Club 33 makes Disneyland a fantasy all over again. While most of us have been lucky enough to get inside an airport lounge or member’s lounge once in our lives and know that it isn’t that amazing. What is offered at Disney is something far greater. It is not a place to wait for your next flight, it is a place to allow the incredible magic of Disneyland to come to life in a land of luxury. No queues, no wait times, no hard day in the hot sun, pure perfection.

It is estimated (but no one is sure) that there are around 500 members of Club 33. Membership in the club allows them entry to a private space in the Disneyland world where they can enjoy fine dining, jazz, and a full bar. Reports suggest that the walls are covered with incredible memorabilia, film props, and pictures that die-hard fans would give anything to see. 

Legend also says that Walt had microphones and speakers placed in the walls so that he could converse with members if he wished. The speaker was inside a robotic vulture above a clock tower. Fittingly the vulture wears a top hat. While top hats are not required, no one is allowed in wearing shorts and a vest. Formal attire is required to get into this distinguished club. 

While the private entertainment sounds great it is the perks that really make this club membership a must-have experience. Being a member allows you to enter the park early, have private events in certain park locations and allegedly a separate amusement park. If you are a member you are even allowed to ask for a private meet and greet with any of the Disney park characters. As well as free merchandise, your own parking, and fast passes to all the rides, there is likely much much more that no one is talking about. Part of the appeal of Club 33 is that it is a well-kept secret. Who knows what hidden treasures and experiences exist that the outside world knows nothing about.

The bad news is it is not easy to become a member of Club 33. Rumor has it that the Club got its name because of the 33 original companies that invest in the Disneyland theme park. They were given a number of passes and it has been kept very exclusive ever since. Membershipped is capped and there has been a waiting list to join for years. Being a member is not cheap either. It costs $25,000 to join and every year you have to pay another annual fee in the thousands. 

It is likely that we will never get to see the inside of Club 33. It turns out that Walt was never able to see it either. He supposedly died 5 months before Club 33 opened meaning that the well-dressed vulture above the clock has likely never spoken. If Club 33 really is your dream we suggest you start saving now. Who knows, in the next 10 to 20 years there may even be an opening.

Almost one year ago a dagger was found at an archaeological site in Germany. It looked like a long brown rock. It was so encrusted with mud and dirt that to call it a dagger at all seemed like a generous leap. Yet the dagger was later dated to 2,000 years old, so it is difficult to expect it to be in pristine condition. The dagger was discovered at a Roman burial ground in a location where the German town Haltern am See is now found. One of the largest known military camps was once found here and it was home to a large number of incredible battles between Romans and Germans.

The dagger was an incredible find as despite its worn state it appeared to be fully intact. It was taken to a fiber restorer to see what could be done to return it to its original state without impacting the original material. After months of work, the result produced is incredible. Today the dagger does look slightly worn, the metals a little faded but there is no rust, no mud, no breakages, nothing. If you came across this dagger in a store, based on the condition alone, you would assume it was less than 100 years old. The condition is pristine.

What once looked like a large lump of clay, that was still amazing, is now so much more. The dagger was found in its sheath and also a belt attached. When looking at the refurbished dagger you can immediately see that this was not a dagger for an ordinary soldier, it is cleary an incredibly special custom piece. The dagger blade starts wide but curves to become thin before widening again and finally finishing in a sharp point. The metals for the blade were found a variety of different steels that had been forged together. 

The handle fo the dagger is thin and intricately detailed with carvings and small spheres of red glass. This matches the sheath that holds the blade. The sheath is incredibly detailed with patterns of crescent moons, diamonds, and a laurel wreath. The sheath itself is made of metal and red enamel and glass. To think that the dagger was pulled from its blade to discover more about it. Who knows what the reason was that it was last pulled from its sheath and what stories that blade could tell.

The belt is leather but coated in silver to give the impression of an expensive metal belt. Whether this reveals that the belt was not owned by someone extremely wealthy or if a leather belt was just more practical, is unknown. Why this belt ended up outside a burial mound is the greatest mystery. The most likely theory is that it was left outside the burial ground of a fallen soldier or general in honor of their work. Perhaps with more discoveries from this site, the story will become a little clearer.

