In the midst of a major scandal at the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois (about 20 miles southwest of Chicago), police discovered the original casket of Emmett Till. Police were at the cemetery because cemetery workers had dug up at least 300 old graves, dumped the bodies in a mass grave in the back, and then resold the plots to unsuspecting families.

Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who had been murdered in Mississippi after whistling to a white woman, died in 1955. The story of Emmett Till's murder and a picture of him in a glass-covered casket was shown around the U.S. and helped spur the civil rights movement

In 2005, Till's body was exhumed in the hopes of finding more evidence in the murder investigation. Afterwards, he was reburied, apparently as is customary, in a new coffin. The old coffin, however, was supposed to be used for a memorial for Till. Instead, police officers found the old casket in an old shed, with a family of possums in it. Also, the money donated for the memorial for Till was allegedly taken by one of the cemetery workers. For more about the condition and circumstances of finding Emmett Till's coffin, please read the Chicago Sun Times article.

When Saddam Hussein was captured on December 13, 2003, he was found in an eight-foot-deep hole, disheveled and accompanied by an unloaded gun -- a 9mm Glock 18C to be exact. This gun was presented in a glass case to President George W. Bush by four of the Delta Force soldiers who found Hussein. This gun became one of Bush's most prized possessions, which he kept close to him in the White House and would often show to visitors.

What will become of this gun? Plans are being made to include Hussein's gun in President Bush's Presidential Library, which will open in 2013 on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas.

The Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States was a heated competition in the 1960s. As the U.S. prepared to send the first man to the moon, the Soviets attempted to steal the publicity away from them. The Soviets planned Luna 15, an unmanned spacecraft that was supposed to take pictures of the moon, collect lunar soil samples, and return to Earth. Luna 15 took off three days before Apollo 11, but it crash-landed on the moon's surface at 3:50 p.m. on July 21, 1969, while the Apollo 11 astronauts were still on the lunar surface.

Just in time for the 40th anniversary of Luna 15's crash, audio tapes of the event have been found. The tapes reveal British astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell narrating events as he observed them with his radio telescope.

A new law in Philadelphia requires historical tour guides to take a test before they give their first tour. The law was created to stop gross inaccuracies from being perpetuated during tours, such as Benjamin Franklin having 69 illegitimate children and that Betsy Ross murdered her three husbands. Three tour guides, citing free speech concerns, have filed a lawsuit against the city regarding this test. This AP article has more of their story.

Should historical tour guides be required to take a test? Can they say whatever they think is true of history? What do you think?