ETA trivia is not always the most obscure, shall we say…
In play:
Only one member of the Coast Guard has ever won the Medal of Honor, the highest decoration for valor in the U.S. armed forces: Canadian-born Signalman First Class Douglas Albert Munro, posthumously awarded it for his actions during the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II.
The annual Iditarod Alaska dog sled race runs about 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome. The trail reaches the coast of the Bering Sea between the late stage checkpoints of White Mountain and Safety, 55 miles apart, at the Topkok River. Safety is the last checkpoint before the finish line at Nome, 22 miles away.
The short story writer H.H. Munro, better known by his pen name, Saki, was 43 at the outbreak of World War I and officially over age to enlist. However, he served in the Royal Fusiliers, and rose to the rank of lance sergeant. More than once he returned to the battlefield when officially still too sick or injured. In November 1916 he was killed by a German sniper during the Battle of the Ancre. According to several sources, his last words were “Put that bloody cigarette out!”
One of the best-known Saki stories, “The Open Window”, prominently features dogs.
(Link to one of my favorite Saki stories, “Tobermory”; a cat learns to speak, causing consternation by revealing secrets that he has witnessed or overheard: http://doyleandmacdonald.com/l_tober.htm)
The optimal maximum size for an Iditarod sled dog is 45-55 lbs. That is based on their thermoregulation, their ability to keep their body temperatures within an optimal range while working.
According to Canidae, most people associate the Siberian Husky with pulling a sled. However, there are actually 3 different breeds of dog that are considered to be true sled dogs: the Alaskan Malamute, the Siberian Husky and the Canadian Eskimo Dog.
The American Eskimo dog strongly resembles sled dogs like the Canadian Eskimo and the all-white Samoyed, except for being smaller (slightly so in the standard size; the toy and miniature dogs are much smaller). However, it is not originally American or Eskimo. Its name was changed from German Spitz during World War I.
Many believe the annual Iditarod dog sled race was meant to commemorate the 1925 diphtheria Great Race of Mercy. In 1964, a Centennial Committee was formed to look into historical events in Alaska. 1967 marked the 100th anniversary of Alaska being a US Territory after being purchased from Russia. Dorothy Page, chairwoman of this committee, conceived the idea of a sled dog race over the historically significant Iditarod Trail. Joe Redington Sr. was her first real support for such a race. Redington had deep historical interests in the Iditarod Trail since the mid-1950’s and felt this centennial race would help in their quest to preserve the historic gold rush and mail route and get it recognized nationally.**
Joe Redington had two reasons for organizing the long-distance Iditarod Race: to save the sled dog culture and Alaskan huskies, which were being phased out of existence due to the introduction of snowmobiles in Alaska; and to preserve the historical Iditarod Trail between Seward and Nome.**
The first four US National Historic Trails were established in 1978. The Iditarod Trail was one of those. Today there are 19 National Historic Trails.
Although Balto is honored as the heroic lead dog of the diphtheria serum delivery, including a statue in Central Park and an animated Disney movie, he actually just led the last leg into Nome, as did driver Gunnar Kaasen. The longest and most dangerous stretch was led by Togo and driver Leonhard Seppala.
None of the Iditarod route follows Route 66, or even paved roads between Anchorage and Nome.
Well, if it was up to the dogs, they’d just use the freeway.
In play: According to the UN’s 2017 World Happiness Report, the world’s 10 unhappiest countries are all located in the Middle East and Africa. These countries are Burundi, Tanzania, Syria, Rwanda, Togo, Guinea, Liberia, South Sudan, Yemen, and Haiti.
The 10 happiest countries are Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden.
Ninja’ed by damn!!
The Finnish Civil War was a conflict for the leadership and control of Finland during the country’s transition from a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire to an independent state. The civil war was fought between the Reds, led by a section of the Social Democratic Party, and the Whites, conducted by the conservative-based Senate.
ETA: Railer13, Haiti is Not in the MidEast or Africa.
The Continuation War was fought by Finland and its then-ally, Nazi Germany, against the Soviet Union, resuming 15 months after the conclusion of the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union. That war ended with a treaty in which the USSR recognized Finland’s independence, but at the cost of much of its territory. Finland had no net gains from the Continuation War.
Like the Iditarod dog sled race, the Ukkohalla-Paljakka Ajot is an annual dog sled race in Finland. It starts in the Hyrynsalmi-Puolanka area, almost 400 miles north of Helsinki.
(Okay guys, next March I’ll be seeing the Iditarod in Alaska, so this trivia is also helping me to prep for that trip!)
A nitpick: Anchorage is the ceremonial start of the race, as Anchorage is the largest population center in the state and the event draws large crowds, which are good for business and raises money for the annual event. That part of the doings is eleven miles and does not count on the overall times. The actual start of the race for timing purposes is in Willow, AK, which is located in the Matanuska Valley, 81 miles north of Anchorage.
Please carry on.
At its peak in 2000, Finnish telecom manufacturer Nokia accounted for 4% of the country’s GDP, and 70% of the Helsinki Stock Exchange’s total market capital.
Finland is part of Scandanavia, and so is Norway. Norwegian Leonhard Seppala was the musher who, with Togo as his lead dog, delivered the diphtheria toxin to Golovin in 1925 and handed it to the next musher. Seppala was recognized as the best musher, and Togo an excellent lead dog, and they were chosen to take the toughest stretch in that journey (as Elv1s posted in 39,942). Later, when Seppala saw all the attention bestowed on Balto, he was heartbroken because he knew that Togo was the most excellent dog in the entire Great Race of Mercy.
In the first Sherlock Holmes short story, “A Scandal in Bohemia” (1891), author A. Conan Doyle referred to a non-existent King of Scandinavia as having a daughter of marriageable age.
Dammit. That’s what I get for copying and pasting with little regard for the content.
In play: “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band’s 1975 album A Night at the Opera. When it was released as a single, it stayed at the top of the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks and sold more than a million copies by the end of January 1976. It reached number one again in 1991 for another five weeks when the same version was re-released following Mercury’s death, eventually becoming the UK’s third-best-selling single of all time.
Freddie Mercury – God what an excellent, fantastic singing voice!
In play: Freddie Mercury and Queen sang the song Dog With a Bone in 1988. It was an unreleased song and not on any of their albums.
Comment: I don’t think they were singing about Iditarod sled dogs.
Ken-L Ration dog food ran a 1964 commercial with a cute boy and a cute girl singing “My Dog’s Better Than Your Dog.” The jingle was based on a song written by folk singer Tom Paxton, and the boy was a very young Richard Marx
When Alaska sled dog pups are about 6-7 months old, they start to wear harnesses and are attached to teams. By the end of their first winter, they will have several hundred miles of experience running in harness.