Trivia

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5 Surprising Presidential Firsts You Never Knew About

On March 29, 1929, President Herbert Hoover had a phone installed at his desk in the Oval Office of the White House. Here are 5 presidential milestones that you may not have read about in history books...

Herbert Hoover Was The First President With a Phone in His Office

The first telephone in the White House dates all the way back to Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president, who installed one in the White House’s “telegraph room” in 1877. Herbert Hoover, however, was the first president to have one installed in the Oval Office, which he did on this day in 1929. Hoover had already been using a phone just outside the office, so it did make sense to take that next step.

William Howard Taft Was The First President to Own a Car

A year after the introduction of the Model T Ford in 1908, Congress authorized $12,000 so that the 27th president, William Howard Taft, could have two motor cars at the White House. Though the president was on board with the new car craze, many members of the populace still saw cars as just a fad, and Congress’s decision wasn’t a popular one.

William Henry Harrison Was First to Be Photographed While in Office

William Henry Harrison had a daguerreotype taken of himself after he was sworn into office in 1841, and this was the first instance of a president being photographed. The original has been lost, but one copy still survives and is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. A photo of James K. Polk, the 11th president, is the oldest surviving image that was taken while he was in office.

Gerald Ford Was The First President to Appear on Saturday Night Live

Many presidents and presidential candidates have appeared on Saturday Night Live, but most of them appeared only during the candidate stage or after they had left office. However, Republican Gerald Ford has the honor of being both the first President ever impersonated on Saturday Night Live and also the first to appear on the show. Ford appeared on the show to deliver the signature "Live from New York" line in April 1976.

Richard M. Nixon Was The First President to Visit All 50 States

Resigning wasn’t the only thing Richard M. Nixon was first at! The 37th president would be the first one to visit all 50 states before leaving office. Nixon visited his 50th state, Delaware, in 1971 for a meeting with Republican fundraisers. Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama would follow his example (visiting every state, that is).

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 I did  not  know  that   WILLIAM  HENRY HARRISON  was the  1st  President  to be photographed in White House=====

I  also  did  not  know  that  RICHARD  NIXON  was the  1st  President  to  visit  all 50  states===

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6 Brainy Facts You Didn't Know About Jeopardy!

On March 30, 1964, the world saw the first episode of Jeopardy!. This show has turned into one of the most popular game shows ever, and in its current version, it is one of the longest-running. Here are 6 brainy facts you many not know about Jeopardy!

It Once Had a Computer as a Contestant.

In 2011, Jeopardy! brought back winning contestants Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter to compete against IBM's Watson, a supercomputer. The match was solely for exhibition, and Watson had been put through Jeopardy! practice for several months before the game. Watson won the game easily, with Jennings even quipping that he welcomed his new computer overlords. Interestingly, Watson itself was not at the game podium but was instead represented by an avatar. The reason for this was that the servers were not only very noisy, but they also took up about 10 racks and wouldn't have fit into the space by the buzzer anyway.

Jeopardy! Has Been Canceled Twice in Its Existence.

The current iteration of Jeopardy! is actually its third. The show originally ran for 10 years before being canceled in the 1970s. It came back for a short time in 1978 but was quickly dropped. The current version with Alex Trebek began in 1984 and has run uninterrupted since then. Jeopardy! also spawned spinoffs such as a version for kids and many, many parodies, particularly on Saturday Night Live with Will Ferrell playing Alex Trebek and Kenan Thompson hosting the parody version Black Jeopardy!.

Alex Trebek Once Hosted Three Game Shows in the Same Time Period.

Trebek's skill as a game show host has kept him in front of the camera on Jeopardy! for decades, but he really took off as a game show host in 1991, when he hosted three different shows in the same time period. There was Jeopardy!, of course, and he also hosted a version of Classic Concentration that year. In February, he hosted To Tell the Truth for a single show as a substitute host.

Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune Are Sister Shows in More Ways Than One.

Both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune have an agreement that if you appear on one, you can't appear on the other, and for that reason, the two are often called sister shows. However, the sisterly relationship was reinforced with humor on April Fool's Day in 1997 when Trebek and Pat Sajak switched places and hosted each other's shows.

Two Jeopardy! Winners Managed to Win With Literally $1.