2,000 years ago Jerusalem was under Roman rule as was much of Europe, the North of Africa, and parts of the Middle East. The height of the Roman Empire came in 117AD. In 132 AD a Jewish man named Shimon Ben-Kosiba led an armed conflict against the Roman Empire for the Judean people. He was known by the name Bar Kokhba which means Son of the Star. Many at the time believed he was the next messiah and he created a massive following.

Over the next four years, the Bar Kokhba revolt took place. During this time the Jewish people started to press their own insignia into Roman coins, declaring them coins of Jerusalem instead. One of these coins was found recently in Jerusalem itself. This is the fourth such coin to have been found within the city parameter and it is causing historians to question their history.

2,000 historic coins to date have been recovered within the city and only four have held the Bar Kokhba marking. There have been many other Bar Kokhba revolt coins discovered but all away from the city. This is because it was the aim and ambition of the group to reclaim Jerusalem but they spent much of the time of the revolt far outside the city. 

There is some debate as to whether they held the city for some time or ever broke through at all. To date, the majority of historians have believed that they never held the city. Some now argue that the coins are proof that they were inside city walls. Others argue that Roman soldiers likely took them back home from battle zones with them.

Whether they were successful or not for a short time is unknown. What is known is that they were causing significant casualties to the Roman army. Emperor Hadrian was forced to take notice of the war and recalled 35,000 soldiers from Britain over a two-year period to squash the revolt. The Bar Kokhba revolt came up against the might of the Roman Empire.

Bar Kokhba himself was killed during the fighting and the entire Jewish army was laid waste. After the defeat, the remaining Jews were sold into slavery and forbidden from living in Jerusalem. Hadrian renamed the territory Syria Palestina. The records now show a total of 580,000 Jewish casualties.

It is incredible to consider that a battle that took place 2,000 years ago still holds such significance today. The ongoing battle between Israel and Palestine shows that the deep-rooted history of this area is still stopping peace from taking place. The war has lasted so long that both parties have now committed atrocities and both feel they have a claim to this land.
While history doesn’t hold the answers it does tell the story and show the shocking death toll that has taken place. The fighting has been taking place for more than 2,000 years and doesn’t look close to stopping. It is one of the greatest tragedies of our world.

The Bar Kokhba coin is an incredibly rare artifact and one of few that has survived to this day. It shows the passion of a small group that tried to stand up to the Roman Empire but ultimately failed. The Empire did eventually fall in 395AD. The size of the Empire had become difficult to maintain and in the end, they could not keep fighting on all fronts.

Saint Tammany, also known as Tamanend, helped the non stop trove of immigrants with necessities for survival. This helped to build a voting bloc for immigrants as well as a society that was quite political. The main headquarters was located on East 14th street, and it was known as the wigwam by members of the group.

The head honcho was named William Marcy Tweed. He made it through the ranks starting as the head of the fire department to city alderman by the young age of 28. In the mid 1800’s, fire fighting was a doorway to politics, which inevitably gave Tweed the title of boss to the society of political immigrants.

Once Tweed was in charge, he spared no expense to get his way. He bribed officials and showed no shame in buying votes to ensure his cronies were a part of nearly every election or political decision. This helped Tweed to control basically every aspect of governance in New York City.

By 1870, Tweed had shifted power into the hands of his cronies as well as himself, and they had the final say in expenditures in regards to New York City. This situation led Tweed to open his own businesses, and he made sure that his businesses were top pick when the city needed work done in regards to the sewer, street improvements, and buildings.

At the height of his power, Tweed exploited turf wars between the Dutch, Irish, and Scottish gangs of New York City. He pulled all the strings in regards to intimidating or eliminating them by pitting them against one another. In reality, there was not a vote that was cast according to the wants of the voters. For those he could not openly control, such as judges, police, and other officials, he simply opted to bribe them to get his way. He also bought favorable coverage from the press, therefore, Tweed was free to do as he pleased.

