The post Ruby Slippers From “The Wizard of Oz” Sell for $32.5 Million appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Garland wore several pairs of the iconic ruby shoes in The Wizard of Oz, but only four are known to have survived. The shoes put on auction by Heritage Auctions were once stolen from a museum that housed them but was eventually returned to the memorabilia collector Michael Shaw.
The stolen ruby slippers were expected to fetch around $3 million, and the bidding kicked off at $1.55 million, but the price quickly jumped through the roof after an intense bidding war. An unknown buyer eventually agreed to shell out $28 million for the iconic slippers, plus an additional $4.5 million in fees to the Dallas-based auction house.
According to Heritage Auctions, this makes the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz the most expensive piece of movie memorably ever sold. The record had previously been held by the white dress that Marilyn Monroe wore while standing over the subway grate in The Seven Year Itch, which sold for $5.52 million in 2011.
The post Ruby Slippers From “The Wizard of Oz” Sell for $32.5 Million appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Iconic Celebrities That Have Endorsed U.S. Presidential Candidates appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>One of the greatest baseball players in history, Babe Ruth was a stanch Democrat. In addition to claiming that President Wilson was a good friend of his, Ruth also formed a close bond with President Warren G. Harding. While Harding was a Republican, he and Ruth saw eye-to-eye, with Ruth even calling Harding a “personal friend” in a letter honoring the president upon his passing. Ruth’s most controversial political moment came when he was asked to pose for a photograph with Herbert Hoover, to which Ruth replied that he was supporting his opponent Al Smith.
Despite his enormous fame, Sammy Davis Jr.’s political influence was not as positive as he hoped. During the 1972 Republican National Convention’s Young Voters Rally, the iconic singer hugged President Richard Nixon from behind. “This completely ruined Davis’s relationship with the Black community and he was nearly booed off the stage at a Chicago rally for Jesse Jackson’s charity Rainbow PUSH a few months later,” NYU professor Laurence Maslon noted.
The multitalented singer and actress Barbra Streisand has been politically active for decades. Having supported Bill Clinton’s 1996 election campaign, Streisand decided to endorse his wife, Hillary, when she ran in the Democratic primaries in the lead-up to the 2008 presidential election.
The post Iconic Celebrities That Have Endorsed U.S. Presidential Candidates appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Marie Antoinette’s Infamous Quote: Did She Really Say “Let Them Eat Cake”? appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The phrase “Let them eat cake” (or more accurately, “Let them eat brioche”) first appeared in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s autobiographical work, Confessions. It was written in 1767—years before Marie Antoinette even became queen.
Rousseau attributed the quote to “a great princess,” but he never specified who that princess was. Over time, however, the words became linked to Marie Antoinette, partly due to her reputation as being out of touch with the French people.
Historians widely agree that Marie Antoinette likely never said “Let them eat cake.” By the time the phrase was associated with her, she had already become an unpopular figure in France. The quote was likely used as propaganda to paint her as indifferent to the suffering of the poor.
The post Marie Antoinette’s Infamous Quote: Did She Really Say “Let Them Eat Cake”? appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Divers Discover Crates of Unopened Champagne on a 19th-Century Shipwreck appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Baltictech describes itself as a project aimed at promoting the Baltic Sea as the “world’s best wreck dive site” and is lobbying for the accessibility of Baltic wrecks. During one of their recent dives, Baltictech divers uncovered the wreck of a small merchant ship. It wasn’t a particularly important discovery as the bottom of the Baltic Sea is full of them.
However, Baltictech team leader Tomasz Stachura wanted to give the shipwreck a closer inspection, and his decision paid off in the end. It turned out that the ship was carrying some valuable items, including unopened champagne, wine, and porcelain.
It isn’t often that unopened champagne bottles are found on shipwrecks, which makes Baltictech’s quite interesting. They reported the find to the authorities and are now waiting for approval to get the found items on the shore and give them a closer inspection.
