Oddities of American History

Contrary to popular belief, Grant Wood intended the figures in...

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:51:26 -0700

Contrary to popular belief, Grant Wood intended the figures in his painting to be a father and his spinster daughter. Wood used his own sister and their family dentist as his models (pictured).

creepyabandonedplaces: Holy Land...

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:15:44 -0700

creepyabandonedplaces:

Holy Land USA
Waterbury, Connecticut

Holy Land USA was once an 18 acre Bible-themed park located in Waterbury, Connecticut. The park had about 40,000 visitors a year until it closed in 1984 for renovations. Holy Land USA never opened back up again due to the death of owner John Greco in 1986. It has been abandoned ever since. The abandoned acres of the theme park have been watched over by groups of nuns for decades, but the place keeps getting more and more creepy as the park continues to deteriorate.

On top of the vandalism and eeriness the park gives off, a teenager was murdered on these abandoned grounds in 2010. Since then police records have shown that the amount of trespassers have been decreasing which just means abandoned Holy Land USA is as creepy and deserted as ever.

“When the nation’s chiropractors descended on...

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:21:19 -0700

“When the nation’s chiropractors descended on Chicago for a weeklong convention in May 1956, they threw a beauty contest. The judges crowned Lois Conway, 18, Miss Correct Posture. Second place went to Marianne Caba, 16, according to an account in the Chicago Tribune. Ruth Swenson, 26, came in third.”

what did the wagner act set up?

Mon, 13 May 2013 23:14:00 -0700

The Wagner Act, passed by FDR in 1935, barred extra-terrestrials from working in the United States, which is why you don’t see many in the country today. Pretty specist by today’s standards but hindsight is 20/20.

The Boston Terrier was the first American breed of dog admitted...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 20:24:35 -0700

The Boston Terrier was the first American breed of dog admitted to the American Kennel Club (1893), making it the first breed of dog to have originated in the United States.

Click to see 50 adorable pictures of Boston Terriers!

In honor of doing one’s taxes.

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:44:41 -0700

In honor of doing one’s taxes.

Today is the 101st anniversary of the Titanic disaster. The...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:47:00 -0700

Today is the 101st anniversary of the Titanic disaster. The official number of survivors was 710, the last of whom died in 2009.

Initial reports were confused, leading some newspapers to report that the Titanic was being towed to port.

On this day in 1958, Elvis Presley was drafted into the US...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 01:27:07 -0700

On this day in 1958, Elvis Presley was drafted into the US Military.

“Fellow soldiers have attested to Presley’s wish to be seen as an able, ordinary soldier, despite his fame, and to his generosity. He donated his Army pay to charity, purchased TV sets for the base, and bought an extra set of fatigues for everyone in his outfit.”

On this day in 1973, “The Pulitzer Prize-winning...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 19:06:19 -0700

On this day in 1973, “The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Burst of Joy [was] taken, depicting a former prisoner of war being reunited with his family.”

Burst of Joy is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Associated Pressphotographer Slava “Sal” Veder, taken on March 17, 1973 at Travis Air Force Base inCalifornia.^[1]^[2] The photograph came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War, and the prevailing sentiment that military personnel and their families could begin a process of healing after enduring the horrors of war.

POWs leaving the prison camps in North Vietnam left on the American Lockheed C-141 Starlifter strategic airlift aircraft nicknamed the Hanoi Taxi. On March 17 the plane landed at Travis Air Force Base in California. Even though there were only 20 POWs aboard the plane almost 400 family members turned up for the homecoming. Veder was part of big press showing and remembers that, “You could feel the energy and the raw emotion in the air,” he said.^[3] Veder then rushed to the makeshift photo developing station in the ladies room of the Air Base washrooms, United Press International were in the men’s.^[3]

The photograph depicts United States Air Force Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm being reunited with his family, after spending more than five years in captivity as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. Stirm was shot down over Hanoi on October 27, 1967, while leading a flight of F-105son a bombing mission, and not released until March 14, 1973. The centerpiece of the photograph is Stirm’s 15-year-old daughter Lorrie, who is excitedly greeting her father with outstretched arms, as the rest of the family approaches directly behind her.

