.The Story Behind the Star Spangled Banner

How the flag that flew proudly over Fort McHenry inspired an anthem and made its way to the Smithsonian

A conservator works on the Star-Spangled Banner in 1914. (Corbis)

By Cate Lineberry SMITHSONIANMAG.COM MARCH 1, 2007

On a rainy September 13, 1814, British warships sent a downpour of shells and rockets onto Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, relentlessly pounding the American fort for 25 hours. The bombardment, known as the Battle of Baltimore, came only weeks after the British had attacked Washington, D.C., burning the Capitol, the Treasury and the President's house. It was another chapter in the ongoing War of 1812.

A week earlier, Francis Scott Key, a 35-year-old American lawyer, had boarded the flagship of the British fleet on the Chesapeake Bay in hopes of persuading the British to release a friend who had recently been arrested. Key's tactics were successful, but because he and his companions had gained knowledge of the impending attack on Baltimore, the British did not let them go. They allowed the Americans to return to their own vessel but continued guarding them. Under their scrutiny, Key watched on September 13 as the barrage of Fort McHenry began eight miles away.

.65 Splurges of the Filthy Rich

Would you pay $2,000 for a manicure or $17,000 for a mattress?

By Morgan Quinn April 6, 2021 Build Your Wealth

Everyone has fantasized about living the celebrity life. From expensive vacations to lavish homes and vehicles, you can probably think of numerous ways to spend your hypothetical riches. However, some celebrity purchases are a little less traditional. From dental decorations to doggie mansions, you have to see what it costs to live like the extremely wealthy.

Gwyneth Paltrow: $350 T-Shirt

Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle website Goop often features products the star can’t live without. In an article showcasing her favorite T-shirts, the actress highlighted a $350 jersey top that “has the spirit of a T-shirt, but it’s fancy enough to wear to a dinner party.” The shirt's final sale was set at $105 prior to it being sold-out on Goop, so the price was slightly less outrageous but still more than the average person might spend on a T-shirt.

A Father, a Daughter and a Dog-

A true story by Catherine Moore

"Watch out! You nearly broad sided that car!" My father yelled at me. "Can't you do anything right?" Those words hurt worse than blows. I turned my head toward the elderly man in the seat beside me, daring me to challenge him. A lump rose in my throat as I averted my eyes. I wasn't prepared for another battle.

"I saw the car, Dad . Please don't yell at me when I'm driving.." My voice was measured and steady, sounding far calmer than I really felt. Dad glared at me, then turned away and settled back. At home I left Dad in front of the television and went outside to collect my thoughts..... dark, heavy clouds hung in the air with a promise of rain. The rumble of distant thunder seemed to echo my inner turmoil. What could I do about him?

.The Tyranny Of Time

The clock is a useful social tool, but it is also deeply political. It benefits some, marginalizes others and blinds us from a true understanding of our own bodies and the world around us.

Marcos Guinoza for Noema Magazine By Joe Zadeh June 3, 2021

We discipline our lives by the time on the clock. Our working lives and wages are determined by it, and often our “free time” is rigidly managed by it too. Broadly speaking, even our bodily functions are regulated by the clock: We usually eat our meals at appropriate clock times as opposed to whenever we are hungry, go to sleep at appropriate clock times as opposed to whenever we are tired and attribute more significance to the arresting tones of a clock alarm than the apparent rising of the sun at the center of our solar system.

The fact that there is a strange shame in eating lunch before noon is a testament to the ways in which we have internalized the logic of the clock. We are “time binding” animals, as the American economist and social theorist Jeremy Rifkin put it in his 1987 book, “Time Wars.” “All of our perceptions of self and world are mediated by the way we imagine, explain, use and implement time.”

“The clock does not measure time; it produces it.”

.Freedom & Patriotism Quotes On Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day to remember those who gave their lives in defense of the country.

Here are a few quotes about patriotism and freedom.

137 years later, Memorial Day remains one of America's most cherished patriotic observances. The spirit of this day has not changed - it remains a day to honor those who died defending our freedom and democracy. Doc Hastings

Who sows virtue reaps honor. -- Leonardo da Vinci

"Only the dead have seen the end of war." -- Plato ​

On what rests the hope of the republic? One country, one language, one flag! -- Alexander Henry

The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission. -- John F. Kennedy