Tweed would have easily continued his graft on New York City, but his greed got the best of him. He shorted a county bookkeeper, who then in turn handed over incriminating evidence of Tweeds doings to the New York Times. The information was so incriminating that Tweed could not bribe the New York Times, and many Democrats demanded justice be served.

He went to trial, yet the jury was a hung jury. This led officials to believe that he had bribed the jurors, and this complicated matters quite a bit. By the time everything was said and done, there were two police officers watching one juror to ensure that no more bribes could be made. Tweed was eventually found guilty of forgery, larceny, and failure to audit claims against the city.

He was sentenced to 12 years in jail, and his charges were dropped to 1 year. When he was released from jail, the city sued him for millions of dollars, and he was eventually jailed again. However, this time it was a lot more relaxed. He was allowed to visit his family daily as long as he was accompanied by a guard, and this allowed Tweed to escape.

He fled from New York City, and he found work as a seaman on a ship. He was eventually recognized and returned to New York City to finish his sentence. By the time he made his way back to his jail cell, Tweed was extremely ill. He tried to make a deal to share all of the information he knew about the corruption of his own making. His offer was denied, and Tweed spent his final days in jail until he died in 1878.

The Dark Side of the Molasses Story

In order to mass-produce molasses to make rum, it required the use of slaves from Africa. In a peculiar kind of circular exportation, colonial exporters traded rum to African slaves and then traded slaves for molasses produced in the West Indies.

Fear of the Growth of Colonial Export Power

When Great Britain realized colonial exports were growing to global proportions, Parliament decided to impose a tax on imports for all non-British colonies. This was an effort to lower the price of Britain’s products to make them less expensive those the colonial traders could receive from sellers in the West Indies.

However, the tax on imports was specifically directed at colonies in America and also their plantations that produced sugar cane that was also used to make rum. The tax levied in 1733 was known as the Molasses Act. British politician, Main Bladen conceived of the idea of levying a duty tax on French West Indies imports. His scheme had much vengeance attached.

When questioned how the tax might cause the ruin of American colonies, he said, “that the duties proposed would not prove an absolute prohibition, but he owned that he meant them as something that should come very near it, for in the way the northern colonies are, they raise the French Islands at the expense of ours, and raise themselves also [to]o high, even to an independency.”

Colonist Retaliation

Such colonist retaliation would later result in the Boston Tea Party of 1773 and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 after continued British taxation without representation.

Colonial traders were forced to rely on smugglers who increased the volume of molasses imported by North American colonists. Many in the colonies believed the Molasses Act like the Stamp Act of 1765, Townshend Act, Indemnity Act, the Revenue Act, and others levied in 1767 and 1768 brought about the Revolutionary War in 1775 to 1783.

Scotland’s depopulation and mass migration

These evictions came to be known as Highland Clearances, as about 5,000 residents in Northern Scotland were forced out of the region to find new homes. Some historians cite that nearly half of Scotland’s population was displaced over the next century. The land became taken over by slave owners who bought over one million acres to build an agricultural empire.

New historical insights

Researchers from Coventry University (Iain MacKinnon) and University of Glasgow (Andrew Mackillop) recently published their historical analysis of these evictions and migration in the nonprofit publication Community Land Scotland. Their research was further recently covered on the BBC current-affairs program Eòrpa. The study focused on the north part of the western Highlands, along with islands such as Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.

McKinnon and Mackillop found that some British plantation owners profited directly from slave labor. About a third of land in the western Highlands and islands region was controlled by these owners, who bought at least 63 estate purchases during the clearances. The researchers, however, were only able to find prices for about two-thirds of these transactions, as the estimated value of these properties was £120 million ($158 million USD) at the time. Due to the missing data, it’s possible that the value was much higher.

Most of these purchases occurred between 1790 and 1855. British slave trade was officially outlawed in 1833, which led to Parliament awarding about £120 million to slave owners to cover financial losses. Today that amount would command a value of $2.6 billion USD. Colonel John Gordon of Cluny, considered widely unpopular in Scotland, was given £2.9 million to compensate for his loss of 1,300 slave workers on his Caribbean plantations. He used the funds to purchase the Scottish islands of Benbecula, South Uist and Barra, which led to 3,000 more evictions.

