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RULES: 1) You do not need to include a source, but if someone calls you on a post, you will need to provide one. 2) Wikipedia is an acceptable source! This is not a thesis paper. However, Wikipedia is banned in academic circles for a reason, so if someone can contest you, you lose... points? You lose points. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT I will start: After the end of his presidency, Ronald Reagan revealed a long-standing fantasy of cramming Mikhail Gorbachev into a helicopter for the express purpose of flying him around America, pointing at things Reagan thought were neat. Speaking of presidents, Ulysses S. Grant was a never-nude; he used to brag that no one had seen him naked in years, save for his wife, since West Point.
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Nov 4, 2015 06:31
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System Metternich posted:
 Onward: Well-meaning privately-funded and government care packages meant for soldier's families in WWI Canada ran into a lot of trouble immediately once it became evident how many Canadian married men had more than one wife. For a brief time, many Europeans thought tomatoes were poisonous.
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Nov 4, 2015 16:19
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OBR posted:Why Gorbachev exactly? He became the General Secretary in 1985, so why was he in Reagan's long standing fantasies? '89, actually. Extremely popular for a guy who should have been loving impeached, IMO.
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Nov 4, 2015 19:24
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canyoneer posted:Reagan went through 720 lbs a month of Jelly Belly jellybeans in the White House. His method of eating Jelly Bellys (by the handful) was seen as crass by the enthusiasts who prefer to eat them one by one. These two made me laugh like crazy, thank you.  Charles II of Spain, because of his deformities and disabilities, was neither expected to attend school or bathe. Ever. Also: "The physician who practiced his autopsy stated that his body "did not contain a single drop of blood; his heart was the size of a peppercorn; his lungs corroded; his intestines rotten and gangrenous; he had a single testicle, black as coal, and his head was full of water." Neat!
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Nov 5, 2015 00:47
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trickybiscuits posted:
 THIS WAS NOT FUN
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Nov 5, 2015 03:36
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Eggbeater Jesus posted:President Benjamin Harrison had two opossums as pets. They were named Mr. Protection and Mr. Reciprocity. OTHER NOTABLE PRESIDENTIAL PETS Mark & Satan (dogs), owned by John Adams. Emily Spinach (a snake), owned by Theodore Roosevelt. He also owned a hyena and a small bear (whose name was Johnathan Edwards). Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau (lion cubs), owned by Calvin Coolidge. edit: I can't believe I forgot to mention that Coolidge also owned a pair of raccoons. cash crab has a new favorite as of 04:57 on Nov 5, 2015 |
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Nov 5, 2015 04:48
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Accordion Man posted:James Joyce also really liked his wife's farts. 
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Nov 6, 2015 01:06
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This entire page was exactly what I had in mind when I started this thread: passionate discussions about historical minutiae.
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Nov 6, 2015 18:00
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canyoneer posted:Lead-based eye makeup, no less. Speaking of lead-based makeup, I once heard that Queen Elizabeth I started a brief trend in the English court where exposing your breasts was all the rage. I cannot remember where I heard this, so take it with a grain of salt. Also, on that same note, one of my favourite historical figures was Shane O'Neill (one of them), who pledged his allegiance to Queen Elizabeth, and in the time it took him to travel to Scotland, did the same thing to Mary, Queen of Scots. He died around 40 or so.  I named one of my teddy bears after him.
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Nov 10, 2015 05:15
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During the Imperial War Conference in the First World War, Canada briefly tried to gain control of Maine and Alaska because we didn't understand the idea that we were trying to seize enemy territory. 
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Nov 11, 2015 19:13
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Nebakenezzer posted:Can...you provide a bit more detail Yes. During the conference, Robert Borden and an another representative (whose name escapes me now) vacillated between discussions. Borden's ultimate goals were to support the British Empire, and, inexplicably, gain territory and fame for the United States (possibly to increase trade). While Borden was out, his representative suggested taking over Maine and reversing the Alaskan border dispute before he was taken aside and informed that the purpose of this meeting was to distribute enemy territory, not take over the US or gain control over other Dominion islands. If you'd like to read more, transcripts from the War Conference are available but they are very boring.
