Give me a mind-blowing history fact

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whoop1995
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In 1892 the first football night game took place in Mansfield PA between Mansfield Normal (later university) and Wyoming seminary. And, on Sept. 14, 2013 121 years after the first-ever night football game ever Mansfield hosted its second-ever football game under the lights, facing off against Princeton

For perspective Texas A&M didn't have their first night game at Kyle field until 1949 and didn't start a football team until 1894.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2019-09-18/story-first-ever-night-football-game-1892

From the article above

While the first incandescent light was invented in 1802, electric lights weren't truly commercially widespread until the 1870s.

In 1892, the town of Mansfield, Pennsylvania was hosting its 13th annual county fair, officially known as the Tioga County Agricultural, Mechanical and Industrial Fair. According to the local newspaper at the time, the Mansfield Advertiser, approximately 18,000 to 20,000 people attended that edition.

In fact, a "foot ball game by electric light" was a novelty not seen anywhere before that night. While football and electric lights had been around for a couple decades, no one had ever put the two together before.

According to a program published by Mansfield University of Pennsylvania in 1992, the idea for the game originated from the players on Mansfield's football team, which had its inaugural season in 1891.

The team joined forces with the General Electric Company, which was showcasing a new electric light setup at that year's fair. They would promote the new sport and the newer lights at the biggest event of the year.

Here's an excerpt detailing that exhibition, from the Mansfield Advertiser:
'The electric light dynamo which is to be used to illuminate the fair grounds is a Thomson-Houston Machine of thirty light capacity. It weighs 4300 pounds, and the generator, containing miles of insulated copper wire, makes nearly a thousand revolutions a minute. The lights to be used are twenty lamps of 2000 candle power and five 64-candle incandescent lights. The power to operate the dynamo is to be furnished by Messrs. Day & Warters from their 20-horse engine. The plant is in charge of H. E. Varney, of Philadelphia, and J. L. Cummings, of this boro.'

The game itself was scheduled for 7:30 at night, but actually began at 6:45 p.m. Lights were stationed on poles around the perimeter of the field, and one light pole stood in the middle of the playing field.

Wyoming Seminary donned white uniforms, hoping they would reflect light better and be more visible. Mansfield opted for all-black for the first time in their program's history. To be fair, their program had played just four games before this matchup (but was 3-1 in 1891).


Even with lights everywhere, the lighting was very lacking. The Mansfield program reports that "the teams were often unaware of which squad had the ball. Anyone in a uniform was liable to be tackled." According to some reports that also included the referee and the umpire, and at least one player collided with the light pole in the middle of the field.


Since the playing surface was also in the middle of the fairgrounds, it was "full of holes, butternuts, pebbles and 'animal residue'."
After 20 minutes of game time, only 10 plays had been run, and neither team had managed to score.
The next week's edition of the Mansfield Advertiser details the results:
"Wednesday evening of the fair the first game of foot ball on record by electric light occurred between the Kingston and M. S. N. S. teams. The game was called at 7:30 with the ball in the possession of the Normals. The game was hotly contested from beginning to end of the first half, at the expiration of which the game was decided a draw, as both captains considered it inconvenient to continue. Prof. Race, of the Wyoming seminary, acted as umpire and Dwight Smith, of the Normal, as referee."
Still, even with a 0-0 score, it appears as though Mansfield claimed victory on the game. In that same edition of the paper, the Wyoming Seminary team issued a public challenge for a rematch to Mansfield, where they rebuked Mansfield's claim to victory:

I collect ticket stubs! looking for a 1944 orange bowl and 1981 independence bowl ticket stub as well as Aggie vs tu stubs - 1926 and below, 1935-1937, 1939-1944, 1946-1948, 1950-1951, 1953, 1956-1957, 1959, 1960, 1963-1966, 1969-1970, 1972-1974, 1980, 1984, 1990, 2004, 2008, 2010
Rongagin71
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Johnny Carson was the best ever Late-Night Show host.
This takes a minute to get going but is a "cult classic".
ChucoAg
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Didn't expect this thread to take off as much as it did when I first posted… great posts everyone!

