

Popular Mechanics: Feb 1980; "The Freedom Balloon"

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In 1900, a British colonial official demanded an African tribe - the Ashanti - give him a holy relic as a symbol of their capitulation to the English Crown. They refused - and instead took up arms against the British. The end result was thousands dead. This is the story of the War of the Golden Stool.

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Sources

https://adf-magazine.com/2022/08/nana-yaa-asantewaa-and-the-war-of-the-golden-stool/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Golden_Stool

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Stool

Images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Typical_fight_in_the_forest,_Anglo-Ashanti_War_of_1900_(Battles_of_the_nineteenth_century,_1901).jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Ashanti.svg

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The city of Milwaukee began as a collection of three towns around the mouth of the Milwaukee River. None of these communities liked each other very much, and vied for supremacy over the area. This competition would turn into open conflict, and the main target, was the cities' bridges. This is the story of the Milwaukee Bridge War.

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Sources

https://emke.uwm.edu/entry/bridge-war/

https://shepherdexpress.com/culture/ae-feature/bridge-wars/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Milwaukee_1858.jpg

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The Florentine Diamond is a 137-carat diamond, known for its long association with European royalty. However, after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 - the diamond disappeared. And it would remain that way until November of 2025 - when the fate of the famed gem would be revealed. This is the story of the Florentine Diamond.

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Sources

https://www.instyle.com/florentine-diamond-found-story-mystery-value-11845394

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florentine_Diamond

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/arts/design/florentine-diamond-resurfaces-hapsburg.html

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Florentiner_Glaskopie_NHM_Ay762.jpg

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Saints, in the Christian tradition, are people that are in heaven and can influence the world. Most saints are there for their kindness, generosity, piety, or any number of good traits. And then there is St. Olga of Kyiv, who, as regent of Kievan Rus, avenged her husband by burying enemies alive, burning envoys, and torching entire cities in the name of revenge. This is the story of St. Olga of Kyiv.

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Sources

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Olga_by_Nesterov_in_1892_(cropped).jpg

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