Roots of systemic racism

The study on Highlander clearances has opened the door for deeper discussions on the history of slavery in Scotland. Mackillop hopes the findings will encourage debate on Scotland’s involvement in slavery to create a better understanding of how systemic racism developed. MacKinnon says slavery had a huge impact on ecological damage in the region. Scottish merchants particularly benefited from the labor of their slaves, who typically came from West Africa and the West Indies.

Uncovering this historical information contrasts with long-held notions that Scots were champions of the movement to abolish slavery. Scottish elites particularly exploited South African nation Guyana. The research points to a broader conclusion that wealth during the industrial revolution was derived from slave labor.

Many British institutions are in the process of investigating history to determine how to repair relationships with groups whose ancestors were affected by the slave trade. The University of Glasgow, for example, announced in 2018 it had received about £200 million from slave trade production. The University has opened a new center that collaborates with other institutions to study the history of Scottish slavery, which can be accessed from its website.

Scottish historian David Alston says that studying 18th and 19th century Highlands history isn’t complete without focusing on slavery, which he confirms was “where the money was made.” This long-term study comes at a time when the Black Lives Matter movement is raising awareness how systemic racism still exists in society, particularly in the corporate job market, financial institutions and the real estate industry.

The world of inventors is not just about creating new gadgets, as the latest innovations must also be tested. During these tests, it does not always go as well as planned since there are few instructions that explain the use of this new technology. That is why sometimes something goes wrong, resulting in fatal consequences. Here you can read more about the inventors who have made the difference through their own creations!

Frantz Reichelt – Parachute suit

At the beginning of the last century, there was a huge growth in motor-driven air traffic. However, flying was something totally new at the time and there was a very high chance of crashing and a very low chance of surviving a crash. This led to a demand for safety measures and Frantz Reichelt saw an opportunity to develop a parachute suit.

The first tests with dummies were a success, but modifications to the suit to make it wearable proved difficult. Frantz insisted that the tests were not carried out high enough and, after long insistence, received permission to perform a test from the Eiffel Tower. Instead of dummies, he insisted on testing his invention himself this time. However, the parachute did not fully open and Reichelt crashed into his death due to a fatal mistake made in his inventio

Thomas Midgley Jr. – Leaded gasoline

The inventor of leaded gasoline made good money from his creation at the very beginning. However, a lot of commotion arose after the media reported several lead-related deaths, presumably caused by the lead in the new gasoline. To prove that the gasoline was completely safe, Midgley poured the substance over his hand and smelled the bottle for at least 60 seconds. Logically, he fell ill but did not die immediately from these complications.

At a later age, he was diagnosed with polio and was forced to stay in bed. To support him in this, he designed a system of ropes and pulleys to be able to lift himself. During the use of his support, however, he gets entangled in the ropes and his air was taken away, which led to a bad end.

Horace Lawson Hunley – Submarine

During the American Civil War, Horace saw his opportunity to use his engineering skills to get hold of money and fame. The South was looking for a method to sink the boats of the North with as little manpower and costs as possible. To achieve this, the man developed a submarine that enabled the crew to drill a hole into the ships which blocked the ports of the South.

After three failed tests, Hunley decided to take the helm himself and step into the submarine for the fourth time. What exactly happened underwater is not clear. However, the submarine never surfaced again and all 8 passengers, including Hunley, drowned in his new creation.

Henry Smolinski

The worldwide adoption of the car has caused a lot of traffic jams. This made the flying car a dream of many inventors for quite some time. Avoiding the traffic jams by simply flying over it sounds like the ideal solution. Henry Smolinski had this in mind as well and built a fully working flying car from which the wings could be removed after landing. During one of his test flights, however, the right-wing let go and a crash followed which unfortunately made it impossible for the inventor to run away from.

