🕰️ Weekend Editions – Raw, unfiltered stories that don’t make it to the weekday feed
⏰ 7AM Early Drops – Get the daily email hours before everyone else
🔐 Monthly Deep Dives – Weirder, wilder, and MUCH longer history + conspiracy breakdowns
🗳️ Power to Choose – Vote on topics and request what deep dive we dig into

On the night of August 7, 1620, Katharina Kepler was dragged from her bed by armed guards and thrown into prison. The 73-year-old woman was the mother of famous astronomer Johannes Kepler, who had discovered the laws of planetary motion. But this night, she faced 49 charges of practicing witchcraft - a crime that could mean torture and death by burning.

The trouble had started years earlier when Ursula Reinbold accused Katharina of giving her a bitter drink that made her sick. Katharina was known in her hometown of Leonberg, Germany, as a local "wise woman" who made herbal potions and remedies. Her bad temper and family history didn't help - her own aunt had been burned as a witch years before.

This was happening during Europe's worst witch-hunting period. In Leonberg alone, the local magistrate Lutherus Einhorn had already executed eight women for witchcraft between 1613 and 1629. It’s said that when Katharina was arrested, she was naked and hiding in a wooden chest, having heard the guards coming. The terrified old woman was carried away to face what seemed like certain death.

Johannes Kepler immediately dropped his scientific work and rushed to defend his mother. The famous astronomer spent over 900 guilders (more than two years' salary) on her legal defense. Using the same careful, logical thinking that made him a great scientist, Kepler wrote a detailed legal brief that challenged each accusation point by point. After 13 months in prison, Katharina was finally acquitted in October 1621, but she died just six months later.

On August 7, 1946, President Harry Truman signed a law that created the first official U.S. coin featuring an African American. The Booker T. Washington Memorial Half Dollar made history as the first time the U.S. Mint honored a Black person on American currency. This moment came just one year after World War II ended, during a time when America was slowly beginning to recognize civil rights.

Booker T. Washington was chosen for this honor because of his incredible life story. Born into slavery, he became one of America's most famous educators and founded Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The coin showed his journey with the inscription "From Slave Cabin to Hall of Fame" - representing how he went from being born in a simple log cabin to being honored in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans.

The coin was designed by Isaac Scott Hathaway, who became the first African American artist to design a U.S. coin. Hathaway had learned about the coin project and offered his design for free, using a life mask of Washington's actual face to make sure the portrait was accurate. The front showed Washington's profile, while the back depicted both his birth cabin and the Hall of Fame building.

The law allowed the U.S. Mint to produce up to five million coins for five years. The coins were sold for $1 each to raise money for maintaining Washington's birthplace as a national monument. While many coins were made and sold from 1946 to 1951, a large number were later melted down because interest in commemorative coins was declining. This historic coin opened the door for other African Americans to be honored on U.S. currency in the years that followed.

Alaska’s Triple Crown👑
Alaska is simultaneously the westernmost, easternmost, and northernmost state in the US due to the Aleutian Islands crossing the 180° meridian. The Aleutian chain extends so far west that it actually crosses into the Eastern Hemisphere, making Alaska technically both westernmost and easternmost state. This geographic quirk makes Alaska uniquely positioned across multiple directions.

Scotlands National Animal🦄
The unicorn is Scotland's national animal since the 12th century, featured on Scotland's royal coat of arms. It symbolizes purity, innocence, and power. The unicorn is often depicted in chains because unicorns were considered dangerous when free. This mythical creature represents Scottish ideals of strength, pride, and the untamable spirit of the nation.

The First Carrot🥕
Carrots were originally purple, not orange - orange carrots were developed in the Netherlands. Purple carrots were the norm for thousands of years until Dutch farmers in the 17th century cultivated orange varieties to honor the House of Orange, their royal family. This political agricultural tribute permanently changed the world's perception of carrot color.

Scotlands Golf Ban⛳️
Golf was banned in Scotland in 1457 because it was distracting people from archery practice. King James II outlawed golf because men were spending too much time on golf courses instead of practicing archery, which was essential for national defense. The ban demonstrates how recreational activities sometimes conflicted with military preparedness in medieval times.

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.