Summary of James Fell's On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

#1 There is too much sympathy for Nazis today. Anything more than zero sympathy is too much sympathy. Because Nazis deserve to die. And American soldiers were reluctant to take Nazi prisoners, because their superior officers wanted to question them and not waste them.

#2 The Reconquista was the name given to the process of reclaiming Spain’s territory from the Muslims, which took place from 711 to 1492. It was a reconquering of their own territory, and Islamic law forbids forced conversion.

#3 The end of the Shogunate in Japan was the result of a revolution to overthrow the isolationist factions of the shogunate and restore imperial rule in Japan. The emperor made an official acknowledgement of his line’s return to power on January 3, 1868.

#4 Topsy the elephant was born in the wild in 1875. She was captured and smuggled into the U. S. She was declared the first elephant born in America. She was sold and moved to Coney Island, where she was abused by her drunken handler. They tried to kill her by hanging, but the president of the ASPCA said no. They went for the triple threat: electrocution, poison, and strangulation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669387244

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

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Insights on James Fell's On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

There is too much sympathy for Nazis today. Anything more than zero sympathy is too much sympathy. Because Nazis deserve to die. And American soldiers were reluctant to take Nazi prisoners, because their superior officers wanted to question them and not waste them.

#2

The Reconquista was the name given to the process of reclaiming Spain’s territory from the Muslims, which took place from 711 to 1492. It was a reconquering of their own territory, and Islamic law forbids forced conversion.

#3

The end of the Shogunate in Japan was the result of a revolution to overthrow the isolationist factions of the shogunate and restore imperial rule in Japan. The emperor made an official acknowledgement of his line’s return to power on January 3, 1868.

#4

Topsy the elephant was born in the wild in 1875. She was captured and smuggled into the U. S. She was declared the first elephant born in America. She was sold and moved to Coney Island, where she was abused by her drunken handler. They tried to kill her by hanging, but the president of the ASPCA said no. They went for the triple threat: electrocution, poison, and strangulation.

#5

The last person to be executed in France in such a manner was Robert-Francois Damiens, who tried to kill King Louis XV in 1757. His nickname was Robert the Devil. He was quartered and burnt at the stake.

#6

The film Mississippi Burning tells the tale of the murder of three civil rights workers in 1964. It would be over 40 years before the man who instigated and planned the killings was finally brought to justice.

#7

Charlie Hebdo is a French satirical magazine that has always pushed the limits of decency. In 2015, two Muslim brothers attacked the magazine, killing a dozen people and wounding 11 others. The brothers shouted Allahu akbar, which is Arabic for God is great.

#8

The story of the Huaorani people, an uncontacted tribe in Ecuador, is a good example of how not to deal with the Jesus freaks who want to convert you. In 1955, five Christian missionaries flew a small plane in tight circles around the tribe while lowering gifts of things like machetes, pots, and clothing. The Huaorani seemed pleased with the gifts, but they weren’t receiving anything.

#9

The Black Death, which killed perhaps 200 million people in seven years, was caused by Jews. They were blamed for poisoning wells with the plague to kill all the good little Christians.

#10

The Rubicon is a river in Northern Italy. It was the point of no return for Julius Caesar, who crossed it with a small legion when he feared that he would be arrested for being popular. He was the dictator of Rome for life, but the Senate took him literally and stabbed him five years later.

#11

Before the discovery of insulin, people with Type 1 diabetes had only a few years to live. But when a Canadian physician treated them with a new drug, they began to recover.

#12

Lincoln’s speech was a historical mistake that nearly ruined his political career, but it led to him becoming president. Lincoln was able to emerge as a leader in the 1850s, when the country was becoming more divided over the issue of slavery.

#13

Johnny Cash, a country singer, was a guest at a few different prisons, but never recorded it. In 1968, he performed for some actual outlaws at Folsom Prison and turned out a live album. His career flourished for decades.

#14

The Human Be-In, which was held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park in January 1967, was a counterculture statement. The media freaked out, and declared the death of the hippie two months later.

#15

The Black Dahlia case is one of the most famous unsolved murders in American history. It involved the murder of an aspiring actress named Elizabeth Short, who was cut in half at the waist. The media gave her the nickname Black Dahlia.

#16

Ivan IV, known as the Terrible, was the first Tsar of Russia. He was crowned when he was 16, and sought to expand his empire to include non-Slavic states. He terrorized the Russian nobility to consolidate his power.

#17

The United States annexed Hawaii in 1898 and made it a state in 1959. Queen Lili’uokalani was deposed as monarch in 1893 and abdicated in order to save the lives of her supporters who had been sentenced to death.

#18

The story of Naresuan and Mingyi is that they fought each other to see who was the strongest in 1593, and Naresuan