There is a chance that the champagne might still be drinkable and quite possibly in better condition compared to bottles aged on land if their cork is undamaged. The sea, due to its lack of oxygen and cold and dark environment, would, in theory, keep the champagne inside the bottle intact.
If it turns out that champagne is safe to drink, Stachura is open to having a sip.
“If some expert says it’s drinkable?” Stachura told The New York Times. “Yes, yes, why not? It would be nice to try what people would drink 170 years ago.”
The post Divers Discover Crates of Unopened Champagne on a 19th-Century Shipwreck appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post 3 Beauty Brands That Transformed Celebrities Into Billionaires appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>With a net worth of $1.4 billion, Rihanna is one of the highest-paid celebrities in the world, but she doesn’t owe her fortune to music alone. She made many smart business decisions in recent years and started several brands, including the cosmetics empire Fenty Beauty, which prides itself on offering a wide range of beauty products for different skin tones.
Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty is currently valued at approximately $2 billion and it’s one of the fastest-growing celebrity beauty brands in the world. It helped the former Disney star increase her personal net worth to $800 million, and she’s committed to donating 1% of the sales towards her mental health non-profit Rare Beauty Impact Fund.
Kylie Jenner was once called the world’s youngest self-made billionaire at age 21 by Forbes, but it later turned out her net worth was overblown. She still managed to build a pretty impressive beauty empire with her brand Kylie Cosmetics, which was valued at $1.2 billion in 2019, when she sold a 51% stake to Coty for $600 million.
The post 3 Beauty Brands That Transformed Celebrities Into Billionaires appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Famous Last Words: The Memorable Exits of Historical Figures appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Known for his wit, the famous playwright and novelist Oscar Wilde supposedly made this quip about the decor of his room in a Paris hotel as he lay on his deathbed in 1900. Whether or not these were his exact last words, they are often cited as an example of his sharp humor.
As she approached the guillotine, Marie Antoinette, the ousted queen of France, accidentally stepped on the executioner’s foot. Her polite apology before her execution in 1793 reflected her dignity and grace, even in the face of death.
The renowned composer Beethoven, who spent much of his later life struggling with deafness, is reported to have said these hopeful words on his deathbed in 1827. This poignant remark reflects his passion for music and his hope for the afterlife.
The post Famous Last Words: The Memorable Exits of Historical Figures appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post 4 Facts About the History of Monopoly You Probably Didn’t Know appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The initial idea of Monopoly wasn’t just for people to have fun. The game was created to also help people understand tax and real estate.
The early versions of Monopoly didn’t come with a token. Instead, the players used any item they could find. It wasn’t until 1935 that six tokens—a battleship, a cannon, a clothes iron, a shoe, a top hat, and a thimble—became part of the game.
When it was first published, Monopoly cost $2, which wasn’t as cheap at the time as it sounds. Nowadays, the original version comes with a price of $20. There is also a $2 million version made out of gold and diamonds.
During World War II, British intelligence used Monopoly to smuggle items that would help Allied prisoners of war. They would hide items like maps and tools in Monopoly boxes and then place them into aid packages that the Red Cross was allowed to distribute in German prison camps.
The post 4 Facts About the History of Monopoly You Probably Didn’t Know appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Top 5 Facts That Prove Neanderthals Were a Lot Smarter Than We Think appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>While Neanderthals are now extinct, they were around for quite a while. It is estimated that Neanderthals roamed the Earth for 250,000 years while dealing with some of the most difficult climate conditions and nature challenges of all archaic humans. For comparison, modern humans are only around for the last 100,000 years.
Neanderthals were familiar with the concept of tools and weapons. They would shape stones and bones into tools while also using the same material to create weapons.
Neanderthals were capable of feeling compassion and seemed to care about members of their group. One great example of this is that they buried their dead, which also shuts down the myth about them being extremely primitive.