It's not that unusual to see someone win by having $1 more than their competitors. But twice now in the history of Jeopardy! has someone won with literally $1 left in their game purse. The first time was in 1993, when an Air Force lieutenant colonel named Daryl Scott ended up with a single dollar and won. The second time was in 2017, when Manny Abell managed the same feat. Although one of the three contestants in each episode almost always wins, several episodes have ended with no winner. To date, there have been seven games that resulted in no one winning 'Jeopardy!'.  

Alex Trebek's Real Name Isn't Actually Alex

While everyone might know Alex Trebek is Canadian, few people know that his real name is George. But, don’t fret, Alexander is his middle name, so not everything you know is a lie.

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5 Things You Didn't Know About The Eiffel Tower

On March 31, 1889, the Eiffel Tower was dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by Gustave Eiffel, the tower’s designer.  Here are 5 facts you might not know about the Eiffel Tower…

It Was Meant to be Temporary

Yes, the Eiffel Tower was supposed to be a temporary installation for the 1889 World Fair, held at Paris to commemorate 100 years of the French Revolution. Originally, the structure was scheduled to be taken down in 1909. But an antenna was added at the top of the tower to handle wireless signals, so the building was never torn down. During the First World War, the telegraph transmitter in the Eiffel Tower helped to jam communications by the Germans. The Eiffel Tower is still used today to beam radio and TV broadcasts around the world.

A Con Man Managed to Convince Two Different People to "Buy" The Tower

One of the disadvantages of having the reputation of "was meant to be temporary" is that people will take advantage of that. One man did just that, conning two different people out of money by claiming that the Tower was being sold for scrap. The man, Victor Lustig, was known as one of the most dangerous and clever conmen around, and one victim was so embarrassed at his naivete that he didn't report how much he'd lost.

It’s Technically Illegal to Photograph The Eiffel Tower at Night

The Tower lights up each hour at night and sparkles in what is called the Illumination Show. However, you could be fined for taking a picture of this and sharing it on Facebook, since the government claims that this light display is ‘art work’ and therefore, copyrighted.

It Grows When the Sun Is Out

On warm, sunny days, the side of the Tower that is exposed to the sunlight actually expands due to the effect of the heat on the metal. That means the rest of the Tower leans away a little bit from the sun. The leaning isn't drastic — about 18 centimeters, or around 7 inches. The Tower contracts once the environment cools off.

An American Is Married to the Tower

No, Mrs. Eiffel is not the wife of the late engineer who built the tower. It is actually an American named Erika Aya (or Erika Eiffel, as she prefers to be called) who actually married the Tower in a commitment ceremony in 2007!  Ms. Eiffel suffers from paraphilia, which helps explain her odd obsession with a Paris landmark. Paraphilia is a medical condition where people can develop relationships with inanimate objects. Before the nuptials, she served in the United States Air Force and was a world-renowned competitive archer.

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I did  not  know that  2  different  people won  with  just  1  dollar==== I  also  did  not  know  that  in seven games  there  was  not  winner===

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I did  not  know  that  when the  sun hits  the side of the  tower that  it  expands then  after  it  cools  down  it  goes  back to  normal====

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5 Outrageous April Fools' Day Hoaxes

April 1st is celebrated as April Fools' Day, a time when jokers and pranksters do their best to outdo each other. According to historians, it is believed that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582 when France switched to the Gregorian calendar. Here are 5 outrageous April Fools’ Day hoaxes that are sure to make you laugh.

Planting Spaghetti Trees

The spaghetti-tree hoax was a three-minute segment broadcast on April Fools' Day by the BBC. The prank purportedly showed a family in southern Switzerland harvesting spaghetti from the family "spaghetti tree". The segment was narrated by a distinguished BBC broadcaster and showed a woman carefully plucking strands of spaghetti from a tree and then laying them in the sun to dry. The station received more than a few calls from excited home cooks and gardeners interested in learning how to grow their own spaghetti tree. Decades later CNN called this broadcast "the biggest hoax that any reputable news establishment ever pulled".

Sale of the Liberty Bell

In 1996, Taco Bell ran a huge ad in major newspapers saying that the company had purchased the Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. So many people thought it was true that the National Park Service and some U.S. Senators got involved to explain that it was all a hoax. After admitting it was a an April Fool’s Day joke, Taco Bell donated $50,000 to help provide care for this American treasure.

