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History Dispatches

Matt and McKinley Breen
History Dispatches
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  • Eradication of the Guinea Worm
    How do you fight a disease with no known cure - and spreads by just drinking water? This disease is no fantasy but rather Dracunculiasis, or Guinea Worm Disease. While not necessarily fatal, it is extremely painful, and can leave the infected crippled for the rest of their life. But this being a parasite means there are no vaccines or antibiotics to fight it. In 1985, the disease infected more than 3.5 million individuals, and the global community decided it was time to eliminate the disease. And by 2024, there were just 15 cases. This is the story of the eradication of Dracunculiasis. Sources https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02306-8 https://www.cartercenter.org/programs/guinea-worm/ https://www.who.int/activities/eradicating-dracunculiasis Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guinea_Worms_in_Carter_Museum.jpg History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  • Origins of Dungeons & Dragons
    In the early 1970s, in a small town in Southeastern Wisconsin, two young gaming enthusiasts, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, would concoct an idea for a new game. Little did they know they would create something that would revolutionize the industry - and to this day - remains the biggest role-playing game in the world. This is the story of the origins of Dungeons & Dragons. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Gygax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Arneson https://medium.com/@louis-fiori/dungeons-dragons-the-history-impact-and-legacy-of-a-cultural-phenomenon-b6a6b8c9e3af History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  • The Rif War
    From 1921-1926, in the dry craggy mountains of northern Morocco, a brutal conflict would unfold. Claiming tens of thousands of lives, it would see guerrilla warfare, massacres, poison gas attacks, and amphibious landings of tanks. And the amazing thing is that this conflict has been all but forgotten in the English-speaking world. This is the story of the Rif War. Sources https://www.britannica.com/event/Rif-War https://international-review.icrc.org/articles/the-rif-war-a-forgotten-war-923 Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camion_transform%C3%A9_en_auto-mitrailleuse_par_les_guerriers_d%27Abd-el-Krim,_dans_le_Rif_oriental_-_btv1b53213097z.jpg History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  • Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
    On Nov 10, 1975, a storm swept over Lake Superior. For hours and hours, the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald was tossed and battered. Then, a little after 7:00 pm, contact was lost with one of the biggest and most celebrated vessels to ever sail the Great Lakes. This is the story of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald https://shipwreckmuseum.com/edmund-fitzgerald/ Gordon Lightfoot's 'Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuzTkGyxkYI Image: Credit: Greenmars - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edmund_Fitzgerald,_1971,_3_of_4_(restored;_cropped).jpg History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  • Spruce Goose
    During WWII, America was seeking a way to avoid the German submarine fleet that prowled the waters of the Atlantic. Businessman Henry Kaiser would team up with aviation pioneer and film director Howard Hughes to find a way to bypass to this problem. That solution was the largest plane ever constructed. And the amazing thing is that they were going to construct it out of wood. This is the story of the Spruce Goose. Sources https://www.evergreenmuseum.org/exhibit/the-spruce-goose/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:H-4_Hercules_2.jpg History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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About History Dispatches

History Dispatches is a daily history show hosted by father and son duo Matt and McKinley Breen. The show covers people, places, events and even objects from throughout history. While any topic is fair game, Matt and McKinley hold a soft spot for the offbeat and wacky stories that most people don’t know about.
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