Charles II's world had just collapsed. The day before, his mostly Scottish army had been crushed at the Battle of Worcester, and now Oliver Cromwell's forces were hunting him down with a £1,000 bounty on his head - more money than most people would see in a lifetime. The 21-year-old future king managed to escape Worcester by slipping out the back door of his lodgings as Parliamentarian troops stormed the front. But he was still the most wanted man in England.

Around 3 AM on September 4th, Charles and about 60 Royalist soldiers rode quietly up to White Ladies, an old converted priory on the Shropshire border. This was where his real adventure began. The Pendrell brothers, who were Catholics loyal to the crown, quickly got to work transforming the tall, distinctive king into a common farm laborer. They chopped off his flowing cavalier hair, rubbed soot on his face, and dressed him in rough country clothes - green breeches, a leather doublet, a coarse hemp shirt, and an old grey hat.

Richard Pendrell led Charles into the woods with just a blanket, some milk, butter, and eggs to sustain them through a long, wet day. Charles had to learn to walk and talk like a peasant - practicing what one writer called "a lobbing jobsons gate" instead of his usual royal stride. They tried to reach Wales by crossing the River Severn, but every crossing point was heavily guarded by Parliamentary troops, forcing them to turn back.

The most famous part of Charles's escape came two days later when he hid all day in an oak tree at Boscobel House with Captain William Careless. They sat in the branches with bread, cheese, and small beer while Cromwell's soldiers searched the woods below, never thinking to look up. Charles would spend the next six weeks on the run, adopting different disguises and identities - including "William Jackson," a servant - before finally escaping to France. He wouldn't return to England for nine years, but when he did, he loved telling dinner guests about his adventures as a fugitive.

Geronimo was exhausted. For nearly 30 years, the Apache leader had been fighting Mexicans and Americans who invaded his homeland, but by 1886 he was down to just 38 followers including women and children - constantly on the run from 5,000 U.S. troops. His real name was Goyaałé, meaning "the one who yawns," but the Mexicans had nicknamed him Geronimo after he repeatedly attacked their settlements to avenge his family's murder in 1858.

The final chase had been going on for over a year since Geronimo's last escape from the San Carlos Reservation in May 1885. General Nelson Miles had replaced the previous commander and was determined to end the Apache wars once and for all. When Captain Henry Lawton and Lieutenant Charles Gatewood finally caught up with Geronimo's band in Mexico, Gatewood delivered devastating news - all the Chiricahua Apaches were being relocated to Florida, whether they surrendered or not.

This broke Geronimo's spirit because it meant his people would never return to their homeland regardless of what he did. He agreed to surrender, but only to General Miles personally. The two men met at Skeleton Canyon near the Arizona-New Mexico border on September 3rd and 4th. After some negotiations, Geronimo finally handed over his Winchester rifle with the silver-washed barrel and formally surrendered.

Geronimo became the last Native American warrior to formally give up, ending the major Indian Wars in the Southwest. But he later said he felt betrayed by the government's promises. Instead of the two years in Florida he was told to expect, Geronimo spent 23 years as a prisoner of war - first in Florida, then Alabama, and finally Oklahoma. He never saw Arizona again, though he did ride in Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 inaugural parade and became something of a celebrity, selling autographed photos and telling his story. He died at Fort Sill in 1909, reportedly regretting that he hadn't "fought to the bitter end" instead of surrendering.

The First Wheel🛞
Ancient Mesopotamians invented the wheel around 3500 BCE, but used it for pottery before transportation. The potter's wheel was the first application of this revolutionary technology - it took several hundred more years before someone figured out to use it for carts and chariots. Sumerian potters achieved perfectly symmetrical vessels using spinning clay wheels, while wheeled vehicles didn't appear until around 3200 BCE in Mesopotamian cities.

Egyptian Embalming🧠
Egyptian embalmers removed the brain through the nose using a long hooked tool during mummification. They considered the brain useless and discarded it, while carefully preserving other organs like the heart, which they believed was the center of intelligence and emotion. Bronze hooks called "excerebration tools" were inserted through nostrils, the brain was liquefied, then drained out. Egyptians thought the heart contained memory and personality.

Persian Windmill💨
Ancient Persians invented the first windmills for grinding grain around 915 CE. These vertical-axis windmills in Persia were used centuries before horizontal windmills appeared in Europe, demonstrating advanced engineering adapted to their desert environment. Persian windmills featured vertical wooden blades that caught desert winds, were enclosed in buildings for protection, and could operate in harsh conditions where European horizontal designs would fail completely.

Roman Fast Food🍔
Ancient Romans had fast food restaurants called "thermopolia" that served hot prepared meals. These were essentially ancient fast food joints with marble counters containing large pottery jars of hot food, complete with serving ladles - very similar to modern cafeteria setups. Pompeii alone had 89 thermopolia, serving hot stews, bread, wine, and sausages to busy Romans who lived in apartments without cooking facilities.

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