Toilet Paper for Left-Handers

Cottonelle played its own joke in 2015 when it announced it was going to introduce toilet paper for people who were left-handed. Claiming that "America has spoken, and we at Cottonelle have listened," Cottonelle introduced ReverseRipple™ toilet paper, specially designed "for left-handed wipers."Cottonelle didn’t start the “left-handed” joke though because Burger King pulled it in 1998 with their Whopper for left-handed people.

The Collapse of the Seattle Space Needle

A special report presented by a television channel in Seattle in 1989 announced that the Space Needle had just collapsed, to the horror of viewers. The report was complete with photos, a live interview with someone who saw it start swaying and fall and an announcement that one person had received minor injuries. Although the video ended up explaining that the story was an April Fools’ Day prank, the station was flooded with callers as well as medical personnel and volunteers showing up to help.

The Fastest Baseball Pitcher in the World

Author and actor George Plimpton wrote a story for Sports Illustrated about an imaginary pitcher for the Mets named Siddhartha “Sidd” Finch, who threw a fastball that clocked in at 168 mph. The story ran in 1985 on April 1, and sharper readers realized that the secondary headline. When strung together, the first letters of each word in the subhead spelled out “Happy April Fools’ Day.” Plimpton used this story later in a novel called “The Curious Case of Sidd Finch: A Novel.”

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5 Things You Didn't Know About '2001: A Space Odyssey'

On April 3, 1968, Stanley Kubrick’s science-fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey had its world premiere. Find out five things you didn’t know about one of the most revered films of the 20th century.

Kubrick Tried to Buy Alien Insurance

Just before NASA’s Mariner 4 spacecraft passed Mars in July 1965, a worried Stanly Kubrick attempted to take out an insurance policy with Lloyd’s of London—in case the discovery of extraterrestrial life ruined the plot he was then working on with science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. In the end, Mariner’s pictures showed a harsh, cratered, moon-like surface, which immediately tamped down the hope that intelligent life—or indeed, any life—might exist on that planet.

The Film Provided an Early Glimpse at Artificial Intelligence

At the time the film was made, the internet was still decades away, and the idea that computers could "think" was relegated to the realm of sci-fi. While many of the predictions in the film didn't materialize, the vision of computing as it was portrayed in the film was eerily accurate.  In a 1968 interview, Sci-fi novelist Arthur C. Clarke, who co-wrote the screenplay for the film said, "Many computer scientists think that we will develop, before the end of the century, machines which are intelligent by any way you care to define that word. In fact, there are some computers now that can carry on conversations with you over an electric typewriter and people just will not believe they're talking to a machine even though the conversation is limited to rather restricted areas. But many scientists think that in the next century we will have machines which are more intelligent than us, and of course this may be one of the great divides in history."

17 Minutes Of Footage Cut At The Last Minute Was Recently Rediscovered

Given how much footage was shot (as much as two hundred times the length of the final cut), it’s unsurprising that enormous amounts were left on the cutting room floor, but it’s unlikely ever to surface: Kubrick always burnt his negatives after a film was finished. But the director did cut nineteen minutes after release, seventeen minutes of which were rediscovered in 2010 in a vault in a Kansas salt mine. It’s yet to see the public light of day.

The Book And The Move Were Develped Concurrently

Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey came about when director Stanley Kubrick was introduced science fiction author, Arthur C. Clarke.  Clarke and Kubrick worked on the book together, but eventually only Clarke ended up as the official author. Although the novel and film were developed simultaneously, the novel follows early drafts of the film, from which the final version of the film deviated. These changes were often for practical reasons relating to what could be filmed economically, and a few were due to differences of opinion between Kubrick and Clarke.

Initial Reviews of the Movie Were Devastating

When the movie premiered in New York City and Washington, D.C. in April 1968, the initial reviews were so bad they were shocking. In New York, 241 people walked out of the movie, and the terrible reviews left famed science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke in tears halfway through. Despite this, young people loved the movie and went in droves, making it 1968’s highest-grossing film, ranked now as number six of history’s most important films.

