Lit tle known or interesting history facts.

The fork thing....fingers...really????

I KNOW...!!!!!  Can you imagine.!

And Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini.... The Nobel PEACE Prize.???  REALLY.!!!  Surely, there's a mistake here.!!

Both are utterly rediculous.

In today's world the act of piracy on the high seas has made a bit of a comeback. For years it was mostly a non-issue having disappeared with the advent of modern ships, steel hulls and framework, modern naval armament, watchful Coast Guard patrols, and effective airborne interdiction that could arrive on site quickly.

But it wasn't TOO many years back when piracy was a common occurrence.

One of the most feared, successful and respected pirates in all of history, was actually a Chinese female prostitute named Ching Shih. She commanded a fleet of more than 1500 pirate ships and 80,000 sailors.

WARS -- WARS -- WARS


Here are a couple of interesting facts....

The shortest war in history was between England and Zanzibar, and only lasted 38 minutes.

Alternatively:

The longest war in history lasted 335 years, between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly. No one was killed during the entire war.

Interesting (AND little known) historical fact.....

Edgar Allen Poe...  An American author, writer, poet, editor, and literary critic was perhaps best known for his poetry and short stories, many of which were dark or foreboding while maintaining a sense of mystery with a macabre undertone. Poe died in 1849 at the age of 40 years from a brain condition known as phrenetis, or hepatic encephalopathy which is a swelling or "congestion" of the brain. It is a common and polite way of saying "alcoholism". 

In 1838 while working as the editor of The Southern Literary Messenger, Poe wrote and published a work, purported to be fiction. This work was a mostly first-person accounting of a somewhat perilous journey by sailing ship as told by Arthur Gordon Pym to Poe. This work was entitled The Narrative Of Arthur Gordon Pym Of Nantucket.  The story is that of Pym as told to Poe who wrote and edited it. Subsequently, Arthur Gordon Pym penned the Preface for the book and signed it AG Pym. In the Preface, Pym claimed to have actually written part of the text of the book and the balance was written by Poe. Regardless of who wrote what, there is a very interesting (and strange) bit of sub-text from the book and a follow-on story that takes it into the realm of a 'strange and little-known historical fact'. 

"Edgar Allen Poe’s 1838 novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, tells the story of four crewmen on a whaling ship who end up stranded. In order to survive, the crewmen draw lots to see who among them should be eaten. The lot lands on their cabin boy, Richard Parker.  Later, in 1884 (forty-six years after Poe's book was published), four crewmen aboard the yacht Mignonette capsized on their way to Sydney from London. Three of the crewmen decided to kill and eat the youngest and weakest among them – their nineteen-year-old cabin boy, Richard Parker."

George Washington was NOT the first President of the United States.

Technically, Washington was the first elected President under Constitutional law.  BUT... The federal government existed before that under the U.S. first designed government. The U.S. government started in 1774 with the 1st Continental Congress. The idea being to repair the relationship between Britain and the colonies. It became apparent that Britain's dominion over the colonies was severely damaged. The Congress met for about six weeks and plans were made for a 2nd Congress. The 2nd Continental Congress convened in 1775 after hostilities broke out with King George in Massachusetts. On July 2nd 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Lee Resolution for Independence. Two days later, July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted and signed the Declaration of Independence declaring the colonies to be independent sovereign states. And the war for independence, Revolutionary War, was on....

The Continental Congress (2nd) served as the government of the states from 1776--1781. In 1781 the first official Federal Government was framed by the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union  which put into place the final iteration of the Continental Congress, better known as the Congress of the Confederation, to act as the Federal government representing the confederation of states. The Constitution of the United States was written then ratified in 1787.  The Congress of the Confederation adjourned permanently in 1789 after George Washington was elected President and the 1st U.S. Congress took over the Legislative Branch.

So, from 1781 to 1789 the Federal Government was organized under the Articles of Confederation and was governed by the Congress of the Confederation.  John Hanson was the first politician elected to hold the office of President (Continental Congress). There were several others who served before George Washington was elected under the Constitution of the U.S.

Before the United States had the Constitution (which established the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches of government), they had the Articles of Confederation. Under this legislation, the central authority of the United States was the Second Continental Congress. John Hanson was the first politician elected as President of the Continental Congress (a largely administrative role). Several other men held the title of President before George Washington's election in 1789 (the Constitution was ratified in 1787).

It isn’t uncommon to see pets in Zoom meetings these days, as some cats and dogs can’t help being the center of attention while their humans attempt to check in with their co-workers. Even so, the fact that Warren G. Harding’s dog sat in on Cabinet meetings sounds especially distracting (albeit in an adorable way) for such important positions as, say, the secretary of state. Laddie Boy, who’s been called the White House’s first celebrity dog, was an Airedale terrier whom the 29th president of the United States deeply adored. In addition to fetching the newspaper and joining the First Lady at fundraisers, he had his own seat at Cabinet meetings and was written about in the press on a near-daily basis.

Sometimes, Laddie Boy even “wrote” back. “So many people express a wish to see me, and I shake hands with so many callers at the Executive Mansion,” read one such letter, “that I fear there are some people who will suspect me of political inclinations. From what I see of politics, I am sure I have no such aspirations.” The presidential pup remained popular even as Harding did not (he’s routinely ranked among the worst heads of state in American history). Following Harding’s untimely death in 1923, a poem by Edna Bell Seward titled “Laddie Boy, He’s Gone” was set to music by composer George M. Seward in order to console the faithful dog.


https://historyfacts.com/famous-figures/...-meetings/

Little Known Historical Fact...