155,000 views
nortex97
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Summit of the great pyramid didn't likely have a gold cap on it, but…most damage occurred in 1798, when it was more significantly widened so that there would be space to set up a table for tourists at the top. (No, it wasn't Napoleon's troops).

p_bubel
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FIVE MILES NORTH OF LIVERPOOL, what remains of the city before World War II is strewn across two miles of coastline. From pebble-sized remnants of bricks eroded by the adjacent Irish Sea, to large keystones of major civic buildings, the expanse of Crosby Beach is a stark reminder of the conflict that consumed the world in the middle of the 20th century.

In total, the Liverpool Blitz killed nearly 4,000 people, and rendered over 70,000 homeless.

In the rush to clear the streets and make the city livable, some of the rubble was shipped abroad as ballast, and much was carted out of town, to Crosby Beach, just to get it out of the way. There it was unceremoniously dumped, as a devil-may-care bedazzling of the seashore.



nortex97
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Julius Caesar, when kidnapped by pirates on his way to study oratory in Rodes, told them to increase the ransom for freeing them, to be quiet while he was sleeping, and that he would return and crucify them. He did, but in an act of mercy, slit their throats first so they didn't suffer 'too much.'
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Brittanica:
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Caesar made himself at home among the pirates, bossing them around and shushing them when he wanted to sleep. He made them listen to the speeches and poems that he was composing in his unanticipated downtime and berated them as illiterates if they weren't sufficiently impressed. He would participate in the pirates' games and exercises, but he always addressed them as if he were the commander and they were his subordinates. From time to time he would threaten to have them all crucified. They took it as a joke from their overconfident, slightly nutty captive.

It wasn't a joke. After 38 days, the ransom was delivered and Caesar went free. Astonishingly, Caesar managed to raise a naval force in Miletusdespite holding no public or military officeand he set out in pursuit of the pirates. He found them still camped at the island where he had been held, and he brought them back as his captives. When the governor of Asia seemed to vacillate about punishing them, Caesar went to the prison where they were being held and had them all crucified.
BQ78
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The Big Red One had more casualties in Vietnam, than all of World War 2 and in that war they were one of the first in action in Africa, Sicily and D-Day.
Rongagin71
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Biden won by 32% among self-described Hispanics,
Harris won by only 8% (approx. as votes still being counted).

Edit to note that I believe this was the first Pres Election
in which more Hispanics than Blacks voted.
AgRyan04
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This may be common knowledge but I just learned that Merle Haggard was an inmate in the crowd in San Quentin when Johnny Cash played there
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nortex97
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The Atlantropa German/nazi plan (Sorgel) to damn up the straits of Gibraltar to solve the 'liebensraum' living space problem by draining the Med. 900-300 meters deep, woulda been a pretty big challenge, for a 13Km dam (or series of dams as the plan evolved). Oh, and the Dardanelles straight, and between Sicily and Tunisia (150km) No biggie.

More here. What could possibly have gone wrong?



whoop1995
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nortex97 said:

The Atlantropa German/nazi plan (Sorgel) to damn up the straits of Gibraltar to solve the 'liebensraum' living space problem by draining the Med. 900-300 meters deep, woulda been a pretty big challenge, for a 13Km dam (or series of dams as the plan evolved). Oh, and the Dardanelles straight, and between Sicily and Tunisia (150km) No biggie.

More here. What could possibly have gone wrong?




Could've found a bunch of Roman and other treasure if drained.
I collect ticket stubs! looking for a 1944 orange bowl and 1981 independence bowl ticket stub as well as Aggie vs tu stubs - 1926 and below, 1935-1937, 1939-1944, 1946-1948, 1950-1951, 1953, 1956-1957, 1959, 1960, 1963-1966, 1969-1970, 1972-1974, 1980, 1984, 1990, 2004, 2008, 2010
HarleySpoon
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The Straight of Gibraltar is 980 feet deep at its shallowest and 2,900 feet at its deepest. Which, is why there are no bridges or tunnels across it to this day despite being only eight miles wide at its narrowest point.
HarleySpoon
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AgRyan04 said:

This may be common knowledge but I just learned that Merle Haggard was an inmate in the crowd in San Quentin when Johnny Cash played there
Which also leads to the little known fact that he was neither born in Oklahoma, nor raised in Oklahoma, nor lived in Oklahoma. He had an Okie father but was a Californian all the way.
CanyonAg77
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And wasn't "Okie from Muskogee" supposed to be a put down of conservative views, but became an anthem instead?
HarleySpoon
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CanyonAg77 said:

And wasn't "Okie from Muskogee" supposed to be a put down of conservative views, but became an anthem instead?
I could be wrong, but my understanding is that he was not happy when it became a bit of a conservative anthem at the time. But honestly, how could he not expect that.
CanyonAg77
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Similar to "Archie Bunker" and "All in the Family". He was supposed to be a hateful, disliked, character.

Instead, his "hateful opinions" were embraced by the majority and they loved Archie
FTACo88-FDT24dad
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HarleySpoon said:

CanyonAg77 said:

And wasn't "Okie from Muskogee" supposed to be a put down of conservative views, but became an anthem instead?
I could be wrong, but my understanding is that he was not happy when it became a bit of a conservative anthem at the time. But honestly, how could he not expect that.
I think he wrote the song with his own father in mind. It wasn't supposed to be a put down to anyone. Just a description.
nortex97
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LZ II cover was based on WW1 Jasta 11 pic with the Red Baron (Richthofen). If everyone else knows/knew this, sorry. I had no idea.
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For the cover of its 1969 debut, Led Zeppelin went with a striking image: the Hindenburg engulfed in flames, crashing over New Jersey. To follow that, another archival image factored into the design for Led Zeppelin II. This time around, the artist decided to play with a photo of World War I pilots.

David Juniper, who designed the LP cover, began with a sepia-tinted image of pilots in "Jasta 11," a highly successful squadron of the German air force. Obviously, Juniper began by moving photos of Zeppelin band members' heads onto the bodies of the pilots. (John Bonham is the only one standing, on the far right.)

After Juniper got the faces of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones in (huddling together up front), he had several heads left to work with. And the artist snuck in some obscure figures, some of whom remain difficult to identify to this day.

Random addendum: Thank You was an ode by Page to his wife.
agrams
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Led Zeppelins' "Hats off to Harper" was about Roy Harper, who also sand lead vocals on Pink Floyds 'Have a Cigar"
BQ78
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The first person Patrick Cleburne killed in the Civil War was a fellow Confederate officer. It happened at Greenville, Mo in August 1861. Cleburne in command of the 1st Arkansas was occupying the town as a threat to the railroad at nearby Ironton. Cleburne had his headquarters in the town hall, along with his brigade commander William Hardee. Also in the town hall were a handful of federal prisoners.

One night Cleburne's sleep was interrupted by someone shouting that the prisoners were escaping. Cleburne bolted from his bed, grabbed his revolver and rushed to the door of the town hall. Down the hallway he saw a dim figure dashing down the hallway. Cleburne fired at the figure and the man fell. When a lamp was lit it turned out the man was the lieutenant who had captured the Federals.

The man had been sleep walking and dreamed that the prisoners had escaped and he started running down the hallway screaming.

Cleburne was quite distraught about this event and only told a few close friends about it. Before the lieutenant died, Cleburne begged his forgiveness, which the lieutenant granted.
nortex97
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One of the earliest documented uses of chemical warfare; Dura-Europa (Syria). Where the survivor who triggered the blaze is thought to have finally been recovered/found even.
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The fortified city of Dura-Europos on the Syrian Euphrates had been founded by the Seleucids. After falling to the Parthians and then the Romans in AD 165, it became an important outpost and border fort, somewhere between a town and a military garrison.

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This sequence of events would have been ghastly for all involved. Little air, almost total darkness, the confined space and terror of oily acidic smoke and fire combined into a vision of hell. The bravery of the men on both sides can be respected hundreds of years later.