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I did not  know  about the   TACO BELL  STORY=====I  ALSO   did  not  know   about  the  left handed toilet paper  and  left handed whopper=====

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I did  not  know  that  the  director of the  moive  wanted to  take  out  ALEIN  INSURANCE======

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5 Things You May Not Know About The Pony Express_3

On April 3, 1860, the Pony Express began on a 2,000-mile route to deliver mail using relay riders from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California. The Trivia Today team pulled together these five riveting facts about The Pony Express...

Mail Was Delivered Really Fast for Those Days

Pony Express riders swept through eight states in only 10 days on horseback, while riding at about 10 mph. The routes started in Missouri and went through Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada, ultimately ending up in California. This represents a distance of an astonishing 1,966 miles! A stagecoach in those days took 24 days to make the same trip.

It Wasn't Cheap

The speed of the Pony Express didn’t come cheap. In its early days the service cost $5 for every half-ounce of mail—the equivalent of approximately $130 today. Prices were later reduced to just $1, but they still remained too high for everyday mail. Instead, the service was mainly used to deliver newspaper reports, government dispatches and business documents, most of which were printed on tissue-thin paper to keep costs (and weight) down.

It Took Many Horses to Deliver The Mail Quickly

Riders for the Pony Express normally rode from 75 to 100 miles at a time but changed horses frequently, so their mounts would be fresh. Because the stations were located around 10 miles apart, this is where they changed to fresh horses. Since they changed horses as many as 10 times during each ride, the Pony Express kept up to 400 horses for that purpose.

The Pony Express Operated for Only About 18 Months

The Pony Express began on April 3, 1860, but operated only until October 26, 1861. One of the things that helped to shut it down was the transcontinental telegraph line, which connected cities in the East Coast to California. The telegraph line was completed two days before the Pony Express closed down. Despite operating for only 19 months, its riders had successfully delivered some 35,000 pieces of mail and traveled more than half a million miles across the American frontier.  

Interested People Can Still Follow the Pony Express Making Their Run

The National Pony Express Association uses riders to make the run from Sacramento to St. Joseph, Missouri, every even-numbered year in June and from St. Joseph to Sacramento every odd-numbered year. Interested parties can follow the National Pony Express Association along the riders’ route using either a mobile device or computer. They can even send a letter along, which is stamped "Pony Express" in the cancellation. It takes about 650 volunteer riders to make the trip. In 2020, the cost to send one of these letters is $5.

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I did  not  know  that   interested  people  can  still follow  the  same route  today====

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5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Microsoft_2

On April 4, 1975, Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Here are 5 things you didn’t know about the goliath tech company started by two software geeks...

It Wasn’t the First Time Gates and Allen Worked Together

Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the co-founders of Microsoft, worked together to form a business called Traf-O-Data while they were still in high school in Seattle. This company counted vehicles from passing traffic for traffic engineers. Although their company wasn’t a huge success, it helped them in developing Microsoft because of their work using microprocessors and developing software to count cars.

They Originally Called The Company Micro-soft

Gates was attending Harvard and Allen was a student at Washington State University when they founded Microsoft in 1975, with Gates as the new company's CEO. They originally called the company Micro-soft, a combination of abbreviations for "microcomputer" and "software." The hyphen wasn’t removed until 1981, two years after the technology company moved its headquarters to Bellevue, Washington.

M&Ms are a Microsoft Tradition

Softies, the people who work for Microsoft, are expected to celebrate their work anniversaries with M&Ms. At each anniversary of their employment, they are supposed to bring one pound of the tasty chocolate candies to share with co-workers for the number of years they have worked there. Bill Gates became a part-timer in 2006 to work for his foundation, otherwise, he would have needed to bring in 31 pounds of M&Ms for his anniversary but, of course, would have had no problem affording it.

Apple Would Have Gone Under if it Wasn’t For Microsoft

Apple was nearing bankruptcy in 1997 when Bill Gates and Microsoft came along on a white charger to save the day. Microsoft invested $150 million in the company and allowed Apple to use Microsoft Office without charge on the Mac PCs. It was also at this time that Microsoft was facing possible charges by the Justice Department for violating the Sherman Act. This law prohibits the stifling the competition and establishment of a monopoly. Therefore, this helping hand probably benefited both companies.

