Straight Dope Message Board

[Railer13]

The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War. Although Bunker Hill was the objective of the battle, most of the fighting occurred on nearby Breed's Hill. The British were victorious over the colonial forces, but it was a Pyrrhic victory: the British suffered over a thousand casualties, while the colonial losses were less than 500. The casualty count was the highest suffered by the British in any single encounter during the entire war. 45551

[Fear Itself]

A part of Lower Manhattan is built on fill shipped from Bristol, England during WWII. Bristol was heavily damaged during the Blitz, resulting in tons of rubble.

As German forces fought furiously to break British resistance and conquer Europe, U.S. and Canadian merchant marine vessels steamed across the Atlantic to keep the British defenders supplied against Nazi Germany’s assault. These ships were loaded to the brim with weapons when they set out on their journey, risking U-boat and air attack with a cargo that was apt to explode. When they arrived, the supply ships delivered so much cargo, with nothing to bring back, that they needed ballast to stabilize them for the return journey.

The men and women of Bristol, many of whose homes had been utterly destroyed by the Luftwaffe’s air assault, loaded these ships with the rubble of their city. Acting as ballast, these literal chunks of England returned to the U.S., where merchant marine vessels offloaded them into the East River and picked up fresh cargo to return to Europe.

The resulting landfill created the area known as Bristol Basin, quite literally built from part of England. 45552

[Railer13]

Originally Posted by Fear Itself

The resulting landfill created the area known as Bristol Basin, quite literally built from part of England.

Cool trivia, thanks for sharing.

In play: The 'Battle of Bristol' refers to a college football game played on Sept. 10, 2016. In that game, Tennessee defeated Virginia Tech 45-24 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The announced attendance was 156,990, which shattered the old NCAA attendance record by over 40,000. 45553

[Bullitt]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) of the New Deal eventually built and created about 50 new dams for hydroelectric power. With a generating capacity of approximately 35 gigawatts (GW), TVA has the sixth highest generation capacity of any utility company.

But I’m visiting the Columbia River Gorge area for the holiday weekend. Yesterday we toured the Bonneville Dam, another New Deal project. The Bonneville Dam, and the Bonneville Power Administration eventually created by its power, transmits its power to as far away as Los angeles and Phoenix. Bonneville is one of four regional Federal power marketing agencies within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). 45554

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by Bullitt

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) of the New Deal eventually built and created about 50 new dams for hydroelectric power. With a generating capacity of approximately 35 gigawatts (GW), TVA has the sixth highest generation capacity of any utility company.

But I’m visiting the Columbia River Gorge area for the holiday weekend. Yesterday we toured the Bonneville Dam, another New Deal project. The Bonneville Dam, and the Bonneville Power Administration eventually created by its power, transmits its power to as far away as Los angeles and Phoenix. Bonneville is one of four regional Federal power marketing agencies within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Be sure to stop in Hood River. It's nice little town with some decent restaurants. Take the tour of the Full Sail Brewery and have a burger in their restaurant. 45555

[kenobi 65]

Among the dams built by the Tennessee Valley Authority are dams on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers in northwestern Tennessee. These dams created Kentucky Lake (on the Tennessee River) and Lake Barkley (on the Cumberland River) in northwestern Tennessee and western Kentucky; both lakes lie primarily within Kentucky.

The two rivers run parallel to each other in that area, and the dry land in between the lakes is now the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. The state of Kentucky has also built several "state resort parks" along the shores of the lakes. 45556

[gkster]

The Lake District National Park, in Cumbria (formerly known as Cumberland) is the most visited national park in the United Kingdom with 16.4 million visitors per year. It is the largest national park in England. 45557

[Bullitt]

Originally Posted by Chefguy

Be sure to stop in Hood River. It's nice little town with some decent restaurants. Take the tour of the Full Sail Brewery and have a burger in their restaurant.

Thank you, and we did! We had a nice dinner and drinks at the Sixth Street Bistro in Hood River. And also a nice lunch along the river at the Best Western, right next to the bridge. Great river views there. We’re staying across the river at White Salmon WA, so Hood River is very close. It is a nice town and the Rosauer supermarket is a good spot too. We leave within the hour, so we’ll have to come back for the Full Sail tour and burger. This is a beautiful area.

Originally Posted by gkster

The Lake District National Park, in Cumbria (formerly known as Cumberland) is the most visited national park in the United Kingdom with 16.4 million visitors per year. It is the largest national park in England.

In play: Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia (HRV), or Plitvička Jezera in Croatian, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the oldest and largest national parks in the country. The park’s name comes from the Croatian for shallow basins (Croatian pličina or plitvak; plitko means shallow). The National Park was designated as such in 1949, and in 1979 it was recognized and designated by (as) UNESCO. 45558

[Railer13]

A major snowstorm hit Los Angeles in January of 1949, with a foot of snow accumulating in the San Fernando Valley over a 3-day period.

The city of Reno, Nevada, sent a snow shovel to Los Angeles. 45559

[Annie-Xmas]

Johnny Cash was inspired to write his signature song Folsom Prison Blues after seeing the movie Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison while serving in West Germany in the United States Air Force at Landsberg, Bavaria (itself the location of a famous prison). Cash recounted how he came up with the line "But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die": "I sat with my pen in my hand, trying to think up the worst reason a person could have for killing another person, and that's what came to mind."