Boston is known (historically) for multiple 'offenses' ..!!!  THIS one has nothing to do with 'tea". (Or witches..).

Boston experienced a deadly molasses flood

In January of 1919, an enormous molasses tank burst in the North End of Boston. While a molasses flood might sound like a scene from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, it was no laughing matter. The tank contained—and released—nearly two and a half million gallons of the sticky substance, which surged through the streets at a whopping 35 miles per hour. It was essentially a full-on tidal wave, reaching nearly fifteen feet tall and killing twenty-one people. A hundred and fifty more people were injured, and buildings and houses were knocked from their foundations. Emergency responders had trouble reaching the victims since they had to clamber through the sticky sludge. It took Bostonians weeks to clean up the mess, and many residents would claim that, in the summer heat, they could smell the sickly-sweet odor of molasses even years later. 

Not a quote, but interesting history I have never heard before.

President Harry S. Truman was forced to vacate the White House for years.

In November 1948, President Harry S. Truman and his family were forced to vacate the White House regarding concerns over the building’s structural integrity. Truman had moved into the White House after taking office in 1945, but a series of incidents — including one in which the leg of his daughter’s piano fell through the floor — affirmed that the residence required extensive renovations. A dissatisfied Truman called repairs from Theodore Roosevelt’s administration a “botch job.” Analysts also suggested that the building deteriorated during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s time in office, as the Great Depression and World War II forced FDR to reallocate vital resources away from much-needed repairs.


The Truman family moved into nearby Blair House, a building purchased by the federal government in 1942 to serve as the President’s official guest residence. Though Truman wasn’t pleased with the displacement, he also wasn’t in a rush to return to an unsafe building. The president authorized an extensive renovation that lasted from 1948 until 1952, during which deeper foundations were dug and a steel frame skeleton was added to the White House’s interior. Nearly the entire building was renovated; a balcony installed by Truman in early 1948 was one of the few elements left untouched. After lengthy delays, Truman moved back into the White House in March 1952, and spent the final 10 months of his presidency there.



https://historyfacts.com/famous-figures/...for-years/

---

---

Dateline: Friday, December 27, 2024

Our Ms. LP posted this in a different thread .... so, i grabbed it because I remembered something about President Truman that I thought was interesting and might add a little "something" to her story.  Then I realized that I didn't have "the facts" or an image.

Hmm ... So I'm off to find a picture and some "history" to go along with my addition to LP's President Truman story. UNLESS I've mis-remembered. In which case I'll........... do something different.  Maybe.

Or not..???

I've spent quite a few holidays--vacations in the Florida Keys. I remembered this because LP mentioned President Truman and his trials and tribulations in the White House in DC.  President Truman apparently loved Key West as a vacation spot. He spent a LOT of time down there during his time in office. So much time, in fact, that the Presidential residence down there became known as "The Little White House" or "The Southern White House". Since then, multiple other Presidents have used the facility as a vacation retreat as well.

Truman Little White House

As Florida’s only presidential museum, the Harry S. Truman Little White House was the winter White House for this country's 33rd president. Truman spent 175 days during 13 vacations in the home that is filled with original furnishing and memorabilia from Truman’s days. Presidents Taft, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Carter and Clinton also used the house. Guided tours offer guests a window into the world President Truman and life of a US president.

More Information:  WhiteHouseHistory.org -- "Truman Beach: The 33rd President At Key West"

The president’s shirts were loose, comfortable, vividly patterned, and tropically bright. They represented a break from the blue-suit, white-shirt formality that had been Harry Truman’s hallmark since his days as a Kansas City haberdasher. They proclaimed temporary independence from the mansion Truman called “the big white jail.” Some people found them gaudy, garish, and unpresidential. Others simply called them Harry Truman shirts. When photographs of Truman wearing them hit the newspapers, people showered the Little White House at Key West, Florida, with gift shirts. Since there were far more than the president could wear, he had dozens laid out on the lawn for others to take. And that led to “the Key West uniform” and contributed to the breezy informality of all of the president’s Florida vacations. Arriving at Key West in the giddy aftermath of Truman’s dazzling upset election victory in 1948, Vice President-Elect Alben Barkley took in the president’s vivid shirt, jaunty cap, and casual slacks. “Where’s the general store?” he asked. “I want to get an outfit like that.” 

Truman visited Key West 11 times from November 1946 to March 1952, vacationing and working there in good times and bad for a total of 175 days. He timed his escapes for the fall or late winter, trading Washington’s cold and often snowy weather for the warm breezes that blew through what the newspapers variously called the whispering, rustling, or swaying palms. 


At the end of the island chain stretching from Florida into the Gulf of Mexico, the coral island of Key West—4 miles long and two miles wide—is the southernmost point in the United States. Coconut palms, purple and red bougainvillea, frangipani, red and pink hibiscus, and tinted oleanders thrive in the frost-free tropical climate. Off-shore, the cobalt-blue reaches of the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico offer deep-sea fishing for yellowfin, grouper, amberjack, mackerel, and barracuda.

---More...

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/truman...t-key-west