Whilst the use of smoke generators is listed in older Greco-Roman military manuals, this might be the oldest evidence for chemical gassing in siege warfare. No doubt the Sasanians knew exactly what they were doing when they heaped up the sulfur and bitumen.
More at the thread/paper:
nortex97
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I believe Harry Truman was the last sitting president to go for a sub-surface sub ride…on a former Nazi submarine.

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in 1946, Harry Truman became the second sitting president to make a submarine voyage when he spent a day at sea aboard the former German U-2513 which had been acquired as a war prize by the U.S. Navy. Truman was made an Honorable Member of the Ancient Order of Deep Dunkers.


The sub never went on any combat patrols, but was an advanced type XXI that was eventually…sunk by the US Navy in a weapons test. The sub went 440 feet (130 m) below the surface with the President on board (off Key West while he was on vacation), and a demonstration was made to him of the German schnorchel (a specialized submarine snorkel).

Stive
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Interesting. Wonder who the first president was?
nortex97
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Incredibly enough…Teddy Roosevelt.
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The submarine, little more than an experiment before 1900, became a key instrument of U.S. sea power as the years passed. Its exploits came to the attention of the Commanders in Chief, and several of them spent time on board boats. Each President who made the extra effort to understand the men, mission, and capabilities of the Silent Service had a profound impact on U.S. submarine development.

By all accounts, 26 August 1905 was a terrible day for a boat ride; northeast winds and driving rain raised the seas in Oyster Bay, Long Island, forcing the passengers in a small boat to don foul weather clothing for their trip to the USS Plunger (SS-2). The Plunger's commanding officer, Lieutenant Charles P. Nelson, was escorting President Teddy Roosevelt for the first presidential dive on board a U.S. submarine.

Roosevelt, ever a Navy man at heart, likely welcomed this intriguing distraction. He spent several hours in the Plunger as Nelson demonstrated machinery and maneuvers. The President used the boat's rudimentary periscope and conning tower windows for a simulated torpedo run and experienced "angles and dangles," an exercise that places the boat in steep up and down positions, showcasing her performance.

Roosevelt saw the professionalism of the Plunger's crew. In recognition of the risks they bore and the technical proficiency required for submarine duty, he signed an executive order on 8 November 1905, authorizing submarine pay.

To some, Roosevelt's trip seemed to be a stunt, but the Washington Timesreported: "Great results are expected to follow from the President's trip in the Plunger. Every naval authority in the world, attention having been attracted by the President's experience, will be looking into the construction and usefulness of the Plunger."
Cen-Tex
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WW2 German rescue buoys (Rettungsboje) were developed as temporary 'hotels' for airman that had to ditch in the English Channel and North Sea. Hundreds were deployed to comfortably accommodate downed flyers until rescued. The only remaining and restored rescue buoy is located on Terschelling Island in the northern Netherlands.


StockHorseAg
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Here's two more really in depth videos on the rescue buoys. The British also deployed them.



Cen-Tex
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StockHorseAg said:

Here's two more really in depth videos on the rescue buoys. The British also deployed them.




Yes, saw those videos. Calum has a very good YouTube channel. The 2 videos were a little long, but thorough to the point of highlighting the ongoing restoration in the Netherlands. Thx
BQ78
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June Oswald was a valedictorian at tu.

Rachel Oswald worked as a waitress at the Texas Chili Parlor for seven years. Hanging on the wall those seven years was a Pulitzer Prize winning photo of the murder of her father.

Their father was Lee Harvey Oswald.
Pro Sandy
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Eisenhower sent time on a sub below the surface.

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Eisenhower's naval aide, noted World War II submarine veteran Captain Edward "Ned" Beach, led the effort for First Lady Mamie Eisenhower to christen the Nautilus in 1954. The President then spent time underway submerged in the USS Seawolf (SSN-575) on 26 September 1957. Before his short cruise ended, he addressed the crew:

I suppose you know this is the first time I've been aboard an atomic reactor submarine. Everything was of interest to meall of the gadgets and the machinesbut more interesting to me was to see the United States Navy at work. I'm proud of every man aboard ship.


https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2021/october/under-waves-presidents-submarine-voyages

p_bubel
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Quote:

Just a couple of years after joining Forepaugh's Circus, S.F. Cody traveled to England to perform his own Wild West-themed shows there and elsewhere in Europe. Cody ultimately made England his new home.