Cash took the melody for the song and many of the lyrics from Gordon Jenkins's 1953 Seven Dreams concept album, specifically the song "Crescent City Blues". Jenkins was not credited on the original record, which was issued by Sun Records. In the early 1970s, after the song became popular, Cash paid Jenkins a settlement of approximately US$75,000 following a lawsuit. 45560

[kenobi 65]

On October 12, 1810, Ludwig Karl August (who would later become King Ludwig I of Bavaria) married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. In celebration of the marriage, the citizens of Munich were invited to enjoy several days of festivities, including a parade and horse races.

The celebration proved to be so popular that it was repeated the following year. Over the next few years, it became an annual event, and evolved into what is now known as Oktoberfest. 45561

[gkster]

King Ludwig II of Bavaria was known for his lavish spending on elaborate palaces and castles. Although he spent his own private fortune on them and not state funds, this extravagance was used against him to declare him insane, and soon after he was deposed, he died age 40 under mysterious circumstances. The castles which caused his political and financial downfall have become extremely profitable tourist attractions for the Bavarian state. 45562

[Bullitt]

King Ludwig II of Bavaria commissioned the Neuschwanstein Castle in Hohenschwangau from his personal funds, not public funds. Ludwig died when he was 40 years old and before the castle was completed. 45563

[kenobi 65]

During World War II, the Nazis used Neuschwanstein Castle as a storehouse for works of art which had been plundered from France. In early 1945, when the tide of the war had turned against Germany, the SS considered blowing up the castle, so as to not let it (and the plundered artworks) fall into Allied hands; thankfully, this plan was never carried out. 45564

[Bullitt]

Schloß, or schloss, is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace or manor house. It is used for the Neuschwanstein, as in Schloss Neuschwanstein. Google Translate for “castle” gives you schloss in German.

Ludwig II only slept 11 mights in his Neuschwanstein. 45565

[Chefguy]

Ludwig II, also known as "Mad" King Ludwig, built several castles. Beside's Neuschwanstein, he also built Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee. The latter was built as a tribute to Louis XIV of France and contains many architectural similarities. It is located on a small island in Lake Chiemsee in Bavaria. 45566

[Annie-Xmas]

Robert Wilfred Skeffington Lutwidge was an English barrister, Commissioner in Lunacy and early photographer. He was the uncle of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll. Carroll was familiar with the conditions at asylums and visited at least one, the Surrey County Asylum, himself, which treated patients with so-called non-restraint methods and occupied them, among others, in gardening, farming and hat-making. Besides staging theatre plays, dances and other amusements, such asylums also held tea-parties. 45567

[Bullitt]

Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), writer of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was also a mathematician graduating with a ‘Double First’ degree from Christ Church, Oxford. He was also a religious Deacon in the Anglican church. A Double First degree is when a graduate earns First Class Honors in two different Parts, or graduation examination areas of study. 45568

[Annie-Xmas]

The famous essay One Solitary Life about the life of Jesus Christ was originally a 1926 sermon delivered by Dr. James Allan Francis and reprinted in “The Real Jesus and Other Sermons.”

Here's the original:

Let us turn now to the story. A child is born in an obscure village. He is brought up in another obscure village. He works in a carpenter shop until he is thirty, and then for three brief years is an itinerant preacher, proclaiming a message and living a life. He never writes a book. He never holds an office. He never raises an army. He never has a family of his own. He never owns a home. He never goes to college. He never travels two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He gathers a little group of friends about him and teaches them his way of life. While still a young man, the tide of popular feeling turns against him. One denies him; another betrays him. He is turned over to his enemies. He goes through the mockery of a trial; he is nailed to a cross between two thieves, and when dead is laid in a borrowed grave by the kindness of a friend.

Those are the facts of his human life. He rises from the dead. Today we look back across nineteen hundred years and ask, What kind of trail has he left across the centuries? When we try to sum up his influence, all the armies that ever marched, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned are absolutely picayune in their influence on mankind compared with that of this one solitary life…

45569

[atimnie]

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Caroll) was also a photographer, controversial for his portrayal of nude children. Most of those were destroyed upon his death, but a few survived, and can easily be found online. They remain controversial to this day, despite the obvious artistic merits of the photographs.