People Who Invested in Microsoft Early on Made a Bundle

It may have been considered a risky venture to have invested in Microsoft back in the 1980s because the company was fairly new. However, investors who bought the stock in March 1986 paid only $21 per share. Today, that one share would be worth around $158 dollars. Someone who invested $1,000 in Microsoft on the day of its initial public offering would have more than $1.6 million to show for it today when price appreciation and dividends are calculated.

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I  did  not  know  that  the  original  name  was  Micro-Soft  with  a  hyphen====

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5 U.S. Presidents With The Most Vetoes

On April 5, 1792, George Washington cast the first presidential veto, rejecting a congressional measure for apportioning representatives among the states. Find out which five U.S. presidents wielded their veto power the most....

Franklin D. Roosevelt Holds the Record for the Number of Vetoes

Franklin Roosevelt was elected to the office of the presidency a record-breaking four times, so it isn’t surprising that he holds the record for the number of vetoes issued during office. During his administration, FDR issued 635 vetoes. This included 372 regular ones and 163 pocket vetoes, and only nine were overridden. A pocket veto is when a president doesn't sign a bill within 10 days and Congress adjourns during that 10-day period. In addition, Franklin Roosevelt was the first president to read a veto aloud from the House floor during a joint session of Congress, thus demonstrating his desire to let his vigilance over Congress’s actions be known to its members.

Grover Cleveland Comes in Second on the Number of Vetoes

Grover Cleveland served two terms as president, and he was the first to serve two terms that were not continuous. His presidential administrations occurred during a time known as the Gilded Age because of rapid economic growth. Vetoing bills was almost a daily affair with Cleveland, who had a total of 584 during his terms of office. The most famous veto issued by President Cleveland was one denying a subsidy of $10,000 for farmers in Texas due to severe drought, because he didn’t want people to become reliant on the government.

Harry S. Truman Was the Tax Cut Veto President

Harry Truman became president toward the end of World War II, after the death of Franklin Roosevelt. He had to battle a Congress led by Republicans. During his presidency, Truman vetoed 250 pieces of legislation, which included 180 regular vetoes and 70 pocket vetoes with 12 being overridden. His vetoes tended to be for tax cuts for the wealthy at a time when the nation was on the brink of an inflation crisis.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Vetoed Bills Passed by a Democratic Congress

Dwight Eisenhower was the opposite of Truman in that he was a Republican dealing with a Democratic Congress. Eisenhower had 37 years of experience in the military, but that might not have been enough for him to deal with a Democratic Congress. He used his veto privilege 181 times, with 73 regular vetoes and 108 pocket vetoes, with only two being overridden. One of his vetoes denied giving more funds toward wastewater treatment because he thought water pollution was a local issue and should be handled by the states.

Ulysses S. Grant Expanded Executive Branch Power

President Ulysses S. Grant issued 93 vetoes during his term of office, which was an unprecedented number in the years immediately following the Civil War. Forty-five of the vetoes were regular ones and 48 were pocket vetoes, and only four were overridden by Congress. In the face of a devastating economic depression that started in 1873, Congress sought to add more greenbacks to the American circulation, thus increasing the amount of legal tender available to the suffering American population. However, Grant struck down the so-called Inflation Bill, an action that many historians have claimed to diminish the severity of the ensuing currency crisis of the following quarter century.

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I  did  not   know  that   F.D.R.. had 635  vetoes=====I did  know  that  GROVER  CLEVELAND  had 584 vetoes=====

if  you  take in consideration===CLEVELAND  had  a  higher  percentage====

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5 Things You Didn't Know About World War I_3

On April 6, 1917, America formally entered World War I after the U.S. Congress voted to declare war on Germany. Here are five interesting facts you probably didn't know about the war to end all wars...

Spanish Flu Caused Many of the Deaths During World War I

The Spanish Flu spread like wildfire through trenches along Europe’s Western Front and U.S. military camps. It was reported that between September and November 1918, between 20 and 40 percent of those in the U.S. Navy and Army were sickened by the Spanish flu.  Influenza and pneumonia killed more American soldiers and sailors during the war than did enemy weapons.

Three of the Main Leaders During the War Were Cousins

King George V of Great Britain, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany were all cousins, and all were descended from England’s King George II. Unfortunately, the first two cousins were fighting on the opposite side of Kaiser Wilhelm, who was King George’s first cousin and a third cousin to the tsar. Although they did not at first believe that Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination would lead to a war, it did, and the rest is history.

