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On 26 July, 1945, the U.S. Navy cruiser USS Indianapolis delivered several top secret packages to the U.S. Naval installation on Tinian Island, in the heart of the Pacific. Unbeknownst to her crew, they had just delivered the uranium core of “Little Boy”, the atomic bomb that would by dropped on Hiroshima a few weeks later.

Departing Tinian for the island of Leyte, she was rocked by explosions shortly after midnight on 30 July. Two torpedoes, fired by submarine I-58 of the Imperial Japanese Navy, brought “The Indy” down in only 12 minutes, plunging her beneath the Philippine Sea with 300 men.

The surviving 900 men were left stranded in the water. What would follow would become the largest known shark attack in history. Over four days, survivors died to hunger, thirst, and even their fellow men, with over 100 being dragged beneath the waves by unseen jaws. By August 2, only 316 men remained. Following their rescue, Captain Charles McVay was court martialed for not doing more to prevent the sinking, despite being attacked at night in waters he was told by the Navy were safe. Though he served no jail time, McVay would be haunted by the sinking and a never ending stream of hate mail from families of his dead sailors.

In 1968, McVay walked into his backyard in Litchfield, Connecticut, and shot himself in the head. He left no note.

And there the story remained, until a middle schooler from Florida sat down to watch “Jaws” with his father. Inspired by Quint’s harrowing monologue describing the sinking and subsequent shark attack, 12 year old Hunter Scott made it his mission to clear Captain McVay’s name. After interviewing over 150 survivors and reviewing 800 historical documents, Scott presented his findings as his National History Day project at his school. His testimony before Congress four years later led to a reevaluation of McVay’s court martial. They soon reached a unanimous decision.

While still in high school, Scott had managed to convince Congress to clear McVay’s name.

Captain Charles Butler McVay III of the USS Indianapolis was officially exonerated of all wrongdoing on 30 October, 2000.

Image 1 — Dr. Librescu in his office. A renowned expert in aeronautics and solid mechanics, Librescu taught his classes from Room 204 of VA Tech’s Norris Hall. When it became clear the gunman had entered the building and that escape through the doors was impossible, the 76 year old man held his classroom door closed with his own body even as the gunman poured bullets through the door, buying his students precious time to escape through a second story window. Librescu, shot four times during the struggle, was then executed by a shot to the head.

Image 2 — The second story window used by Librescu’s students to escape. Only one of Librescu’s students was unable to escape in time. For his bravery and sacrifice, Librescu was posthumously awarded the Order of the Star of Romania, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

By 1966, U.S. forces in Vietnam became aware for the need of a dedicated underground fighting force. The Viet Cong militias and North Vietnamese Army operated thousands of miles of underground tunnels, leading to a network of supply bases, underground bunkers, and command centers. Tunnels were small, often only 2ft X 3ft, and filled with enemy fighters, venomous snakes, scorpions, booby traps, and more.

Tunnel Rats were selected for their mental fortitude, small size, and ability to operate in deeply claustrophobic conditions. Many were borderline insane, with mental profiles unfit for that of a regular ground soldier.

Many served multiple tours underground, in the dark, by choice.

By 1644, Jeffrey Hudson had served Queen Henrietta of France’s court for many years as a jester, but was treated as a pet or an animal due to his extremely small size (standing only 19 inches tall as a grown man). Sir John Crofts, brother of the King of England’s Lord of the Bedchamber, took particular pleasure in tormenting Hudson with jokes about his dwarfism, often comparing him to a small child.

Enraged, the 25 year old Hudson then challenged Crofts, one of the most powerful men in England, to a duel. Delighted, Crofts agreed, and met before the court at the appointed time carrying a brass water pistol instead of a real gun, thinking the entire affair was another of Hudson’s elaborate jokes.

In response, Hudson drew a full sized wheellock pistol and shot Crofts between the eyes, killing him on the spot.

By the Waters of Babylon — Nuclear War

First published in 1937, Vincent Benet’s classic post-apocalyptic short story follows John, Son of John, a young priest of the Hill People who wishes to journey to the “newyork” — the ancient land of the gods. His people’s legends say the gods destroyed their old civilization in a “Great Burning” which destroyed the cities, poisoned the land, and nearly wiped out all human life. Originally published during the aftermath of the Bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, Benet imagined a future where a hypothetical weapon of mass destruction, used by foolish men, could potentially end society as we know it.

Less than 10 years later, the United States would drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Futility, or The Wreck of the Titan — The Titanic

Published in 1898, Futility (later republished as The Wreck of the Titan) is one of the most bizarre literary coincidences of all time. The novella follows the SS Titan, an “unsinkable” luxury liner which strikes an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sinks. In a even more bizarre cosmic coincidence, Titan was the name later given to the prototype submersible which imploded with all aboard in 2023

I’m a “Don’t Worry” most days and a “So So” at my best. I have a constantly upset tummy and 82 generations of gruel-enjoying Anglo-Saxon tastebuds. Anything hotter than black pepper my brain registers as a potential threat.

