Phil Connelly

Johnny Clem was one of the most well-known youthful figures associated with the American Civil War. His story is a mix of documented fact and colorful legend, shaped both by wartime reporting and later retellings. Even so, the essentials of his life are remarkable and well established.

The nuclear football is a briefcase that travels with the President of the United States at all times, serving as a portable command center for the nation's nuclear arsenal. Its compact size and handle made it resemble a traditional American football in silhouette, especially in early versions. Its purpose is to allow the president to authorize a nuclear strike anywhere, at any time, even if they are away from the White House or other secure locations. The football contains secure communications equipment, emergency war plans, and the authentication codes necessary to verify the president's identity, often called the “biscuit.” This small card carries the codes the president must use to confirm authority before any nuclear launch order can be executed. Without the codes, the military cannot act, ensuring that only the president can authorize the use of nuclear weapons.

In the small Irish town of Ballyjamesduff, life was simple, but trouble frequently brewed just beneath the surface. The cobblestone streets, narrow and winding, passed by the Constable's office, which sat just beside the local pub — a combination that often brewed up more than just drinks. It wasn't unusual for tempers to flare at the pub, especially when a few too many pints had been poured. On one fateful day, Marcus Daly, a young man of fifteen, found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

History in photos: Ravalli County Take a look at the history of Ravalli County in photos.

In the late 19th-century American Southwest, the frontier was a place of isolation, harsh geography and profound mystery. Among the many tales whispered around campfires, one legend stood apart for its sheer terror: the "Red Ghost" of Arizona. For over a decade, settlers reported encounters with a colossal, hulking beast that seemed to defy natural classification. Witnesses described a towering, reddish creature, sometimes estimated at 30 feet in height, that moved with terrifying speed and emitted a presence of pure malice. It was said to trample campsites in the dead of night, overturn heavy freight wagons as if they were toys, and leave behind massive, unrecognizable hoofprints.

Clever Hans was a horse that became famous in Germany in the early 1900s because many people believed he possessed remarkable intellectual abilities. Hans appeared able to perform arithmetic, tell time, identify musical notes and answer a variety of questions. His owner, Wilhelm von Osten, a retired mathematics teacher, was convinced that animals could think much like humans and trained Hans to respond to questions by tapping his hoof.

People have chewed natural substances for thousands of years. Early civilizations used tree sap and plant resins as both habit and enjoyment. In the United States during the 1800s, this practice became commercialized. One of the key figures was Thomas Adams, who experimented with chicle — a natural latex from the sapodilla tree. He originally hoped to use it as a rubber substitute, but when that idea failed, he turned it into chewing gum instead. That shift helped launch the modern gum industry.

Take a look at the history of Ravalli County in photos. The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized but highly influential network of American

Some of history's most useful inventions were never intended for the purpose that eventually made them famous. Bubble wrap is a perfect example. Today it is one of the world's most widely used packaging materials, protecting everything from delicate electronics to priceless works of art. Yet when it was invented in 1957, its creators had no intention of wrapping packages. They were trying to reinvent wallpaper.

In 1990, former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali undertook one of the most unusual humanitarian missions of his life: traveling to Iraq to help secure the release of American hostages held by Saddam Hussein's government.