Valerian Abakovsky

During the war between the Communists and Bolsheviks, there was a great demand for transport in the country. The young and inexperienced inventor Valerian Abokovsky was currently working as a driver for the first secret security service of the Soviet Union. Because of this, he spoke to several important and influential people from the country. During one of his journeys, he managed to convince the right person of his idea to create a train powered by an airplane engine. He was allowed to develop the train and after completing his project several VIPs decided to test his train. On the way back, however, the train derailed and six passengers died, including the inventor himself.

The childhood James Cook lived as the son of a farmer did not seem as if it would one day lead to adventure and fame. However, as fate would have it, Cook embarked on a voyage to Tahiti with the intent to measure a celestial event and soon found himself on a collision course with destiny.

By the time James Cook died on an island that would later become Hawaii, he had traveled more distance by water than any man before him and discovered the country of New Zealand.

The Farmer’s Son

James Cook was born in 1827 on October 27 in England’s Yorkshire countryside. Cook’s father was a farmhand who rose to the position of overseer and it seemed as if a similar fate belonged to his son.

The England Cook grew up in did not allow for much upward mobility through the social classes. In short, the son of a laborer was expected to toil away in the same fashion. Cook was fortunate to find the opportunity to experience secondary education.

Cook demonstrated an early aptitude for math that opened the door for him to apprentice with a local shopkeeper. This was a bit of an accomplishment for the time but it still left Cook feeling a bit discontent. The apprenticeship was in a seaside village by the name of Staithe and this ended up being the introduction Cook would receive in the life of a seafarer.

Cook joined the merchant marines a year and a half later and his ability to understand math provided him with the opportunity to train in higher mathematics, navigation, and astronomy. His determination led to Cook earning a position as a mate in 1752.

Naval Career

James Cook was 26 years old in 1755 when he enlisted in the Royal Navy. The enlistment placed Cook in a position beneath boys as young as 14 and seemed a bit strange at the time. Cook had also joined up for a life that was generally considered much tougher to live than the one he was enjoying as a merchant seaman.

Cook proved he was different, however, and he was promoted to boatswain within a year. Two years later, James Cook was the captain of a ship of his own.

The accomplishments for Cook piled up fast and he was credited with helping the British government properly scale the solar system, helping to conquer scurvy, leading the search for the “lost continent” and becoming the first ship’s captain to sail the Antarctic Sea.

Cook happened upon an island that is now part of Hawaii in January of 1778. He returned in February of the next year to explore the island more thoroughly. Historians do not agree on what happened next but Cook and four marines were killed by angry Hawaiians.

Cook’s place in history is one of the most accomplished sailors in the history of the world. For better or worse, he brought countless world inhabitants in contact with Europe for the first time. Some historians view the work Cook did to increase British territory heroic while others view him as a colonial invader who conveniently ‘discovered’ lands that already possessed inhabitants. In any event, there is no other sailor that can match the accomplishments of Captain James Cook.

This incredible story is about this type of big win. It all began in Oklahoma, United States, in 1957, when the city of Tulsa built a so-called time capsule right beneath the courthouse floor to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the state’s establishment. They left a car, a gold-and-white 1957 Plymouth Belvedere, as a souvenir inside it.

But the burial of the nicknamed “Miss Belvedere” had a surprise in store that would haunt the people of the city 50 years later.

Miss Belvedere was advertised as a big prize. The person who could make the most accurate guess of how many citizens the population of the city of Tulsa would have in the year 2007 would receive the car in that same year.

812 responses were copied to microfilm and left in the glove compartment of the car. Then, Miss Belvedere was left in the capsule, along with other additional 1957 memories of the state of Oklahoma. The time capsule was made of concrete, so it would have been able to withstand a nuclear bomb attack. For 50 years, everyone held their breath.

Then it was 2007 in Oklahoma. The city of Tulsa got ready for the big event. What would the legendary Miss Belvedere look like today? Would she still shine so wonderfully bright? The excavations began and the city was extremely excited.

When Miss Belvedere finally appeared and the protective hood was pulled off the vehicle, people stared at the car in disbelief. They hadn’t expected anything like this!

