History Detectives

Season 8, Episode 2

Iwo Jima Map: Did a Japanese map found during World War II play a role in the Battle of Iwo Jima? Copperhead Cane: Tracing the Civil War-era history of cane topped with a coiled snake. Theremin: Is an instrument owned by a New Mexico man one of the few built by Leon Theremin himself?

Iwo Jima Map

17m 24s

Our contributor has a map her father brought home from the battle of Iwo Jima. Her father says he found the map inside the jacket of a dead Japanese soldier. What is this map? And did it play a role in the battle of Iwo Jima?

Previews + Extras

  • Copperhead Cane: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Copperhead Cane

    S8 E2 - 17m 57s

    Our contributor inherited a cane topped with a snake, According to family lore, the copperhead cane belonged to our viewer's great-great grandfather, Henry Clay Dean who opposed the Civil War. He was a member of a powerful anti-Lincoln group who were nicknamed the "Copperheads" after the snake known for striking without warning. History Detectives tracks the story behind the Copperhead Cane.

  • Theremin: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Theremin

    S8 E2 - 16m 48s

    A man from New Mexico bought a theremin, one of the first electronic instruments off e-Bay. When his theremin arrived, our contributor found an unusual document tacked to the inside of the cabinet. The letterhead paper bore the address to the Theremin Studios in New York City. Does our contributor have one of the fewer than a dozen instruments in the U.S. that Leon Theremin built himself?

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