Despite outward appearances, the reunion was an unhappy one for Stirm. Three days before he arrived in the United States, the same day he was released from captivity, Stirm received a letter from his wife Loretta informing him that their relationship was over…All of the family members depicted in the picture received copies of it after Burst of Joy was announced as the winner of the Pulitzer Prize. They all display it prominently in their homes, except the Stirm patriarch, who says he cannot bear to look at it.”

Times Square, NY. 1911.

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:22:07 -0700

Times Square, NY. 1911.

lostsplendor: Engraved Lighters of The Vietnam War (via) “Who...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 19:31:25 -0700

lostsplendor:

Engraved Lighters of The Vietnam War (via)

“Who ever may rend this will see that there is no other but one girl for me and her lovely name is Beverly Dennington. I love her very much.”

On this day in 1959, the Barbie doll made its debut at the...

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 18:12:00 -0800

On this day in 1959, the Barbie doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York. Its original purchase price was $3.00.

“The first Barbie doll wore a black and white zebra striped swimsuit and signature topknot ponytail, and was available as either a blonde or brunette…The first Barbie dolls were manufactured in Japan, with their clothes hand-stitched by Japanese homeworkers.”

A few more Barbie facts:

“Barbie’s appearance has been changed many times, most notably in 1971 when the doll’s eyes were adjusted to look forwards rather than having the demure sideways glance of the original model.
Mattel claim[s] that three Barbie dolls are sold every second.
Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. In a series of novels published by Random House in the 1960s, her parents’ names are given as George and Margaret Roberts from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin.
She has an on-off romantic relationship with her boyfriend Ken (Ken Carson), who first appeared in 1961. A news release from Mattel in February 2004 announced that Barbie and Ken had decided to split up, but in February 2006 they were hoping to rekindle their relationship after Ken had a makeover.
‘Colored Francie‘ made her debut in 1967, and she is sometimes described as the first African American Barbie doll. However, she was produced using the existing head molds for the white Francie doll and lacked African characteristics other than a dark skin.
In July 1992, Mattel released Teen Talk Barbie, which spoke a number of phrases including ‘Will we ever have enough clothes?’, ‘I love shopping!’, and ‘Wanna have a pizza party?’ Each doll was programmed to say four out of 270 possible phrases, so that no two dolls were likely to be the same. One of these 270 phrases was ‘Math class is tough!’ (often misquoted as ‘Math is hard’). Although only about 1.5% of all the dolls sold said the phrase, it led to criticism from the American Association of University Women. In October 1992 Mattel announced that Teen Talk Barbie would no longer say the phrase, and offered a swap to anyone who owned a doll that did.”

The future Californian governor on the day he received his...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 19:37:00 -0800

The future Californian governor on the day he received his American citizenship.

January 13, 1968. Folsom Prison, Folsom, California.

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:35:00 -0800

January 13, 1968. Folsom Prison, Folsom, California.

Fayetteville, Arkansas. 1975

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 17:45:00 -0800

Fayetteville, Arkansas. 1975

On this day in 1942: “Henry Ford patents...

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 10:00:00 -0800

On this day in 1942:

“Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.”

“The ‘Soybean Car’ was actually a plastic-bodied car unveiled by Henry Ford on August 13, 1941 at Dearborn Days, an annual community festival.

The frame, made of tubular steel, had 14 plastic panels attached to it. The car weighed 2000 lbs., 1000 lbs. lighter than a steel car. The exact ingredients of the plastic panels are unknown because no record of the formula exists today. One article claims that they were made from a chemical formula that, among many other ingredients, included soybeans, wheat, hemp, flax and ramie; while the man who was instrumental in creating the car, Lowell E. Overly, claims it was ‘…soybean fiber in a phenolic resin with formaldehyde used in the impregnation.’

There were several reasons why Henry Ford wanted to build this car: 1.) He was looking for a project that would combine the fruits of industry with agriculture. 2.) He also claimed that the plastic panels made the car safer than traditional steel cars; and that the car could even roll over without being crushed. 3.) Another reason was due to a shortage of metal at the time. Henry hoped his new plastic material might replace the traditional metals used in cars.