Sometime around 1900, Cody developed an interest in aviation. He initially worked on creating kites that were large and strong enough to lift humans into the air. Within a few years, Cody's efforts on behalf of human flight also involved helping with the production of airships and observation balloons.

With the backing of the War Office (a department of the British government between 1857 and 1964), Cody focused on developing planes as well. After constructing British Army Aeroplane No. 1 and equipping it with a 50-horsepower (37-kilowatt) Antoinette engine, he initiated tests on this aircraft. These tests started out as nothing more than quick "hops" off the ground. On October 16 of that year, though, Cody was able to take the plane both higher and farther than before. His plane reached a height of approximately 18 feet (5.5 meters) and covered a distance of approximately 1,400 feet (426 meters) during the 30 seconds in which it was in the air.

While this flight has been widely acknowledged as an important British aviation achievement, it was also potentially fatal for Cody after a strong gust of wind hit the plane and caused it to crash. Cody somehow managed to survive that mishap without any serious injuries. Tragically, however, he lost his life five years later in the vicinity of Farnborough while test-flying his aircraft known as the Cody Floatplane. The plane broke apart at 300 feet (90 meters) in the air, and both Cody and his passenger William Evans fell to their deaths.

His funeral in Aldershot, with full military honours, attracted up to 100,000 mourners and he is buried in the town's military cemetery.

A full-size replica of Mr Cody's British Army Aeroplane No 1 was built in 2008 to commemorate the centenary of his first flight. It remains on permanent display at the Fast Museum.

oragator
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One I probably should have known but learned today. Philadelphia is supposed to be in Maryland.
Both the Pennsylvania and Maryland charters had their border at the 40th parallel, which is north of the city. But an incorrect map used in the Penn charter cast doubt on that and not cities claimed the area. It was an 85 year dispute with some skirmishes. The Mason Dixon line was commissioned and agreed to as the compromise line between the 2 states.
BQ78
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The worst 19th century Irish slum in Chicago was named Kilgubbin as most of the refugees from the potato famine that founded it in the 1840s had been tenants on the Kilgubbin estate in County Cork. The popularity of geese among the inhabitants earned it the nickname of Goose Island. Thus Chicago's worst slum gave its name to today's finest Chicago craft brewery.

Although Goose Island was a mass of hovels and crime, most of the men found good jobs working at McCormick's Reaper Works and on the docks and shipyards of the Chicago River.
Who?mikejones!
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Til that roberts rules of order creator, Henry roberts, also helped design the seawall after the big hurricane.

Tanker123
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Vespasian

One of my favorite stories of Roman antiquity is about Emperor Vespasian. He came from a horse-trading family, thus he had to work his way up in ranks the hard way unlike his fair-haired officers. However, the soldiers loved him because he knew how to win battles. He was the commander who fought the Jewish rebels at the mountain fortress called Masada. Vespasian ordered his men to move heaven and earth to create a huge and long ramp to the walls of the fort. He personally led the attack into the fortress.

In the year 69 AD he was the fourth emperor to take power with his armies help. He was the governor of N Africa which was important because it produced much of the wheat for the empire. Romans were given free bread. He sent an army of 20,000 loyal to him to take over Rome for his emperorship. Vespasian was so confident that he stayed in N Africa for a year, then he went to Rome. He was actually a good leader. He stopped much of the corruption and many buildings to include the coliseum were built during his reign. I think that is a rather cool story.
Tanker123
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Correction: Vespasian was once the governor of N Africa. After his N African posting Rome needed a general to put down the Jewish uprising, thus he commanded the army in the campaign successfully. He was cognizant of the significant chaos in Rome caused by three emperors. Therefore, he returned to N Africa because it was the requisite breadbasket for Rome which threw Rome into further chaos. Then he sent his loyal legions to Rome with his son in command. A year later Vespasian would physically take the throne in Rome.
 
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