Researchers found out that Neanderthals used fire like modern humans. They used fire to cook, burn things, and even for crafting. Estimations are that Neanderthals may have started using fire 400,000 years ago.
Neanderthals were the original artists. The earliest cave art, a red hand stencil in Maltravieso cave, Cáceres, Spain, was created 64,000 ago and attributed to Neanderthals.
The post Top 5 Facts That Prove Neanderthals Were a Lot Smarter Than We Think appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Babe Ruth’s “Called Shot” Jersey is Expected to Sell for $30 Million at an Upcoming Auction appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The “Called Shot” game was actually a Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. Ruth was at bat in the fifth inning and made a pointing gesture before facing a pitch. He went on to hit a home run, prompting one reporter to write that Ruth “called his shot”. The event soon became legendary among baseball fans and added to Ruth’s stardom.
The jersey that Heritage Auctions is offering up for auction was previously sold for $940,000 in 2005. At the time, it was dated to 1932, and it was believed that Ruth wore it at some point in that year’s World Series. However, authentication company MeiGray Authenticated recently did extensive research on the jersey using photographs and other data, determining that it is the jersey from the “Called Shot” game.
Before the auction, which takes place on 23 August, Ruth’s “Called Shot” will be displayed at Cleveland’s National Sports Collectors Convention and Heritage Auctions’ offices in New York City and Palm Beach.
“This Ruth jersey had no intrinsic value at the time; it was just a dirty old baseball shirt when Ruth was wearing it in 1932,” Chris Ivy, Heritage Auctions’ director of sports auctions, told ESPN. “A lot of this stuff was lost to time. Jerseys were sent down to the minor leagues or worn in practice until they fell apart and then were thrown away. The fact that this piece has made it for 90-plus years and it represents one of the most significant moments of not only Babe Ruth’s career but the history of this sport that’s interwoven with the fabric of America, that’s pretty cool.”
The post Babe Ruth’s “Called Shot” Jersey is Expected to Sell for $30 Million at an Upcoming Auction appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Carlos Kaiser is Soccer’s Most Famous Con Man appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Kaiser had the looks of a soccer player but lacked the skills to actually become one. However, this didn’t stop him from having a semi-successful career, thanks to the use of various deceiving tactics and cons.
Kaiser started his career in his native Brazil in the youth ranks of Botafogo and Flamengo before signing a professional deal with Mexico’s Puebla in 1979. He only spent several months with Puebla before being released by the club, most likely due to his lack of soccer skills.
After he returned to his native Brazil, Kaiser devised a daring scheme. He became friends with professional soccer players, coaches, and journalists so he would have a large network of those who could recommend him to a new club. Being in great physical shape, he would excel in physical training, making clubs more open to signing him without actually seeing him play.
Once he signed with a new club, Kaiser would say he lacked match fitness and would spend several weeks just training. Then, he would make up some injury that would sideline him for an extended period of time. These were mostly injuries that were hard to detect with the technology at the time, like hamstring injuries.
Kaiser built up his resume with a combination of fake stops and real clubs but didn’t mention that he never played. He also had journalists publish fake stories about his previous successes, accomplishments, and clubs interested in him.
He also had creative solutions for situations that threatened to expose his scam. For example, when he signed with the French club Ajaccio, the club organized a training session with fans to allow him to demonstrate his skills. Kaiser countered by kicking all the balls in the stands and then kissing a club badge on his jersey.
On another occasion, Kaiser was in danger of getting sent to the pitch while playing with Brazilian side Bangu. Being tired of never seeing him play, the head coach told him to start warming up. However, during warm-ups, Kaiser got into a physical confrontation with opposing fans and received a red card before managing to make it to the pitch.
Kaiser retired in 1992 after a stint with Botafogo. He now works as a personal trainer and has been the subject of a documentary called Kaiser! The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football, which came out in 2016.
