In 2019, I read the book Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by retired U.S. Navy SEAL David Goggins. From the moment I started reading the book, I couldn’t put it down, and I read the whole book in one long session. Goggins is considered by many to be “the hardest […]

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The idea of escaping captivity has fascinated us throughout history. Tales of ingenuity, audacity, and sheer courage abound—from daring prison breaks to near-mythical disappearances. Yet not all escapes end in triumph. Some are fleeting victories, where freedom is snatched only to be replaced by an even harsher form of confinement. These stories remind us that […]

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The old military adage, “An army marches on its stomach,” has been a guiding principle for the U.S. armed forces for centuries. However, the mission to feed troops well—and, crucially, to feed them imperishable and easily transportable rations—has resulted in far more than just MREs. Since World War I, the military, through the Quartermaster Corps […]

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Colonial Americans lived very differently than we do today. They were building new lives in a strange and often unforgiving land, far removed from the conveniences we now take for granted. The people who came over on the Mayflower in 1620—and the waves of settlers who followed throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries—had an […]

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Superstitions are often dismissed as irrational beliefs. Those who don’t subscribe to superstitious rituals have no interest in avoiding ladders on sidewalks or knocking on wood. They don’t carry lucky charms, and they don’t throw salt over their shoulders. And this may describe much of the world’s population today. But history tells a very different […]

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Warfare is supposed to be simple: you shoot at the other side. But the battlefield has never been tidy or predictable. Smoke, fog, darkness, stress, fear, bad intel, and human error can turn even the most disciplined forces into accidental threats to their own comrades. In earlier centuries, armies lacked radios, radar, standardized uniforms, and […]

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For most of human history, the border between science and sorcery was no more solid than a puff of incense smoke. Alchemists dreamed of turning lead into gold, shamans whispered to spirits through haze, and priests made idols “speak” in hollow tones. They were mocked, feared, or sometimes burned alive for daring to chase the […]

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