WEIRD STORIES COME OUT OF RUSSIA: On this day in 1729, Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia, was born in what was then part of Prussia and is now part of Poland. If your mind leaps to a story about her you learned in the schoolyard in the 8th grade … you know what story I’m talking about … the one about the horse … don’t play innocent with me … well it’s obviously an urban legend, and you and your 8th grade pals would have immediately recognized it as such had you been a couple of years older. Remember: It’s Russia. Weird stories come out of Russia. That doesn’t make them true.