The post Carlos Kaiser is Soccer’s Most Famous Con Man appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Ruby Slippers From “The Wizard of Oz” Sell for $32.5 Million appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Garland wore several pairs of the iconic ruby shoes in The Wizard of Oz, but only four are known to have survived. The shoes put on auction by Heritage Auctions were once stolen from a museum that housed them but was eventually returned to the memorabilia collector Michael Shaw.
The stolen ruby slippers were expected to fetch around $3 million, and the bidding kicked off at $1.55 million, but the price quickly jumped through the roof after an intense bidding war. An unknown buyer eventually agreed to shell out $28 million for the iconic slippers, plus an additional $4.5 million in fees to the Dallas-based auction house.
According to Heritage Auctions, this makes the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz the most expensive piece of movie memorably ever sold. The record had previously been held by the white dress that Marilyn Monroe wore while standing over the subway grate in The Seven Year Itch, which sold for $5.52 million in 2011.
The post Ruby Slippers From “The Wizard of Oz” Sell for $32.5 Million appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Iconic Celebrities That Have Endorsed U.S. Presidential Candidates appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>One of the greatest baseball players in history, Babe Ruth was a stanch Democrat. In addition to claiming that President Wilson was a good friend of his, Ruth also formed a close bond with President Warren G. Harding. While Harding was a Republican, he and Ruth saw eye-to-eye, with Ruth even calling Harding a “personal friend” in a letter honoring the president upon his passing. Ruth’s most controversial political moment came when he was asked to pose for a photograph with Herbert Hoover, to which Ruth replied that he was supporting his opponent Al Smith.
Despite his enormous fame, Sammy Davis Jr.’s political influence was not as positive as he hoped. During the 1972 Republican National Convention’s Young Voters Rally, the iconic singer hugged President Richard Nixon from behind. “This completely ruined Davis’s relationship with the Black community and he was nearly booed off the stage at a Chicago rally for Jesse Jackson’s charity Rainbow PUSH a few months later,” NYU professor Laurence Maslon noted.
The multitalented singer and actress Barbra Streisand has been politically active for decades. Having supported Bill Clinton’s 1996 election campaign, Streisand decided to endorse his wife, Hillary, when she ran in the Democratic primaries in the lead-up to the 2008 presidential election.
The post Iconic Celebrities That Have Endorsed U.S. Presidential Candidates appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Marie Antoinette’s Infamous Quote: Did She Really Say “Let Them Eat Cake”? appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The phrase “Let them eat cake” (or more accurately, “Let them eat brioche”) first appeared in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s autobiographical work, Confessions. It was written in 1767—years before Marie Antoinette even became queen.
Rousseau attributed the quote to “a great princess,” but he never specified who that princess was. Over time, however, the words became linked to Marie Antoinette, partly due to her reputation as being out of touch with the French people.
Historians widely agree that Marie Antoinette likely never said “Let them eat cake.” By the time the phrase was associated with her, she had already become an unpopular figure in France. The quote was likely used as propaganda to paint her as indifferent to the suffering of the poor.
The post Marie Antoinette’s Infamous Quote: Did She Really Say “Let Them Eat Cake”? appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Divers Discover Crates of Unopened Champagne on a 19th-Century Shipwreck appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Baltictech describes itself as a project aimed at promoting the Baltic Sea as the “world’s best wreck dive site” and is lobbying for the accessibility of Baltic wrecks. During one of their recent dives, Baltictech divers uncovered the wreck of a small merchant ship. It wasn’t a particularly important discovery as the bottom of the Baltic Sea is full of them.
However, Baltictech team leader Tomasz Stachura wanted to give the shipwreck a closer inspection, and his decision paid off in the end. It turned out that the ship was carrying some valuable items, including unopened champagne, wine, and porcelain.
It isn’t often that unopened champagne bottles are found on shipwrecks, which makes Baltictech’s quite interesting. They reported the find to the authorities and are now waiting for approval to get the found items on the shore and give them a closer inspection.
