March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell turned a wild idea into reality. In a Boston workshop, he leaned into a clunky gadget and said, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” His assistant, Thomas Watson, heard it loud and clear through a wire in the next room. Just like that, the first phone call was born, and the world was about to get a lot chattier.

Bell had been tinkering with sound for years, inspired by his mom and his wife who were both deaf. But fun fact: he wasn’t the only one racing to crack the telephone code—Elisha Gray filed a similar patent the same day!—but Bell got the official nod. His setup was simple: a liquid transmitter and a receiver, turning voice into electric signals. Watson probably jumped when he heard Bell’s voice coming through, proving they’d just shrunk the distance between people. No more shouting across fields or sending carrier pigeons.

The moment sparked a revolution. Bell’s invention hit the ground running—by summer, he was showing it off at fairs, and soon, phone lines were popping up like dandelions. It wasn’t perfect—early calls were fuzzy, and you had to yell—but it beat writing letters that took days to arrive. The telephone turned into a household name, and Bell became the guy who made “hello” a global greeting. Fun fact: he thought “ahoy” should be the phone hello—imagine that at your next call.

March 10, 1876, is when talking got a tech upgrade, thanks to Bell and his buzzing box. It’s a cheerful reminder that one little “come here” kicked off a world where we’re never out of touch—well, unless your cell phone dies. The phone changed how we connect, and it all started with two guys and a wire. Next time you’re on a call, give a nod to Alex—he made it happen.

Now let’s go to 1945, when Tokyo faced a night that turned the city into a fiery nightmare. World War II was raging, and the U.S. unleashed over 300 B-29 bombers loaded with incendiary bombs over Japan. In just a few hours, they dropped nearly 1,700 tons of flames, torching 16 square miles of the city. The fires burned so much they pulled in the oxygen, making winds that spread the destruction. It was a heavy blow in a war that was nearly over.

The plan came from General Curtis LeMay, who figured Japan’s wooden homes and tight streets were perfect targets for a firestorm. He wasn’t wrong—temperatures hit 1,800°F, and the fire swallowed factories, houses, and anything in its path. Civilians ran for rivers or canals, but many didn’t make it; estimates say 80,000 to 100,000 people died, with countless more hurt or homeless. It was the deadliest air raid of the war, even topping the atomic bombs in raw numbers. Tokyo woke up to ash and silence.

This wasn’t a one-off—America had been hitting Japanese cities hard, aiming to break their spirit before an invasion. The firebombing left scars you could see from the sky, with a quarter of Tokyo flattened. Japan didn’t surrender right away (that took until August), but it shook them deep—survivors called it “the night of black snow” from all the soot. The U.S. called it strategy; others called it a tragedy. Either way, it showed war’s ugly side when the gloves came off.

March 10, 1945, is a dark reminder of how far humans can go when the stakes are high. But Tokyo bounced back stronger than ever, proving that resilience beats even the worst nights. So next time you admire a city skyline, just remember—Tokyo literally said, "Bet," and came back hotter than before.

Cat Shields🛡️
In 525 BCE, during the Battle of Pelusium, Persian King Cambyses II pulled off one of history’s strangest psychological warfare moves—using cats as shields. Knowing that Egyptians revered cats and even worshipped the feline goddess Bastet, the Persians reportedly painted cat symbols on their shields and released live cats onto the battlefield. The Egyptian soldiers, terrified of harming their sacred animals, refused to fight back, leading to a swift Persian victory. Basically, the Persians weaponized Egypt’s love for cats—making this one of history’s most unusual (and morally questionable) war strategies.

Ancient College📜
The University of Oxford is so old that when the Aztec Empire was rising, Oxford professors had already been giving lectures for centuries. Oxford began teaching students around 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world. The Aztec Empire? It didn’t officially form until 1428, over 300 years later. So while the Aztecs were building pyramids, Oxford scholars were arguing about philosophy in candlelit halls. Just a reminder that Europe’s old institutions are really old.

Giraffe Tongues SPF🧴
Giraffes don’t just have super long necks—they also have super long tongues, reaching up to 20 inches (50 cm)! But why? Their tongues are dark blue or purple, which helps protect them from sunburn while they spend hours each day snacking on leaves. The extra melanin in their tongues reduces UV damage, letting them munch without a painful sunburn. So while we need sunscreen, giraffes just evolved natural SPF tongues.

Lord Byron’s Bear🐻
When Lord Byron attended Cambridge University in the early 1800s, he was furious to learn that dogs were banned from campus. His solution? He got a pet bear instead. Since the university’s rules didn’t explicitly forbid bears, Byron walked it around campus on a leash just to annoy the administration. He even tried to get it officially enrolled as a student (which, unsurprisingly, didn’t work). Byron eventually moved on to collecting other exotic pets, but his college bear stunt remains legendary.

If you enjoy this edition of Today In History be sure to send it to a friend and force them to sign up because that’s what good friends do. Until next time, stay curious, question everything, and keep uncovering the mysteries of the past. - Zach⛺️