Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Author Theodore Taylor was a jack of all trades: he worked as a journalist, served in World War II, and produced films in Hollywood before dedicating himself to writing novels for both children and adults (source).
Taylor began writing at age 13, covering sports for the Sunday edition of the Portsmouth Star (source).
After World War II, Taylor was involved in the testing of two atomic bombs at Bikini Atoll. The experience inspired his book The Bomb (1995) (source).
Christopher Columbus landed on the Caribbean island of Curaçao in 1499. The Dutch invaded and conquered the island in 1634 (source).