A carpet bag is a traveling bag made of carpet, commonly from an oriental rug. They were a popular form of luggage in the United States and Europe in the 19th century. Some modern versions serve as handbags or purses. “Carpetbagger” was a pejorative term after the Civil War for northern businessmen who came south (carryh\ing carpetbags as luggage) to invest in hopes of making a killing in the reconstructing South.
Patrick Whelan, a Fenian, was one of the last people publicly hanged in Canada, after being convicted of killing D’Arcy McGee, a Father of Confederation.
The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Conferences preceding Canadian Confederation in 1867. Newfoundland’s Joseph Smallwood claimed to be the 37th Father of Confederation, having single-handedly brought Newfoundland into confeederatin in 1949, overcoming great opposition.
Colonel John Hamilton Gray, a Father of Confederation from Prince Edward Island, is not to be confused with Colonel John Hamilton Gray, a Father of Confederation from New Brunswick.
The Confederation Bridge, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland Canada (New Brunswick) is 8 miles long. The toll (paid only when leaving Prince Edward Island) is C$46 for a two axle car.
Prince Edward Island is named after Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, fourth son of George III and father of Queen Victoria.
Canada, the second largest country in the world, has ten provinces and three territories. Nunavut is the largest, at 808,185 mi[sup]2[/sup]. By comparison, Alaska is 663,300 mi[sup]2[/sup]. PEI is the smallest province, at 2,185 mi[sup]2[/sup]. PEI is about the same size as Delaware.
Canada Water is a freshwater lake and wildlife refuge in Rotherhithe in the Docklands in south-east London. Canada Water tube (just a few stops from Mudchute), Overground and bus station is named after the lake, and lies immediately to the north. The lake is named after the former Canada Dock, of which Canada Water is the surviving northern third, and which was mainly used by ships from Canada.
The London Underground system has 270 stations and 250 miles of rail. Despite its name, only 45% of the system is underground in tunnels, with much of the system in the outer areas of London operating on the surface. So, yes, most of the London Underground is above ground.
Aldgate Station, on the Circle and Metropolitan Lines of the London Underground, is built on a massive plague pit, where more than 1,000 bodies are buried.
The Black Death is one of the best-known pandemics in human history. This plague is speculated to have begun in Asia and was brought to Europe through trade routes, most notably the famous Silk Road, approximately in the 1340s. This strain of plague has been found by microbiological analysis to differ from the strain of Yersinia pestisresponsible for the Plague of Justinian which decimated the Eastern Roman empire
Daniel Defoe’s 1722 book A Journal of the Plague Year, purporting to be a first-person account of a London resident in 1665, although formally considered a novel, is considered to be better researched and more accurate than that section of Samuel Pepys’ diary.
The brother of actor Willem Dafoe is Donald Dafoe, a transplant surgeon at (nearby) Stanford University hospital.
And, he performed the kidney transplant for my wife’s kidney transplant almost 20 years ago.
I know, right? Some of those stars are just mind-blowingly huuuuuuuge.
In play:
Willem Dafoe appeared two years ago at the Cleveland Cinematheque, and I met him: In which I meet Willem Dafoe - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board
Nice writeup, enjoyed that read, thank you.
In play: Life Savers candy was invented in Cleveland. In 1912.
Dracula author Bram Stoker died on April 20, 1912; his death was overshadowed by the sinking of the Titanic days earlier, on April 15. Visitors to Stoker’s urn at Golders Green Crematorium are escorted to the room as a precaution against vandalism.
More than half the known languages of the world do not differentiate between blue and green, using the same word for both. English-speaking linguist call these “grue languages”. That doesn’t men they cannot see the difference, and they may use expressions like “sky grue” and “grass grue”. Just as we can see the difference between sea-green and forest-green. but call them both green
The University of Kentucky has an official mascot named Blue, a bobcat (sometimes known as a wildcat). However, Blue is never seen at Kentucky games, because Bobcats are naturally shy by nature and do not react well to large and noisy crowds. Blue instead lives at the state-operated Salato Wildlife Education Center near the state capital of Frankfort.
A green Tiger was once the mascot of the LSU Tigers. Mike, the Tiger, was kidnapped by Tulane fans before a rivalry football game, and when recovered, had been spray painted Tulane green. The original Mike was brought to LSU in 1936, and the current mascot is Mike VI. His predecessors lived an average of 14 years.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw was born in Shreveport LA and went to high school in Shreveport. In high school he set a national record for throwing the javelin 245 feet (almost 82 yards). His exploits earned him a spot in the Sports Illustrated feature Faces In The Crowd.