Miss Belvedere had literally turned into an old lady! The entire car had been corroded inside and out. The sad sight was presented to the people of the city. That was not all: the winner of the car was about to be announced!

The winner was Raymond Humbertson, who, back in 1957, had guessed that the city of Tulsa would count around 384,743 inhabitants in the year 2007. However, Raymond had died in 1979. So the “prize” went to his 100-year-old sister. She had to make a difficult decision.

The car was handed over to Ultra One, a company that took care of rust removal and would provide this service for Miss Belvedere. A donor paid a whopping ,000 (about €17,940) for it. But then the process was stopped.

The rust was taken off. But the car could not be saved. Time had left its marks on the vehicle. The state also had no interest in exhibiting Miss Belvedere after the disappointing result. Then, Dwight Foster, owner of Ultra One, made the final decision.

Miss Belvedere hardly bore any resemblance to the sparkling beauty it once was. “It’s basically papier-mache,” said Dwight Foster of Ultra One in New Jersey, “We did not know how bad it was until the car arrived here.” This message left everyone holding their breath. Could Miss Belvedere be saved?

Unfortunately, help came too late for the former vintage beauty. “Everything we wanted to do on the car could not be finished because it was too fragile,” explained Dwight Foster, who knew that any attempt to change anything on the vehicle would end in a complete disaster. But then there was new hope!

Robert Carney, the nephew of the new owner, Catherine Humbertson, announced the good news: Miss Belvedere would be donated to the Historic Auto Attractions Museum in Roscoe, Illinois. There, she would be a permanent part of the exhibition. But that was not all!

Foster also said that he would try to persuade the city of Tulsa to donate photos and artifacts to the museum to remember the story of the legendary Miss Belvedere. In 2017, the car was finally sent on its last trip, to Illinois.

It’s a story that begins with the Opium Wars. For a time, Britain sold opium to China in exchange for tea. This created a tremendous opioid addiction crisis among the Chinese to which the Emperor responded with decrees banning the drug and limiting British payments strictly to silver. Britain couldn’t sustainably honor that demand and thus began bringing in opium in secret.

This set off trade wars that concluded in treaties that did not work in China’s favor. Later known as the “unequal treaties,” these had terms deemed unfair including opening up previously closed ports of trade and passing Hong Kong over to the British. Chinese merchants were reasonably disappointed with their government’s quick yield to Britain’s demands, causing civil unrest among the commoners.

This is about as far as history lessons go, ending short of perhaps the most thrilling (and impactful) trade heist in history. Diplomatic relations between the two countries hit the mud and China braved what it would look back on as a “Century of Humiliation.” Cue in Robert Fortune, a Scottish botanist who became pivotal to the global tea trade and the colonial West’s economic sabotage of their Asian competition.

Fortune, ironically, was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He became a botanist by practice, and not through formal study. But this wouldn’t keep him from becoming one of the most impactful people in his field. His legacy? Europe’s introduction to several plants once endemic to Asian ecosystems and the collapse of China’s economy.

Britain wanted to topple China’s tea monopoly by growing tea themselves in their nearby tropical colony, India. To do this, the East India Trading Company sent Fortune on a three-year mission to steal China’s tea plants and transport them to the colony. A risky job, the company sweetened the deal by offering to quintuple his salary from the Horticultural Society of London. It was a deal that, as history would have it, he did not refuse.

His 1847 book recounts how he had tricked port-security into thinking he was a Chinese merchant by cutting his hair the traditional male Chinese style and dressing in the local garb. His tea heist left no tea plant unplucked, bringing with him over 20,000 species and seedlings of tea plants, farming tools, tea processing tools, and even tea farmers themselves all the way to Darjeeling.

The trade theft steered the course of the global tea trade and plunged China into a steep valley in its economy and tea production. While the British and later the Dutch and Americans enjoyed the growing availability of tea and the sudden boom in their commerce, China’s tea production dipped to 41,000 tons and were left with only 9,000 tons to export.

It would not be until over a century later that China would reclaim its spot as the largest tea exporter in the world ⁠— earning $1.5 billion out of its $15 trillion GDP in 2018 alone.