By and large, “American” food is generally not that spicy unless you’re eating a regional specific food (like Cajun) or go looking for heat for its own sake

King Jellybean — Rick and Morty

In season one, episode five of Rick and Morty (Meeseeks and Destroy), the duo go to a stereotypical medieval fantasy world so Morty can lead his own adventure. While using the bathroom at a bar, Morty is approached by a large talking jellybean, who initially feigns friendliness before trying to assault Morty in a bathroom stall. Despite beating him severely and escaping, Morty is still traumatized by the incident. Rick soon pieces events together just as the two discover that the talking jellybean is actually the King of the realm, reaching his arm back through the portal to shoot King Jellybean with a laser that turns him to goo. At the end of the episode, it’s revealed that a few of the fantasy world’s people discovered the truth about King Jellybean’s disgusting tendencies, and opt to burn all the incriminating evidence, saying he should be “remembered as the king we saw, not as the jellybean he actually was.”

The Red Death — Fallout 4 : Far Harbor

If choosing the assist the settlers at Far Harbor (fictional, post-apocalyptic Bar Harbor, Maine), the player will be tasked with several upgrades to the settlement by The Mariner, the town’s resident carpenter and shipwright. After every other mission is completed, The Mariner will ask for the player’s help one last time. She reveals that she is soon to die from a terminal illness, and wishes to achieve one last great victory before she dies. She then asks the player to help her battle The Red Death, a legendary giant monster with glowing red eyes, with claws big enough to snap a ship in two. When you finally find the monster, you realize the legends are only partially correct. The Red Death does have glowing red eyes, as bright as a lighthouse. But it is no giant bloodthirsty beast. It is about the size of a beach ball and completely passive and harmless. Each of its victims actually died by accident after following its glowing red eyes, crashing their ships against the rocks of the little island it lives on. Crushed by this, The Mariner plans to reveal the truth to the islanders. Instead, the player can prompt her to lie about the battle with the Red Death, and claim all the old legends are true.

Image 1 — An unnamed AIM fighter holds his AK in the air, posing for photojournalist Keith McKiernan.

Image 2 — Two Lakota teenagers man an armed checkpoint leading into Wounded Knee, a small town on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Roads both leading into and out of town were manned by armed guards from both sides, leading most residents to be trapped within town for over two months.

Image 3 — WWII veteran Oscar Bear Runner confronts a journalist with his rifle, becoming the most well-known symbol of the conflict.

Image 4 — Oglala child stands next to graffiti. “Say it Loud, I’m Red and I’m Proud.”

Image 5 — FBI Marksman takes aim at an unknown target. Over the 71 day occupation, constant gunfights between law enforcement and AIM (American Indian Movement) members saw over 500000 bullets fired

Image 6 — US Marshals hold up a native man attempting to flee the town

Image 7 — The Funeral of Lawrence “Buddy” Lamont. A beloved member of the Wounded Knee community, Lamont has shot and killed by an FBI sharpshooter as he stood up from a foxhole along the firing line. He marks one of only two native casualties over two months of constant fighting.

The Dumping of the Milk — HBO’s “Chernobyl”

Following the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl and the subsequent contamination of the area, a Soviet soldier is sent to evacuate an old woman in an irradiated village. When she refuses to leave, citing her experience with both world wars and the Holodomor, the soldier pointedly takes a bucket of milk from the cow she is milking, dumping it out on the ground before shooting the cow dead. Though clearly intended to simply show the severity of the situation, the disposal of the milk in particular becomes much more meaningful when observing real world history. Following the Chernobyl disaster, soldiers were ordered to destroy any and all animals and animal products sourced from affected areas. As the months went on, Soviet officials became aware that radioactive material was affecting pastures across a large swath of Eastern Europe, leaving milk dangerously irradiated. To avoid panic, soviet officials allowed most contaminated milk from areas outside the exclusion zone to be sold, leading to a measurable increase in childhood cancer across the region.

Abijah Fowler and the Nine Years War — Blue Eye Samurai

While testing out a shipment of European rifles he intends to use to take over feudal Japan, Abijah Fowler briefly monologues about his childhood during a great famine in Ireland, explaining that he was forced to eat his sister’s body after she died of starvation. Though intended to explain Fowler’s ruthlessness and misanthropy, one throwaway line reveals much more about Fowler’s character. “I was a boy when the Tudors burned anything the rebels under O’Niell might think to eat.” Though he provides no additional context, Fowler is referring to the Nine Years War, the last great Irish rebellion that saw the country finally fully conquered by the English. A coalition of rebel Irish lords led by Hugh O’Niell, Earl of Tyrone, waged a brutal guerrilla war against the colonizing English, to prevent their conquest of Ulster, the last free Irish province. After waging a shock campaign of starvation and brutal violence, the English finally broke the rebellion following the Siege of Kinsale in 1602. Fowler witnessed firsthand the final takeover of his country by an invading force. He witnessed the slow erasure of his native culture and identity to English influence. And he is preparing to do exactly the same thing to Japan. Only this time, he’s the one with the guns.

The Opossum.

They scream. They hiss. They eat garbage. They’re basically a big tree rat. If they had iPads, they’d give them to their kids 100%. If they could place an order at Starbucks, they’d probably ask to speak to manager.

That’s a true American right there I tell you hwhat