# Historical oddities **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 23, 2018, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666 "2018-05-23T09:58:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/81 "2018-05-25T03:31:19Z")
William Bligh was the Captain of the _HMS Bounty_, notorious for the 1789 mutiny against him in which the crew took over control of the ship and left Bligh and several loyal members of the crew on a small launch in the middle of the ocean. Bligh managed to navigate the boat over 3000 miles to Timor, where he reported the mutiny. Several years later, he was named Governor of New South Wales. In 1808, the colonists rose up against him and once more he was bound and deposed. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/82 "2018-05-25T03:54:53Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > What was it doing in Germany? It looks like the artist [painted 3 times](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware). He was a German-American who painted while living in Germany. His second rendition ended up in New York, but to call it a copy is like saying the live version of _Locomotive Breath_ is a copy of the studio version. Its destruction is somehow fittingly ironic: the painting depicts the Minutemen on their way to attack Hessian mercenaries, an the first painting was destroyed when the Allies were attacking Germans. ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/83 "2018-05-25T04:03:22Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > The Dodgers have been in Los Angeles longer than Brooklyn (61 vs 44 years) > > Before the Cubs won the Series in 2016, 1908’s Series title was closer to the Battle of Waterloo than 2015 > > And these two really disturb me: > > Will Smith is now older than Uncle Phil was in the “French Prince of Bel Air” pilot. > > Ralph Macchio is now older than Pat Morita was in “The Karate Kid” The Dodgers joined the National League in 1890 in Brooklyn. That gives them 68 seasons playing in Brooklyn. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/84 "2018-05-25T04:26:01Z")
Robert Peary is generally credited with having been first to visit the North Pole, in 1909, but some modern research suggests he may have as much as 60 miles away. (Frederick Cook’s claim of having reached the Pole in 1908 is also disputed.) The first undisputed claim to have actually stood at the North Pole goes to a Russian expedition by air that landed there in 1948. The first undisputed visit to the North Pole by surface travel didn’t occur until 1968. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/85 "2018-05-25T04:44:55Z")
> [@UCBearcats](#): > > The Dodgers joined the National League in 1890 in Brooklyn. That gives them 68 seasons playing in Brooklyn. But they were the Robins for 17 years, and the Superbas until 1911, so there were only teams named the Brookly Dodgers from 1911-1912 and 1932-1957, a total of 27 years. The Montreal Expos lasted longer than that. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/86 "2018-05-25T11:26:31Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Chewing it gave him something to do in Staten Island. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/87 "2018-05-25T13:30:13Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Robert Peary is generally credited with having been first to visit the North Pole, in 1909, but some modern research suggests he may have as much as 60 miles away. (Frederick Cook’s claim of having reached the Pole in 1908 is also disputed.) > > The first undisputed claim to have actually stood at the North Pole goes to a Russian expedition by air that landed there in 1948. > > The first undisputed visit to the North Pole by surface travel didn’t occur until 1968. I’m going to guess that since Peary’s claim had been accepted as gospel for so long that there wasn’t a lot of in interest in re-doing what had already been done, accounting for almost six decades before there was a confirmed attainment by surface travel. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/88 "2018-05-25T14:12:31Z")
A telegraph cable was laid across the floor of the Atlantic Ocean three years before the start of the U.S. Civil War. The first successful contact lens was invented in 1888. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/89 "2018-05-25T15:51:56Z")
Lighters were invented before matches. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/90 "2018-05-25T20:10:10Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Lighters were invented before matches. They had lighters before 577 AD? ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/91 "2018-05-25T20:59:38Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Lighters were invented before matches. Cans were invented before can openers. Buttons were invented before button holes. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/92 "2018-05-25T22:19:04Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Cans were invented before can openers. The can opener was invented about 50 years later! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/93 "2018-05-25T22:45:59Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Lighters were invented before matches. > [@MarvinKitFox](#): > > They had lighters before 577 AD? As **MarvinKitFox** pointed out, the first match was invented in 577 AD in China. Even the first modern [chemical match](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match#Chemical_matches) was invented nearly two decades before the first [lighter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighter#History). ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/94 "2018-05-25T23:49:05Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > But they were … the Superbas until 1911, … I’ve come back more than once to reread this, and every time, I think the Super Ba’s are like a regular Ba only better. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/95 "2018-05-25T23:50:47Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > I’ve come back more than once to reread this, and every time, I think the Super Ba’s are like a regular Ba only better. 🙂 And I have to fight the assumption that they lift and support. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/96 "2018-05-25T23:52:35Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > I’ve come back more than once to reread this, and every time, I think the Super Ba’s are like a regular Ba only better. 🙂 I too had trouble reading that. “The Superballs? The Superbras?” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/97 "2018-05-26T00:02:15Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > _Bush, Sr., played 1st base for Yale_\* while in college. Although a lefty, he batted right. Quite unusual. The only other person I can think of who matches this is Rickey Henderson. Cleon Jones of the Mets, and Hal Chase. Leonardo da Vinci and Vlad Tepes (i.e., Dracula) were contemporaries. Most people mispronounce the Brooklyn Superbas. It was pronounced “Superb-ahs.” ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/98 "2018-05-26T01:17:32Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Robert Peary is generally credited with having been first to visit the North Pole, in 1909, but some modern research suggests he may have as much as 60 miles away. (Frederick Cook’s claim of having reached the Pole in 1908 is also disputed.) > > The first undisputed claim to have actually stood at the North Pole goes to a Russian expedition by air that landed there in 1948. > > The first undisputed visit to the North Pole by surface travel didn’t occur until 1968. My submission to historical oddities is **Roald Amundsen** … First to transverse the North West Passage in the Canadian Arctic … First to the South Pole (by land) … (Arguably) First to the North Pole (by air) As far as that last claim, there is some contention … so I’ve included what’s posted on Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > The three previous claims to have arrived at the North Pole: Frederick Cook in 1908; Robert Peary in 1909; and Richard E. Byrd in 1926 (just a few days before the Norge) are all disputed, as being either of dubious accuracy or outright fraud.[17][18] If their claims are false, the crew of the Norge would be the first explorers verified to have reached the North Pole. If the Norge expedition was the first to the North Pole, Amundsen and Oscar Wisting were the first men to reach each geographical pole, by ground or by air. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/99 "2018-05-26T03:35:05Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > The Dodgers have been in Los Angeles longer than Brooklyn (61 vs 44 years) > > Before the Cubs won the Series in 2016, 1908’s Series title was closer to the Battle of Waterloo than 2015 > > And these two really disturb me: > > Will Smith is now older than Uncle Phil was in the “French Prince of Bel Air” pilot. > > Ralph Macchio is now older than Pat Morita was in “The Karate Kid” Tom Cruise is now older than Wilford Brimley was in “The Firm”. There was a commercially available Fax service between Paris and Lyon…11 years before the invention of the telephone. > **[Fax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fax)** > > Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device. The original document is scanned with a fax machine (or a telecopier), which processes the contents (text or images) as a single fixed graphic image, converting it into a bitmap, and then transmitting it through the telephone system in the form o... ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/100 "2018-05-26T03:45:25Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > I’ve come back more than once to reread this, and every time, I think the Super Ba’s are like a regular Ba only better. 🙂 Considering the sport they played, the Batbas would have been a more appropriate team name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666.md?page=6)