Ninja'd by 1 freaking minute. Leaving this up, reply to the previous. 45570

[Annie-Xmas]

The Straight Dope on Charles Dodson's "perversion." While he held a divinity degree, Dodson stuttered when he talked and never gave a sermon about Jesus Christ or anyone else. 45571

[kenobi 65]

When Charles Dickens was 12 years old, his father was placed in debtor's prison. Charles was forced to drop out of school, and work in a boot-blacking warehouse for a time. The experience influenced many of the writings of the adult Charles Dickens, which often featured struggling working-class people, and children in dire circumstances. 45572

[Railer13]

Most of the novels written by Charles Dickens were published in monthly or weekly installments, which pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction. Dickens was noted for cliffhanger endings in each installment, which kept readers in suspense and ensured that they would read the ensuing chapter. This format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience's reaction, and he often modified his plot and character development based on such feedback. 45573

[gkster]

In 1836, Charles Dickens, an ambitious 25 year old, married Catherine Hogarth, the 20 year old daughter of editor George Hogarth. Dickens was impressed by Catherine's beauty, intelligence and family literary connections; the Hogarths were close to Sir Walter Scott. 22 years later they separated; Charles blamed Catherine for having had 10 children and gaining weight, and would not allow her to see their children. Another cause of the separation was Ellen Ternan, Charles's mistress; the affair started when she was 17, younger than the two eldest Dickens children. and at the time of the separation she was 19. 45574

[Annie-Xmas]

Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe was the wife of American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The couple were first cousins and publicly married when Virginia Clemm was 13 and Poe was 27. Biographers disagree as to the nature of the couple's relationship. Though their marriage was loving, some biographers suggest they viewed one another more like a brother and sister. In January 1842, she contracted tuberculosis, growing worse for five years until she died of the disease at the age of 24 in the family's cottage, at that time outside New York City.
A few years after their wedding, Poe was involved in a substantial scandal involving Frances Sargent Osgood and Elizabeth F. Ellet. Rumors about amorous improprieties on her husband's part affected Virginia Poe so much that on her deathbed she claimed that Ellet had murdered her. 45575

[Railer13]

Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr., better known as Sargent Shriver, was married to Eunice Kennedy, sister of President John F. Kennedy. He was the founder and first Director of the Peace Corps, a position he held from 1961 to 1966. He then served as US Ambassador to France from 1968 through 1970. He was George McGovern's running mate on the Democratic ticket in the 1972 presidential election. 45576

[kenobi 65]

The Special Olympics is a sports organization focused on providing opportunities for physical activity and exercise for people with intellectual disabilities.

The organization was founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver (sister of John and Robert Kennedy, and wife of Sargent Shriver) in 1968. Earlier in the 1960s, Kennedy Shriver had revealed to the public that her sister, Rosemary, had been born with intellectual disabilities; Eunice's experiences with her sister were among the inspirations that led to the Special Olympics. 45577

[Elendil's Heir]

President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps, which is still going strong and doing much good for the U.S. around the world. He set a bold goal of landing a man on the Moon by the end of the decade; the Apollo program is still one of the greatest accomplishments of human history. He skillfully handled the Cuban Missile Crisis, which remains a model of modern crisis management; it could even be said that he saved human civilization. After early half-heartedness, he fully committed the U.S. Government to civil rights for the first time since Lincoln. He rebuilt U.S. conventional military capability, which had deteriorated since the end of the Korean War and had left the nation dangerously reliant on nuclear weapons. He cut taxes, faced down Big Steel and did much to spur the economic boom of the Sixties. He authorized the negotiations for and signed into law the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which has kept radioactivity out of the world's air and water for more than half a century. His Food for Peace program has fed billions. He honored the arts and literature like no President before him, and inspired a generation to public service.

Not bad for less than a single term in office. 45578

[Railer13]

The tallest US President was Abraham Lincoln, who stood 6'4". Lincoln was a half-inch taller than Lyndon Johnson and an inch taller than Donald Trump. The shortest President was James Madison, who stood just 5'4". Benjamin Harrison and Martin Van Buren both stood 5'6".

Unsurprisingly, the lightest President was Madison, who weighed in at only 100 pounds. The most obese President was William Howard Taft, who weighed 354 pounds at the time of his inauguration in 1909. 45579

[gkster]

In a speech delivered on the steps of the Michigan Union (the University of Michigan Student Union building) on October 14, 1960 at 2:00 a.m., presidential candidate John F. Kennedy announced his Peace Corps proposal. A plaque at the steps now commemorates the event.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-waymarki...e93d580c_d.JPG
Kennedy's height was 6'1", and records of his weight while President vary, from 160 lbs to 182 lbs. 45580

[Elendil's Heir]

I've been on that very spot!

John F. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, is the only President to have won a Pulitzer Prize; Woodrow Wilson, Democrat of New Jersey, is the only one to have earned a Ph.D.; Theodore Roosevelt, Republican of New York, is the only one to have earned the Medal of Honor (although posthumously). 45581

[Bullitt]

John F. Kennedy was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his service during World War II. 45582

[Elendil's Heir]

John Fitzgerald Kennedy had the same initials as two later presidential candidates, Jack French Kemp, Republican of New York, and John Forbes Kerry, a Democrat of Massachusetts like Kennedy. 45583

[Annie-Xmas]

William Jefferson Clinton meets John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The very brief meeting took place on July 24, 1963 in the White House's Rose Garden. 45584

[Railer13]

When Donald Trump was inaugurated in January of 2017, it marked the fourth time in history that there were five living ex-presidents. This list included Obama, Bush, Bush, Clinton, and Carter.

This first occurred in 1861 following Lincoln's first inauguration, when the list included Buchanan, Pierce, Fillmore, Tyler, and Van Buren. It happened again in 1993 and once more in 2001. 45585