Americans Became Anti-German Because of the War

German was commonly spoken in the United States before World War I due to mass emigration from Germany to Pennsylvania during the 1680s. But many states banned speaking German in public during World War I after war was declared. The language was removed from many school curriculums too. The sentiment against Germans even extended to foods when potatoes that were fried were renamed American fries and kraut was called liberty cabbage. Alsatian was the new name for German shepherds and the dachshund renamed the liberty pup or badger dog.

A Homing Pigeon Saved 194 Men’s Lives

 Over 200,000 homing pigeons were used during the war to deliver messages for the U.S. military, and Cher Ami (Dear Friend) was one of the birds trained to do just that. At the Battle of Argonne, France, American soldiers, stranded behind enemy lines without any ammunition or supplies, sent Cher Ami and two other pigeons out with a message detailing their location and asking that the shelling by Allied forces be stopped because about 300 of them had been killed by friendly fire. Two of the pigeons were killed, but Cher Ami, despite losing a leg, an eye and being shot in the chest, delivered her message after flying 25 miles. She is credited with saving almost two hundred men.

World War I Led to the Rise of Adolf Hitler

When the war ended in 1918, Germany was ordered to pay 269 billion marks in reparations, which was equal to about 100,000 tons of gold. Although the amount for reparations was lowered later, Germany found itself deeply in debt with high inflation and massive unemployment. The Nazi Party saw this as a way to blame the Allies for their troubles, and Adolf Hitler, after seizing power, built a strong army and started World War II instead.

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5 Things You Didn't Know About the Battle of Shiloh

On this day in 1862, the Union Army led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant led the Union troops to success in the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee. Here are five riveting facts you probably didn’t know about the Battle of Shiloh...

The Battle of Shiloh Was The Bloodies Battle in American History Up To That Point.

Union casualties in the Battle of Shiloh were 13,047 (1,754 killed, 8,408 wounded, and 2,885 missing) while the Confederate casualties were 10,699 (1,728 killed, 8,012 wounded, and 959 missing or captured). With 23,746 casualties, the Battle of Shiloh was the bloodiest battle in American history up to that time. Three more years of the Civil War would go on to see eight larger and bloodier battles. The Battle of Gettysburg would become the deadliest battle of the war with casualties between 46,000 and 51,000. 

Many Union Deaths Were Blamed on the Man Who Wrote Ben Hur.

General Lewis Wallace was a Union general and future governor of the New Mexico Territory, among other things. He also wrote the historical adventure Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, an 1880 bestseller and influential Christian novel. General Ulysses Grant blamed many of the Union deaths during the Battle of Shiloh on Wallace, saying that his failure to follow orders and delays in bringing in reserves had nearly caused the Union to lose the battle. Later, Wallace explained his actions, causing Grant to change his mind, publicly admitting he had mistakenly blamed Wallace.

General Albert Johnson, Who Died At Shiloh, Was The Highest Ranking Officer Killed During The Civil War.

General Albert Sidney Johnston had a long military career before the Civil War, having fought in the Texas War of Independence and the Mexican American War. The Confederate States President Jefferson Davis considered him to be the best Confederate officer before Robert E. Lee. Johnston was the officer with the highest rank from either the Confederates or the Union to be killed during the Civil War, and Jefferson Davis considered his death to be a turning point for the Confederate Army. 

The Sunken Road and Bloody Pond Might Not Have Really Existed.

Two of the geographical locations most associated with the Battle of Shiloh might be more legend than anything else. "The Sunken Road" has become legendary as the site of the fiercest fighting at Shiloh. The story of the fighting on the sunken road rested on a myth of the road having been worn down below surrounding terrain, creating a natural trench for the Union soldiers, but there is no evidence of the road being worn away like this. Likewise, the so-called bloody pond may have been a myth. There is no evidence of the pond becoming blood-stained, and in fact, there is no evidence a pond even existed at that spot during the battle. Today, however, despite the debate over Civil War myth versus reality, the Bloody Pond and the Sunken Road remain immensely popular with visitors who flock to the battlefield near what was once Shiloh Church.

The Battle of Shiloh Was Key in Allowing the Union Forces to Press on Through Mississippi.

