clair055

Last week I shared some information about the Washington Monument and the Pope's stone which was destroyed by the political party known as the Know Nothings. During my research I took a little side tour and found some interesting things about the panels that decorate the interior walls of the monument. As I advised in my earlier posts: In 1849, funds had begun to dwindle. The Society began the commemorative stone program where states could donate engraved stones that would go on the interior of the monument. The program got a little out of hand as more folks got involved. Stones began arriving from territories, groups, organizations and even a few individuals. The purpose of the program was to help all Americans feel a part of the memorial and more importantly to the society the stone donation program would cut the cost regarding the number of stones to be purchased. So, I thought I would post some of the bits of information I found on 13 of the stones since it is Thursday, and it...

When you begin to look into the number of Olympic controversies it’s a little surprising how many exist considering the purpose of the Olympic Games happens to be   goodwill, peace and reconciliation. One of the most recent controversies caught my eye a few days ago….a controversy involving one of the most tragic events that have ever occurred during the Olympics…..the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes during the   Munich Games in 1972 .   Since that time the families of the slain athletes have tried in vain to get the International Olympic Committee to recognize the athletes who were killed during the opening ceremonies.   This year….the London Games……were no different.   This article from Sports Illustrated gives a little background and discusses the fight the families continue to lay at the feet of the International Olympic Committee. Since the Sydney Games in 2000, Israel has organized a commemorative event , but the families think the International...

When we think of Flappers we think of women in the 1920s wearing dresses with low waistlines, with hemlines a little below the knee, long strands of beads, rolled stockings, cloche hats, bobbed hair and lots of dancing, right? 1. All of that is true and more including rather scandalous behavior for the times that had to do with smoking, wearing make-up and being sexually promiscuous.  It has to be pointed out though some women took on the Flapper style, but they opted out regarding some of the more scandalous behaviors, but others took to some of the more tame activities which including driving a car. 2. The word "flapper" dates back as far as 1631 and meant "prostitute."  Eventually, it came to be a slang term referring to a mid-teenage girl.  In 1904, the novelist Desmond Coke used the term "flapper" in a sentence that read, "There's a stunning flapper." 3. Many think the Flapper Era began in the United States, but it can actually be traced...

At some point during your high school government class or college Political Science course you had to read The Federalist . Jacob Cooke in the forward section for the collection of essays writes…. the authoritative exposition of the Constitution [and] occupies an unrivaled place in our national political literature. 1. There are actually 85 articles regarding the ratification of the United States Constitution. They were originally published with the titles "The Federalist, No. 1”, The Federalist, No. 2”, etc. 2. Originally only 84 essays were written – not 85. The extra essay came about when the 31st essay was split. The 29th essay was also moved to follow the 34th to make the sequence logical. 3. The set of essays are the go-to source when interpreting the Constitution. By 1788, two volumes containing the essays were published with the title “The Federalist”. While many collections of the papers now carry the title The Federalist Papers , it is a misnomer. 4. The articles capture...

1. Like many such proclamations and treaties the title…..Laws of Burgos…is based on a location. The document was formerly published in Burgos, Spain in 1512. 2. The laws were the first code of conduct governing how Native Americans should be treated in the Americas by Spanish foreigners in America. 3. At first the laws only included the island of Hispanola, but later Puerto Rico and Jamaica was included. 4. The laws addressed the mistreatment of natives and called for their conversion to Catholicism. 5. The laws were rarely enforced making the Laws of Burgos of little value. 6. The laws called for encomiendas…..a labor system where a Spanish citizen was granted a certain number of natives they became responsible for. Basically in exchange for religious instruction the receiver of the encomienda could exact tribute from the Natives including labor, gold or other products. 7. The laws were written due to the reports of Domingo de Mendoza, the cardinal archbishop of Seville regarding abus...

Quick! Dig down deep into that creaky file cabinet in your mind and pull out the folder labeled “Vikings” and name a few of the more famous ones for me. I’ll wait. No, not the football team. There should be another folder there for the OTHER Vikings. You know, the Norsemen who were explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates. There you go. That’s it. Wow, that folder hasn’t seen the light of day in…..well, just blow the dust off it and open it up. So, what have you got? Erik the Red Leif Ericsson ….son of Erik the Red Canute (Knut or Cnut) Sweynsson….better known as Canute the Great ….King of England, etc. Those are usually the top three names I get. Most of the time folks just give me Erik and Leif. What about Thorfinn Karlsefni? Yep, you are so very right. Who in the heck is Thorfinn Karlsefni? Well….here goes…. 1. Thorfinn was a Norse merchant who followed Leif Ericsson’s route seven years later.…around 1010 AD…to North America. 2. While on a trading trip to Greenland Thorfinn met ...

Somehow or another I tend to trip down the path of Latin around the time of year students examine Ancient Indians . Since so many of our references to time refer to B.C. I launch into a discussion regarding our system of time reference. B.C. and A.D. We learn about the Julian and Gregorian calendars and discuss the entire Before Christ (B.C.) or Before the Common Era (B.C.E.) thing. We learn that the Anno Domini dating system came to be mainly to figure out the dates for the Christian Eastern observance by a monk fondly remembered as Dennis the Little or Dennis the Short. The name was devised not because he was short in stature but because he was of the most humble sort. Until he devised the Anno Domini system the consular dating system relating to the various Consuls of Rome had been used. Our friend Dennis didn’t like the fact that folks were having to use the name of a particular nasty emperor (Diocletian) to refer to certain years. I also share a list of interesting Latin phra...