The outbreak of World War II suspended all auto production, and therefore the plastic car experiment. A second unit was in production at the time the war broke out, but the project was abandoned. By the end of the war the idea of a plastic car had fallen through the cracks due to energy being directed towards war recovery efforts.

According to Overly, the car was destroyed by E.T. Gregorie.”

maureenjohnsonbooks: maudelynn: Suffragettes c.1918 WORD.

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 12:43:19 -0800

maureenjohnsonbooks:

maudelynn:

Suffragettes c.1918

WORD.

saintcrackolas: Mary Fields was born sometime around 1812...

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 11:14:54 -0700

saintcrackolas:

Mary Fields was born sometime around 1812 & was born a Slave in Hickman County, TN. She was the first African American woman and the second American woman to be employed as a mail carrier with the United States Postal Service. Mary was hired by the U.S. Postal Service because she was able to hitch a team of six horses to a Stagecoach faster than anyone other applicant. She earned the nickname “Stagecoach Mary” because of her reliability even in inclement weather that caused her to walk up to ten miles in the snow to the Mail Depot and the fact that she never missed a day of work.

Badass meter off the charts!

On the subject of the 1904 Summer Olympics in St....

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 10:25:45 -0700

On the subject of the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis:

“The marathon was the most bizarre event of the Games. It was run in brutally hot weather, over dusty roads, with horses and automobiles clearing the way and creating dust clouds. The first to arrive at the finish line was Frederick Lorz, who actually rode in a car back to the finish line to retrieve his clothes, after dropping out after nine miles. The car broke down at the 19th mile, so he re-entered the race and jogged back to the finish line. When the officials thought he had won the race, Lorz played along with his practical joke until he was found out shortly after the medal ceremony and was banned for a year by the AAU for this stunt, later winning the 1905 Boston Marathon.

Thomas Hicks (a Briton running for the United States) was the first to cross the finish-line legally, after having received several doses of strychnine sulfate (a common rat poison, which stimulates the nervous system in small doses) mixed with brandy from his trainers. He was supported by his trainers when he crossed the finish, but is still considered the winner. Hicks had to be carried off the track, and possibly would have died in the stadium, had he not been treated by several doctors. A Cuban postman named Felix Carbajal joined the marathon, arriving at the last minute. He had to run in street clothes that he cut around the legs to make them look like shorts. He stopped off in an orchard en route to have a snack on some apples, which turned out to be rotten. The rotten apples caused him to have to lie down and take a nap. Despite falling ill to apples he finished in fourth place.

The marathon included the first two black Africans to compete in the Olympics; two Tswana tribesmen named Len Tau (real name: Len Taunyane) and Yamasani (real name: Jan Mashiani). But they weren’t there to compete in the Olympics, they were actually the sideshow. They had been brought over by the exposition as part of the Boer War exhibit (both were really students from Orange Free State in South Africa, but this fact was not made known to the public). Len Tau finished ninth and Yamasani came in twelfth. This was a disappointment, as many observers were sure Len Tau could have done better if he had not been chased nearly a mile off course by aggressive dogs.”

Pictured: Hicks and his supporters at the marathon.

Poster for the third Summer Olympics hosted by St. Louis,...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 09:58:46 -0700

Poster for the third Summer Olympics hosted by St. Louis, Missouri, which were the first Olympic Games hosted on American soil.

According to Wikipedia, “The city of Chicago, Illinois, had won the original bid to host the 1904 Summer Olympics, but the organizers of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis would not accept another international event in the same time frame. The exposition organization began to plan for its own sports activities, informing the Chicago OCOG that its own international sports events intended to eclipse the Olympic Games unless they were moved to St. Louis. Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement, gave in and awarded the games to St. Louis.

…Competitions were reduced to a side-show of the World’s Fair and were lost in the chaos of other, more popular cultural exhibits. David Francis, the President of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, declined to invite anybody else to open the Games and, on 1 July did so himself in a scaled-down short and humdrum ‘ceremony’. The Games were so poorly run that, as a result, the Olympic movement almost came to an end.”