Had the Confederate Army been successful at Shiloh, they would have blocked the Union from advancing into Mississippi. However, their defeat ended any hopes of keeping the Union Army from making it to Mississippi. The Union didn’t have an easy time making it to Vicksburg, Mississippi, the last Confederate controlled section of the Mississippi River, but once they did, the Union controlled the Mississippi River, cutting off the Confederacy from supplies coming in from the west. 

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I did  not  know  that  the  leader  of  Great  Britain==leader of  Russia===the  leader  of  Germany  were all cousins

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I did  nor  know  about  the  Myth  of the  Sunken  road  and  Bloody pond ==== 

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5 Things You Didn't Know About The Civil War_2

On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Here are 5 interesting facts you didn't know about the Civil War…

Many of the Combatants During the Civil War Weren’t Home-Grown

The Union Army during the Civil War was multinational and multicultural.  We often hear about Irish soldiers (7.5 percent of the army), but the Union’s ranks included even more Germans (10 percent), who marched off in regiments such as the Steuben Volunteers. Other immigrant soldiers were French, Italian, Polish, English and Scottish. In fact, one in four regiments contained a majority of foreigners. 

Harriet Tubman Led a Raid to Free Slaves During The Civil War.

Harriet Tubman was an escaped slave remembered for leading slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad. She gathered intelligence from freed slaves, and in 1863, she accompanied James Montgomery, a Union colonel, along with 300 black soldiers, to attack plantations and free the slaves. More than 720 slaves escaped and streamed across the countryside to make their way to freedom in the North.

Many Women Fought While Disguised as Men

Contrary to the popular belief that women were just nurses and cooks that followed the armies during the Civil War, there were actual female soldiers.They disguised themselves as men and served in the Union or Confederate Armies. These women enlisted for a number of different reasons. They either wanted to share in the trials of their loved ones, for adventure's sake, for the promise of reliable wages, or even for patriotic reasons.

Lincoln Wanted to Send Freed Slaves to Central America

Abraham Lincoln wanted to send slaves that had been freed to live abroad not only while the Civil War was ongoing but before then. It was a policy that Thomas Jefferson, Henry Clay, James Madison and other important figures of the day supported. Lincoln went so far as to ask Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to fund the colonization of Central America by American blacks, but abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass were more than a little appalled by the idea of expelling blacks from the country.  Lincoln never succeeded at gathering support for the policy, and after he signed the Emancipation Proclamation he never mentioned it publicly again.

More Men Died in The Civil War Than Any Other American Conflict

Approximately 625,000 men died in the Civil War, more Americans than in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined. If the names of the Civil War dead were arranged like the names on the Vietnam Memorial, it would stretch over 10 times the wall’s length. Two percent of the population died, the equivalent of 6 million men today. Rifles were by far the war’s deadliest weapons, but deadlier still was disease. Camps became breeding grounds for diseases such as mumps, chicken pox and measles, and over one million Union soldiers contracted malaria.

[phkrause]

5 Things to Know About The Breakup of The Beatles_2

On April 10, 1970, Paul McCartney announced that the Beatles, who had performed together for eight years, were going their separate ways. Here are 5 things you probably didn’t know about the breakup of one of the most successful rock-and-roll bands in history…

The Final Breakup Occurred at Disney World

The official dissolution papers were drawn up and ready to be signed at the Plaza Hotel in New York. George and Paul had arranged to fly in and be present, while Ringo signed the necessary documents at an earlier time, while still in England. But John Lennon never showed up to the meeting. Instead, he was relaxing at Disney World at the Polynesian Village Hotel. An Apple lawyer brought the mammoth contract down to Disney Work for Lennon to sign. Thus, with the Magic Kingdom as his backdrop, Lennon became the last member of the iconic group to sign the dissolution papers that officially ended the greatest rock 'n' roll band in history.

The Beatles Stopped Touring in 1966

The last official tour performance given by the Beatles was in San Francisco. The only exception was a rooftop concert that was impromptu and given at Apple (recording studio) Headquarters in London. The reasons given for stopping their musical tours included exhaustion, poor sound quality at their concerts and unease about security while performing. It didn’t help that fans were screaming so loudly the band couldn’t hear themselves either playing or singing.

