In ancient Egypt, around 196 B.C., priests created a special stone to honor their king, Ptolemy V. They wanted everyone to know about the good things he had done for Egypt, so they carved the same message in three different types of writing: hieroglyphics (for the priests), demotic (for everyday Egyptians), and Greek (for the rulers who were actually from Greece).

This stone wasn't particularly important in its time - it was just one of many similar monuments. It sat in a temple for hundreds of years until French soldiers found it in 1799 while rebuilding a fort near the town of Rosetta in Egypt. They recognized that finding the same text in three languages might help scholars finally understand hieroglyphics, which had been a mystery for centuries.

The stone became the key that unlocked ancient Egyptian writing. A Frenchman named Jean-François Champollion spent years studying it alongside other Egyptian texts. In 1822, he finally figured out how hieroglyphics worked - they weren't just pictures, but a mix of symbols that represented sounds and ideas. This breakthrough let historians read Egyptian texts for the first time in over a thousand years.

Today, the Rosetta Stone sits in the British Museum in London, where millions of visitors see it each year. Without this stone, much of ancient Egyptian history and culture might remain a mystery to us. What started as a simple monument became one of the most important archaeological finds in history.

On March 27, 1814, American forces led by General Andrew Jackson fought against the Red Stick faction of Creek warriors in what became known as the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The Creek had built a strong defensive position on a peninsula formed by the Tallapoosa River in present-day Alabama. They placed logs across the narrow part of the peninsula, creating a wall that would be difficult to break through.

Jackson arrived with about 3,500 men, including U.S. Army soldiers, Tennessee militia, and Cherokee and Creek allies who opposed the Red Stick Creek faction. He split his forces to surround the peninsula. While some troops attacked the barricade directly, others crossed the river and attacked from behind. The fighting was intense and lasted most of the day.

By the end of the battle, over 800 Creek warriors had been killed, while Jackson's forces lost fewer than 50 men. This defeat effectively ended the Creek War, which had begun as part of the larger War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. The Creek were forced to sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson a few months later, giving up 23 million acres of their land to the United States.

This victory helped establish Andrew Jackson as a national hero and later helped him become President of the United States. For the Creek people and other Native American tribes in the Southeast, the battle marked the beginning of a difficult period that eventually led to their forced removal to territories west of the Mississippi River on what became known as the Trail of Tears. The battle remains an important turning point in American history, showing both military strategy and the tragic cost of westward expansion.

Lawn Chair Flight🎈
In 1982 (close—easy to mix up!), a man named Larry Walters in Los Angeles actually did fly using a lawn chair and weather balloons. Armed with 45 helium-filled balloons, a BB gun, and a dream, Larry tied everything to a regular lawn chair and took off—soaring to 15,000 feet. He floated into controlled airspace, startled a few commercial pilots, and eventually began his descent by shooting out balloons one at a time. He landed safely (and was promptly fined), but became a legend. When asked why he did it, Larry simply said:
"A man can’t just sit around."

The Queens Bath🛀
Queen Elizabeth I was known for her extravagant wardrobe—by the end of her reign, she reportedly owned over 2,000 gowns, each more lavish than the last. Her dresses were decked out in pearls, embroidery, and enough ruffles to suffocate a small courtier. But when it came to hygiene? Not quite as glamorous. Elizabeth is believed to have bathed just a few times a year, famously stating that she “took a bath once a month, whether I needed it or not.” At the time, many people believed that bathing too often could make you sick, so wiping down with linen cloths and drowning yourself in perfume was the royal workaround.

Barber Shop Pole💈
In the 17th century, a visit to the barber wasn’t just for a haircut—you could also get a tooth pulled, a minor surgery, or even a bloodletting while you were there. These multitasking pros were known as barber-surgeons. And that iconic red and white barber pole? It’s not just for style: Red symbolizes blood, White stands for bandages, and the spiral design? That’s a nod to the way bandages were twisted around a patient’s arm during procedures. Some poles even had blue stripes, which in the U.S. are often said to represent veins (or patriotism—it’s debated).

Twains Celestial Death☄️
Mark Twain (born Samuel Clemens) wasn’t just a literary genius—he also had a flair for dramatic timing. He was born in 1835, the same year Halley’s Comet passed Earth. And as the comet returned in 1910, Twain famously said: “I came in with Halley's Comet… and I expect to go out with it.” Sure enough, he died the day after its closest approach—April 21, 1910. Whether it was fate, coincidence, or just Twain being Twain, his life literally bookended by a comet feels… kind of perfect.

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.