Seriously people, check the link I posted.
They made a two-hour special. It was successful. They’re now turning it into a show. They’ve done this before. Life After People started the same way.
I hope they bring that back for the show!
I wonder if those shots are mirrored, or if he’s really drawing backwards.
One degree over the border but 20 degrees below zero 
(-29 degrees Celsius 
)
But the highway signs have George’s head. It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure that out.
If each border got its own episode, some of the episodes would be really short. There’s a reason that many of the western states have a straight line as a border - they were measured based on degrees of longitude/latitude.
Not really an oddity either. Small portions of states on the time zone border will take on the other time zone if they are tied into the community on the other side. This prevents people having to adjust their watches every time they go to/from work.
Free online here.
I thought it was funny when the guy showed his mother’s house in Kaskaskia and identified as the former governor’s residence, “but it’s been rebuilt a few times”. Reminds me of the old joke about a man selling an axe that belonged to Abraham Lincoln and is told it looks really new to have belonged to Lincoln: “Oh, the head’s been replaced a couple of times and the handle about three times, but it’s still Lincoln’s axe”.
Speaking of Lincoln I’m surprised they didn’t mention that he was a participant in a duel on one of the sandbar islands (though Sunflower Island near Alton as opposed to the one they were standing on). He accepted a challenge from a political enemy between his wedding dates with Mary (i.e. between the one where he broke the engagement and the one where he regrettably showed up and married her). It wasn’t that memorable- the two men ended up shaking hands and going home- but presumably both went there knowing bloodshed (with broadswords, the weapon chosen by Lincoln) being possible.
Honest Abe wielding a broadsword is now forming an incredibly cool image in my mind.
The Kaskaskia Liberty Bell lasy was pretty funny, actually preventing him from getting too close.
I wonder how long I could go without getting the tar beaten out of me if I walked into various bars in Philly and arrogantly tried to claim bar bets with my “What’s the oldest Liberty Bell” trivia.
It was an ingenious choice. Jimmy Shields, a hotheaded Irishman, was the challenger, claiming Lincoln- using a female pseudonym- had libeled him in the press. (It was probably Mary Todd who wrote the editorials in question.) He challenged Lincoln to the duel, chose pistols because they were a weapon with which he was very experienced from his days in the militia. Lincoln borrowed a copy of the Code Duello and reminded Shields that as the challenged he, not Shields, chose weapons and he chose broadswords (or cavalry sabers, I’ve read both).
Per the story, they got to the island. Shields, who had military experience and some military training, showed off during the warmup by doing some fancy swordmanship practice to intimidate Lincoln. Lincoln, who had no military experience but was almost a foot taller than Shields and had exceptionally long arms, hacked a branch off of a tree that was about 8 feet off the ground, something Shields couldn’t have done if he had tried all day. Basically both men had an advantage- Shields his training and Lincoln his size and upper body strength- which along with having cooled down a bit anyway probably convinced them to settle things peaceably.
It’s impossible to know how much is true, but if it is then it shows some genius on Abe’s part and even some that would serve him as president: figure out what you can do that your opponent can’t (such as wielding heavy swords and reaching several feet) and then create a situation where success depends on doing that.
Today Shields is one of two Illinois statues in the U.S. Capitol. He and Lincoln were never exactly friends but they did get along later, and per some sources they had a re-match duel in the White House with snowballs.
It’s not all that obvious! For example, why isn’t Midway part of the state of the Hawaii?
So glad that I finally got to see this show! I was in the middle of a move and without DVR when it was on before and just missed it. I love the book so much! Of course, the book is more serious (?? I just mean that it literally goes through each and every border) and the show is more interesting random tidbits. Lots of fun in both though.
My only beef with the book was that it was in alphabetical order. I thought that was weird. I read the 13 colonies first (north to south I think, I may have gone up though), then I read basically east to west wandering around some. It just made more sense to read about a border from both sides in order, as opposed to jumping all around the country.
Because it’s in Georgia. Duh!
I guess if one were drunk, it does look like a mushroom cloud. Perhaps a reminder of Hanford Site’s contribution to the Manhattan project?
In my defense, I’d never seen a highway sign that wasn’t the shape of the state. Not a President’s head. As proof, here’s my evolution: MO –> TX –> CA –> OR. I think you’ll find no Presidents’ heads on highway signs there.
Abe also wielded an mean ax in his vampire hunting days.
OH MY DAMN
Please tell me a premium cable channel is adapting that into a series.
I didn’t know about this show, but I read and enjoyed the book. I’ll have to try to catch it.
I used to live in Vermont, fairly close to Canadian border. My father grew up in a border town. My mother was born in the Canadian Customs House on the Canada/US border.
I’ll try to catch the shows but I have no idea what town you are talking about.