The Flashback Chronicles - Week of August 11, 2025

Welcome to The Flashback Chronicles!!

Welcome, History Enthusiasts!

Get ready to journey through history with The Flashback Chronicles! This edition is packed with thrilling stories, legendary adventures, and surprising fun facts—because history is way too exciting to stay in the past! 🔍📖

Let’s dive in! Thank you for subscribing and I hope you enjoy this newsletter!

Legends & Laughter: The Story Behind the History 🎭

Benjamin Franklin at the Mic: The Day I Accidentally Invented Electricity

Hello, everyone. I’m Ben Franklin. You might know me as the guy on the $100 bill, the inventor of bifocals, or that one time I flew a kite in a thunderstorm and survived.

Let me tell you the real story of how that happened. No one talks about the part where I was nearly turned into a human s'more.

It all started because I was bored. Philadelphia in the 1700s? Not exactly buzzing with activities, Netflix, and TikTok. So, I thought, “Why not chase a thunderstorm with a metal key attached to a string?” I know, crazy, eh?

My friends said I was nuts. My wife said, “Ben, don’t come crying to me if you get fried like a chicken.” But I was determined. For science! For glory! I was curious to see if lightning was just super angry sky electricity.

I was standing in the middle of a field, kite in one hand, string in the other, rain pouring down like Mother Nature had a leaky faucet. Suddenly—ZAP! The key sparked. My hair stood on end. I screamed like never before.

In that moment, I realized something incredible: electricity could be harnessed. Also, I realized I had forgotten to wear rubber boots. Silly, I know.

Anyway, the rest is history. That experiment led to lightning rods, a better understanding of electricity, and my face being plastered all over U.S. currency.

Always ask questions, explore the unknown, but maybe leave the thunderstorm chasing to the professionals.

Max’s Museum Wonders 🔍

Max’s Museum Wonders: The Pen that Wrote About Freedom

✒️ Bedtime Story Adventure

It started with a drawer that wouldn’t open. Max was helping his grandfather in the museum when he finally pried it loose and found a sleek, black fountain pen inside a velvet case. Gold swirls decorated the cap, and strange letters ran down the side.

As soon as Max picked up the pen, it dripped ink onto the floor. Max grabbed a tissue to clean it up, but then WHOOSH, he vanished from the museum.

He landed in a noisy, crowded street in 1940 Calcutta, where people marched with signs, shouted slogans, and waved flags. A girl grabbed his arm and pulled him into an alley.

“You’re not from here,” she said. “But you’re holding the truth.”

Her name was Anaya, and she ran a secret printing press with her uncle. Her job? Printing underground newspapers to spread the real story of India’s fight for independence.

Anaya explained that for nearly 200 years, the British Empire had ruled India. They made the laws, controlled the land, and took Indian resources like salt, cotton, and tea back to Britain to gain profit. People who protested were often jailed or worse.

Something even worse was happening now. A powerful British official in Calcutta had secretly ordered food shipments to be hidden from Indian citizens during a drought. He ordered to just keep soldiers fed and prices high. While families starved, warehouses sat full of grain, untouched behind locked doors.

A local journalist had used the magical pen to write an article exposing the truth. But before it could be printed, the press was raided, and the writer disappeared.

“That article could turn everything around,” Anaya whispered. “If we can find it and print it, then people will know what’s really happening. They’ll rise up. I have an idea where the article may be.”

Max felt the pen buzzing in his pocket.

They raced through narrow alleys, dodged British patrols, and finally found the lost article hidden in the false bottom of a book in an old print shop. The title read: “The People Are Hungry — But the Warehouses Are Full.”

They cranked the press by hand. Ink spilled. Pages flew. By dawn, hundreds of copies were being handed out at tea shops, fruit stands, temples, and train stations.

By noon, the story had spread across the city.

People began to speak out. Even British officials demanded answers. The corrupt officer was removed from his post.

And the pen? Max gave it to Anaya as a gift.

Back in the museum, the drawer was shut again. The pen was gone, but he knew the power of telling the truth even when it’s dangerous.

Tricky Time Trivia 🤔🕰️

What year was the Titanic built and completed?

👉 Answer: Titanic was built by a company called White Star Line. She was completed and ready for the ocean on March 31, 1912, after three years in construction in Belfast, Ireland.

Candy Factoids 🍭🍫

🍫 What year was Bazooka gum made and by what company?

👉 Answer: Bazooka gum was first made in 1947 by Topps.

🍭What year was the Snickers bar created?

👉 Answer: The Snickers bar was created in 1930 by Mars, Incorporated. It was named after the Mars family's favorite horse, Snickers.

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That’s a Wrap. Until Next Time…

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The Flashback Chronicles