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Nov 12, 2015 06:21
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Red Bones posted:
What is this? I love it. goose fleet posted:Constantinople fell in 1453 and Columbus made his first voyage in 1492, so there are definitely people at the time that would have seen both the final collapse of the Roman Empire and the "discovery" of the New World. This actually kind of freaks me out. I always think of history as this linear thing where everything politely waits a few years for other things to happen, regardless of location. Martin Luther King Jr. and Anne Frank were born in the same year, about six months apart. It's always strange how you place them in such dramatically different places in history. Similarly, Barbara Walters was also born in the same year.
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Nov 13, 2015 19:54
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Honj Steak posted:It's from the Onfim drawings Archangel linked one post before that. Oh, poo poo, sorry. Thanks.
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Nov 13, 2015 20:02
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Canada initially didn't let First Nations people into WWI because, to quote Sam Hughes, "Germans may fail to extend to them the privileges of civilized warfare". Like, the idea was that sure, British people would LOVE to serve with you guys, both those nasty Germans. Some guys still got in during the beginning, though.
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Nov 17, 2015 17:01
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Jaguars! posted:Some vaguely early rock and surf music related factoids: "Heh, idiots"
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Jan 12, 2016 09:51
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Farmland Park posted:Chairman Mao was 5'11 (180cm) which was fairly tall for a Chinese person, especially at the time. I'm going to agree that heights tend to be exaggerated, but a six foot tall Chinese person who was born before 1900 would have been pretty impressive. To be fair, I don't think his family was particularly poor, so maybe he was well-fed and maybe was exceptionally tall, but maybe it was a little exaggerated. MAYBE: A Historian's Handbook Actually, speaking of which, can anyone recommend a book about the development of Communist China that isn't Wild Swans (just because I already own it). cash crab has a new favorite as of 08:24 on Jan 27, 2016 |
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Jan 27, 2016 08:16
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steinrokkan posted:Do you mean during the Republic and the war, or post-victory? I should be able to link you to some good free electronized books on the former when I get home. Either one, actually. Thanks! WickedHate posted:This was going on with Hitler until detailed knowledge of the Holocaust became a widespread thing and he became Literally Hitler. I never want or need context for this.
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Jan 27, 2016 14:13
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  quote:Dr. Sergey Sergeyevich Bryukhonenko had already laid the groundwork for what Russian scientists were proposing, and they wasted no time in putting it into practice. No such head-start was afforded them in the construction of the mechanical body, however, and yet the team still managed to build a working prototype in the span of two years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Brukhonenko https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experiments_in_the_Revival_of_Organisms
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Feb 12, 2016 14:50
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> собака > робот > ??? > коммунизм!
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Feb 12, 2016 15:11
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Solice Kirsk posted:He'd be the hands down winner in the lap time category though.  Also, I have just learned that Nixon and Eisenhower were related! Through marriage. Kind of. Nixon's daughter married Eisenhower's grandson. I have not gone through enough of this thread to find out if this has been mentioned or not yet.
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Feb 23, 2016 03:20
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A White Guy posted:Don't forget the utterly horrifying portrait of one of the searchers for the Expedition: I can't stop laughing about how dewy his eyes look.
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Mar 2, 2016 02:38
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BravestOfTheLamps posted:Fact: this is loving adorable and Part of me feels really bad for laughing about this, but this is really good.
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May 12, 2016 23:56
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Just remembered my favourite Ulysses S. Grant fact, who, aside from being my favourite person ever, was once nominated to play Desdemona in a company production of Othello and he was so bad they had to hire a woman from NY to replace him. That is all.
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Jul 12, 2016 00:36
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Tasteful Dickpic posted:PYF Historical Fun Fact: I thought it was Raphael who was cool, but rude? ask and ye shall receive
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Mar 14, 2017 17:19
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