If you believe that, I have a bridge for sale.

May 24th
On this day in 1883 the Brooklyn Bridge opened. At the time Manhattan and Brooklyn were separate cities linked only by ferry boat. With the building of the bridge both cities could grow at a greater rate. At the time it was dubbed the "8th wonder of the world" because of its engineering work. It is still amongst the most famous landmarks in the United States.

On this day in 1941 the pride of the German navy, the Bismarck, sunk the pride of the British navy, the Hood. The German navy had to rely on its submarines to try and break the British blockade in both world wars, but it was able to build the most powerful battleship in the Atlantic. The engagement of these two ships was significant in that only 3 sailors survived the sinking of the Hood, that's how fast it went down. In the aftermath of the battle the cry went out to "Sink the Bismarck!".

As if things at a concentration camp weren't horribly unspeakable enough, on this day in 1943 at Auschwitz, Josef Mengele was appointed head doctor. He rightly earned the nickname "angel of death" for his terrible experiments on prisoners, often times torturing them to the point of death. Somehow he escaped capture and resided in Argentina for the rest of his life, despite the efforts of the Israeli secret service.