It was a mammoth urban renewal project – replacing NY City’s crooked wagon paths with today’s elaborate street grid. It took nearly a century to install 12 avenues and 155 cross-streets, with all of its secret spots. And yet, nobody knows for sure who actually had the idea for the grid.

Ski jumping took hold in the U.S. 100 years ago, when Norwegians introduced the sport here. You go down a steep ramp at 50 miles an hour, jump off into the wind, fly for around 10 seconds, and land 2-3 football fields farther away. It’s not for the meek.

The election for CT Governor in the late 1800s was too close to call. The divided legislature couldn’t agree on a winner. So, the incumbent stayed on for another term. The Comptroller didn’t like that and took matters into his own hands.

Big Jim or Diamond Jim – those were names for the legendary Gilded Age robber baron Jim Fisk. He caused the gold crisis collapse after fooling President Ulysses Grant and stole millions from Cornelius Vanderbilt. A lover’s triangle, at age 37, would lead to his untimely end

Captain Andrew Upson wrote up to 2-letters-a-day from the front lines of the Civil War to his wife and children. The 200+ letters, a rare collection that still exists, paint a vivid picture of life in the war, including as a captive.

Michael Ross was the last person executed in CT. He raped and murdered 8 women. His doctors said he was mentally ill and shouldn’t have been executed. A journalist got to know him well for his final 10 years and shares her insights.

The Cheney brothers invented a process for mastering nature’s magical creation of silk, driving their business to the #1 position globally. They made the parachutes used on D-Day. They also introduced corporate paternalism, providing employees with housing, schools, and more.

Three families, from the same town. Did they start the American Revolution? John Hancock and his friends (the Adams and Quincy’s) fanned the flames. Hancock, meanwhile, married childhood sweetheart Dolly Quincy, after a love triangle involving Aaron Burr