History Lecture Ideas

Topics for the Lecture and Slice of Life series.
Discussion about historical events, people, items, etc. that can add to the flavor to any historical game setting.
Discussion and sharing of links and resources.
Graham
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Re: History Lecture Ideas

Post by Graham » Sat Mar 14, 2015 1:54 am

This story from the 1930's looks like it has potential:
The visits of sports teams to Nazi Germany in the 1930s still generate controversy today, from the Berlin Olympics' anti-Semitism to the England football team's Nazi salute in 1938. But a new book tells the story of a cricket team from Worcestershire that found itself at the centre of a now-forgotten furore.

In August 1937 the Gentlemen of Worcestershire cricket club arrived in Berlin to compete in three games organised by members of the Nazi hierarchy who had developed an interest in the sport.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27139241

The history of cricket in the United States during the 19th C might also be worth looking into, aside from the first international cricket match (US v Canada), the sport also saw it's first betting scandals in this country.

I've found a 19th C (1893) book on the subject on Project Gutenberg.

A 'Bawl' for American Cricket by Jones Wister

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48468
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Re: History Lecture Ideas

Post by Koakai » Thu May 28, 2015 6:28 pm

A hidden Grotto, near the sea. Covered with enigmatic designs made from seashells. do we have a hidden worship site of Dagon?

http://www.kuriositas.com/2015/05/the-m ... rotto.html
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Re: History Lecture Ideas

Post by fox01313 » Fri May 29, 2015 10:35 pm

One eternal well of inspiration & ideas thanks to google+ & Ken Hite starting the downward rolling giant snowball with all kinds of mystery inside.

Suppressed Transmissions Community
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities ... 1514337441

One possible mythos inspired one from today.
http://www.kuriositas.com/2015/05/the-m ... rotto.html
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Dr. Gerard
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Re: History Lecture Ideas

Post by Dr. Gerard » Sat Jun 20, 2015 1:35 pm

Yes, that is an excellent thread!

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Re: History Lecture Ideas

Post by Lipen » Sun Jun 21, 2015 1:52 pm

So I haven't seen anything on it yet but Ogden Utah is crawling with ghost stories and conspiracy theories. For instance the Union Station in Ogden was used as a temporary morgue as bodies were shipped across country during war, and if I remember correctly has a history of murder including that of a little girl. It's also connected to a supposed network of underground tunnels connecting key points in the city. There is also a haunted hotel that is somewhat notorious in Utah, the local cemetery also has its own spooks and the old Indian schools have been a continued source of local legend and have even had trespassers conducting satanic rituals there.

Utah is also the site of a lot of military testing.
And a personal curiosity of mine is lake Ponchetrain which appears to be somewhat of a mini Bermuda triangle with planes inexplicably crashing into it and disappearing.

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Re: History Lecture Ideas

Post by Dr. Gerard » Thu Jun 25, 2015 11:48 am

Thanks, this is an excellent vein to mine.

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Re: History Lecture Ideas

Post by Graham » Thu Aug 06, 2015 2:07 am

Found a website dealing with the history of Chain Letters, it has an account of a bizarre suicide where witnesses were invited by a chain letter:

Helen Kim Mont, Suicide Invitation, 1937

http://www.silcom.com/~barnowl/chain-le ... ion_q2.htm

The archive, which is a great place to search for prop ideas is at:

http://www.silcom.com/~barnowl/chain-le ... ntent.html
"If you do good, you'll live forever, if you do bad, you'll die hearing a single note for I am the one true sound...", Fragment found in a cult hideout.

Graham
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Re: History Lecture Ideas

Post by Graham » Sun Nov 29, 2015 3:45 pm

Found another possible subject for a History Lecture:

The Great Atlantis Hoax of 1912

The original story

http://levigilant.com/Bulfinch_Mytholog ... Found.html

A skeptical look at the tale

http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/the-a ... ax-of-1912
"If you do good, you'll live forever, if you do bad, you'll die hearing a single note for I am the one true sound...", Fragment found in a cult hideout.

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Re: History Lecture Ideas

Post by Koakai » Thu Dec 03, 2015 9:29 pm

Just two things I spotted while cruising random sites today, both stemming from Chicago.

http://chicago.straightdope.com/sdc20100520.php
A mysterious submarine found sunk in the waters of Chicago.

http://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2013 ... une-tower/
So apparently the editor decided to collect rocks from a variety of historic landmarks around the world and bring them together here. I wonder what strange eldritch rites may be linked to having so many ties to places of power in one spot. Someone has to have used this one as a scenario seed by now right?

I mean, damn, the moon rock alone calls for a Delta green scenario (shot gun idea anyone?)
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Re: History Lecture Ideas

Post by Canageek » Tue Aug 30, 2016 10:51 pm

Koakai wrote:Canada was not always the paragon of acceptance and inclusiveness that we like to think of ourselves as now. We had our own version of the chinese head tax, and turned away an entire boat load of British citizens for the simple fact that they were Sheik.

The internment of Japanese born american and Canadian citizens is well known from world war 2, but there is another internment that happened in Canada, and it is less well known. Simply because the survivors refuse to talk about it.

I am referring to the internment of Ukrainians during the first world war.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_ ... internment

We took a large number of hearty cold adapted, allies and shipped them into the rockies to work on labour projects of an unknown nature. Before the term became polluted by the second world war, these were called 'Concentration Camps'. Over 100 individuals died and several went insane and/or committed suicide while in these camps.

The camps continued until a full TWO YEARS AFTER the war had ended.

Just what was the Canadian government doing with these individuals in the shadows of the rockies.

Why intern allies, and more so why keep them a full two years after the war had ended?

Death, madness and strange goings on that people refuse to speak about (including my own Ukrainian descended grandmother). This way the Mythos lies.
Huh, cool. Wonder how my relatives avoided being locked up? I had a lot of Ukranian-Canadian relatives at the time. I should ask around my older relatives and see if they know anything about this.
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