There is a chance that the champagne might still be drinkable and quite possibly in better condition compared to bottles aged on land if their cork is undamaged. The sea, due to its lack of oxygen and cold and dark environment, would, in theory, keep the champagne inside the bottle intact.
If it turns out that champagne is safe to drink, Stachura is open to having a sip.
“If some expert says it’s drinkable?” Stachura told The New York Times. “Yes, yes, why not? It would be nice to try what people would drink 170 years ago.”
The post Divers Discover Crates of Unopened Champagne on a 19th-Century Shipwreck appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post 3 Beauty Brands That Transformed Celebrities Into Billionaires appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>With a net worth of $1.4 billion, Rihanna is one of the highest-paid celebrities in the world, but she doesn’t owe her fortune to music alone. She made many smart business decisions in recent years and started several brands, including the cosmetics empire Fenty Beauty, which prides itself on offering a wide range of beauty products for different skin tones.
Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty is currently valued at approximately $2 billion and it’s one of the fastest-growing celebrity beauty brands in the world. It helped the former Disney star increase her personal net worth to $800 million, and she’s committed to donating 1% of the sales towards her mental health non-profit Rare Beauty Impact Fund.
Kylie Jenner was once called the world’s youngest self-made billionaire at age 21 by Forbes, but it later turned out her net worth was overblown. She still managed to build a pretty impressive beauty empire with her brand Kylie Cosmetics, which was valued at $1.2 billion in 2019, when she sold a 51% stake to Coty for $600 million.
The post 3 Beauty Brands That Transformed Celebrities Into Billionaires appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Famous Last Words: The Memorable Exits of Historical Figures appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Known for his wit, the famous playwright and novelist Oscar Wilde supposedly made this quip about the decor of his room in a Paris hotel as he lay on his deathbed in 1900. Whether or not these were his exact last words, they are often cited as an example of his sharp humor.
As she approached the guillotine, Marie Antoinette, the ousted queen of France, accidentally stepped on the executioner’s foot. Her polite apology before her execution in 1793 reflected her dignity and grace, even in the face of death.
The renowned composer Beethoven, who spent much of his later life struggling with deafness, is reported to have said these hopeful words on his deathbed in 1827. This poignant remark reflects his passion for music and his hope for the afterlife.
The post Famous Last Words: The Memorable Exits of Historical Figures appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post 4 Facts About the History of Monopoly You Probably Didn’t Know appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The initial idea of Monopoly wasn’t just for people to have fun. The game was created to also help people understand tax and real estate.
The early versions of Monopoly didn’t come with a token. Instead, the players used any item they could find. It wasn’t until 1935 that six tokens—a battleship, a cannon, a clothes iron, a shoe, a top hat, and a thimble—became part of the game.
When it was first published, Monopoly cost $2, which wasn’t as cheap at the time as it sounds. Nowadays, the original version comes with a price of $20. There is also a $2 million version made out of gold and diamonds.
During World War II, British intelligence used Monopoly to smuggle items that would help Allied prisoners of war. They would hide items like maps and tools in Monopoly boxes and then place them into aid packages that the Red Cross was allowed to distribute in German prison camps.
The post 4 Facts About the History of Monopoly You Probably Didn’t Know appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Top 5 Facts That Prove Neanderthals Were a Lot Smarter Than We Think appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>While Neanderthals are now extinct, they were around for quite a while. It is estimated that Neanderthals roamed the Earth for 250,000 years while dealing with some of the most difficult climate conditions and nature challenges of all archaic humans. For comparison, modern humans are only around for the last 100,000 years.
Neanderthals were familiar with the concept of tools and weapons. They would shape stones and bones into tools while also using the same material to create weapons.
Neanderthals were capable of feeling compassion and seemed to care about members of their group. One great example of this is that they buried their dead, which also shuts down the myth about them being extremely primitive.