Lennon Formed Another Band Before the Breakup Was Announced

Lennon was starting independent projects apart from the Beatles when he and his wife formed the Plastic Ono Band in 1969. The couple first recorded an experimental album together in 1968, and they worked together on “Revolution 9,” which appeared in the “White Album.” Lennon also performed with the Plastic Ono Band at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival Festival, inviting George Harrison to perform as well, but Harrison said no.

Yoko Ono Was Blamed by Fans for the Breakup

John Lennon’s relationship with artist Yoko Ono led him to bring her along to the studio, which annoyed the other band members. When Lennon began collaborating with Ono on projects, the other band members saw this as a sign of neglecting the band. When Lennon was told by the band members they didn’t want her at all the Beatles gatherings, Lennon responded that she wanted to be one of them but it was obvious she wasn't welcome. Rumors went around at the time that John Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, was the cause of the band’s breakup.

They Almost Reunited on Saturday Night Live

On a 1976 episode of "Saturday Night Live," creator Lorne Michaels jokingly offered The Beatles a check for $3,000 in exchange for reuniting on his show. Little did Michaels know that Lennon was watching the live broadcast at his home in New York, and suggested to McCartney that they take him up on his offer when McCartney visited Lennon a week later. Ultimately, they decided against it in favor of a night off. "It would've been work … but it was a nice idea," recalled McCartney on Access Hollywood. "We nearly did it."

[dgrimm60]

PHKRAUSE

I  did not  know  that  they  group was  offered to  reunited  on the  Saturday  Night Live  show=====

dgrimm60

[phkrause]

5 Things You Didn't Know About the Spanish-American War

On April 11, 1898, President William McKinley asked Congress for a declaration of war against Spain. Find out the five things you didn’t know about the Spanish-American War, which lasted from April to August 1898.

The U.S. May Have Gone to War Because of a Misunderstanding.

The United States became involved in the war after the USS Maine, a U.S. battleship in Havana to protect American interests, exploded in February 1898 (“Remember the Maine!”). Two hundred sixty-six sailors died, and though the exact cause of the explosion was never discovered, the Spanish were blamed, and this helped encourage the U.S. to take military action against Spain. Today, experts say the explosion that sank the Maine was probably caused by how the ship’s ammunition was stored, its coal bunker, and the ship’s design.

The Rough Riders Didn’t Really Ride

The legendary Rough Riders consisted of troops ranging from Ivy League athletes to Native Americans, glee-club singers to Texas Rangers, and more. While the group, led by Theodore Roosevelt, did play an important role in the Battle of San Juan Hill, its members did not — despite their name — all ride horses during that battle. When they traveled to Cuba, most had to leave their horses and mules in Florida. So while Teddy Roosevelt did indeed ride his horse, most of the Rough Riders charged up San Juan Hill on foot.

Gitmo Came About From the Spanish-American War

Guantanamo Bay was captured by Cuban and American forces during the Battle of Guantanamo Bay in June 1898. This victory proved to be strategically important to protect the U.S. Navy during hurricane season. Several years later, in February 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt signed a treaty with Cuba’s new government that leased the area to the United States for 2,000 gold coins (roughly $4,000) a year. (Though rent is still paid to this day, the Cuban government refuses to cash the checks.) Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, sometimes called Gitmo, is now America’s oldest overseas military installation.

Residents of Guam Welcomed the Invasion

When American troops captured Spanish-controlled Guam, they were surprised to be welcomed by a friendly Spanish officer who rowed out to meet their ship. He was probably even more surprised when they immediately took him prisoner. As it turned out, neither the 60 Spanish marines stationed on Guam nor the island’s civilians had any idea that war had broken out two months earlier.

Few of the Soldiers Died in Battle

The Spanish-American War claimed the lives of 3,000 Americans, but only a small fraction of these soldiers died in combat. Yellow fever and typhoid decimated entire units, swiftly spreading through camps in the Caribbean and the southeastern United States. After the war, After the war, scientists conducted experiments outside Havana that proved for the first time that mosquitoes spread the potentially fatal sickness. Only 379 U.S. soldiers died in combat during the war.

[dgrimm60]

PHKRAUSE

I did  not  know  that the officer and the  60 Spanish  marines plus the  citizens  of GAUM  did  not  know 

that  a  war  had been  going  on for  2  months====

dgrimm60