Researchers found out that Neanderthals used fire like modern humans. They used fire to cook, burn things, and even for crafting. Estimations are that Neanderthals may have started using fire 400,000 years ago.
Neanderthals were the original artists. The earliest cave art, a red hand stencil in Maltravieso cave, Cáceres, Spain, was created 64,000 ago and attributed to Neanderthals.
The post Top 5 Facts That Prove Neanderthals Were a Lot Smarter Than We Think appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Babe Ruth’s “Called Shot” Jersey is Expected to Sell for $30 Million at an Upcoming Auction appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The “Called Shot” game was actually a Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. Ruth was at bat in the fifth inning and made a pointing gesture before facing a pitch. He went on to hit a home run, prompting one reporter to write that Ruth “called his shot”. The event soon became legendary among baseball fans and added to Ruth’s stardom.
The jersey that Heritage Auctions is offering up for auction was previously sold for $940,000 in 2005. At the time, it was dated to 1932, and it was believed that Ruth wore it at some point in that year’s World Series. However, authentication company MeiGray Authenticated recently did extensive research on the jersey using photographs and other data, determining that it is the jersey from the “Called Shot” game.
Before the auction, which takes place on 23 August, Ruth’s “Called Shot” will be displayed at Cleveland’s National Sports Collectors Convention and Heritage Auctions’ offices in New York City and Palm Beach.
“This Ruth jersey had no intrinsic value at the time; it was just a dirty old baseball shirt when Ruth was wearing it in 1932,” Chris Ivy, Heritage Auctions’ director of sports auctions, told ESPN. “A lot of this stuff was lost to time. Jerseys were sent down to the minor leagues or worn in practice until they fell apart and then were thrown away. The fact that this piece has made it for 90-plus years and it represents one of the most significant moments of not only Babe Ruth’s career but the history of this sport that’s interwoven with the fabric of America, that’s pretty cool.”
The post Babe Ruth’s “Called Shot” Jersey is Expected to Sell for $30 Million at an Upcoming Auction appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The post Carlos Kaiser is Soccer’s Most Famous Con Man appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Kaiser had the looks of a soccer player but lacked the skills to actually become one. However, this didn’t stop him from having a semi-successful career, thanks to the use of various deceiving tactics and cons.
Kaiser started his career in his native Brazil in the youth ranks of Botafogo and Flamengo before signing a professional deal with Mexico’s Puebla in 1979. He only spent several months with Puebla before being released by the club, most likely due to his lack of soccer skills.
After he returned to his native Brazil, Kaiser devised a daring scheme. He became friends with professional soccer players, coaches, and journalists so he would have a large network of those who could recommend him to a new club. Being in great physical shape, he would excel in physical training, making clubs more open to signing him without actually seeing him play.
Once he signed with a new club, Kaiser would say he lacked match fitness and would spend several weeks just training. Then, he would make up some injury that would sideline him for an extended period of time. These were mostly injuries that were hard to detect with the technology at the time, like hamstring injuries.
Kaiser built up his resume with a combination of fake stops and real clubs but didn’t mention that he never played. He also had journalists publish fake stories about his previous successes, accomplishments, and clubs interested in him.
He also had creative solutions for situations that threatened to expose his scam. For example, when he signed with the French club Ajaccio, the club organized a training session with fans to allow him to demonstrate his skills. Kaiser countered by kicking all the balls in the stands and then kissing a club badge on his jersey.
On another occasion, Kaiser was in danger of getting sent to the pitch while playing with Brazilian side Bangu. Being tired of never seeing him play, the head coach told him to start warming up. However, during warm-ups, Kaiser got into a physical confrontation with opposing fans and received a red card before managing to make it to the pitch.
Kaiser retired in 1992 after a stint with Botafogo. He now works as a personal trainer and has been the subject of a documentary called Kaiser! The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football, which came out in 2016.
The post Carlos Kaiser is Soccer’s Most Famous Con Man appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>