The West India Regiments were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. This regiment differed from similar forces raised in other parts of the British Empire in that it formed an integral part of the regular British Army.
The US Marine Corps has four artillery regiments, plus two more that have been deactivated:
The 10th Marine Regiment, out of Camp Lejeune NC.
The 11th Marine Regiment, out of Camp Pendleton CA.
The 12th Marine Regiment, out of Okinawa.
The 13th Marine Regiment was deactivated in 1970.
The 14th Marine Regiment out of Fort Worth TX.
The 15th Marine Regiment was deactivated in 1946.
Walter Camp is often called “the Father of American Football” as a pioneer of the sport, inventing the line of scrimmage, the center snap, the concept of downs, and the rules for the number of players on the field. He also invented the first “All-America” team, and named players to it for years.
Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland, married the daughter of King Robert the Bruce (Robert I) of Scotland. Their son, Robert II, became the first monarch of the House of Stewart.
One of Prince Charles’ Scottish titles is High Steward of Scotland, as the hereditary successor of Walter Stewart.
There is, however, no truth to the legend that the High Stewards of Scotland had a strange glowing sphere that allowed them to spy on the Kings of England.
The border crossing station between Hyder AK USA and Stewart BC CAN is one of only a handful between Alaska and Canada. These gMaps show 4 of the crossings:
Map, northbound (6,500mi): https://goo.gl/eGVDTN
Map, southbound (4,500mi): https://goo.gl/TwrqBg
Stewart Bloom, current owner of the Big Bang’s comic book store, was never seen in season one of the show. However, in “The Nerdvana Annihilation” the comic book store is mentioned and Leonard mentions that he is going to sell all his collectibles to Larry. Stuart’s first appearance was in season two’s “The Hofstadter Isotope,” where he asked Penny out on a date, not knowing Leonard had feelings for her.
Apparently Stewart bought the store from Larry.
“The Simpsons” character Comic Book Guy, proprietor of Springfield comic book store The Android’s Dungeon (the rival of Frodo’s of Shelbyville), was revealed to have the real name Jeff Albertson in the Season 16 episode “Home and Ned’s Hail Mary Pass”.
Okay, say it: Worst. Post. Ever.
Matt Groening, quoted in TV Guide: I cannot tell you how many people have told me “I know you modeled the Comic Book Guy after the one in my neighbor store.” I tell them “No, it’s every Comic Book Guy in America”
Actor Matt Dillon was the original choice for the role of Richard in The Blue Lagoon (1980), but he turned the role down because of the nudity.
The word “Lagoon” is derived from the Latina “lacuna,” meaning a pond, which became the Italian “lagune” and French “lacune,” either or both of which is where English got the word. It was spelled “Lagune” when it first entered English but “Lagoon” became the preferred spelling probably in the early 18th century.
Laguna Seca racetrack, near Monterey CA, was built in 1957. The track has 11 turns and is 2.238 miles long. The unofficial lap record time is 1:05.786 by Marc Gené, Scuderia Ferrari, driving a Ferrari F2003-GA in 2012. That translates to a 122.5 MPH average lap speed. Its famous “corkscrew” turn drops 5.5 stories in only 450 feet of track length between the entrance to turn 8 and the exit from turn 8A.
Rancho Laguna Seca was a 2,179-acre Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Catalina M. Munras. “Laguna Seca” means “Dry Lake” in Spanish, referring to the seasonal lake, Laguna Seca.
By the Shores of Silver Lake, the 5th book in the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, refers to Silver Lake, which is located close to De Smet, South Dakota. In 1924, the lake was drained, and the lakebed was used as the town dump for many years. Over time, however, the lake refilled with water. While it’s smaller than it was when the Ingalls family lived there, it is, once again, a lake.
Pierre-Jean De Smet was a Belgian Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), active in missionary work in the mid-19th century among the Native American peoples, in the midwestern and northwestern United States and western Canada. The South Dakota town, along with a High School in St. Louis, Missouri, are among the places named for him.
Pope Francis is the only Jesuit so far to rise to the top clerical position in the Roman Catholic Church. His pontifical coat of arms includes Jesuit symbols: Coat of arms of Pope Francis - Wikipedia
Francis, Saskatchewan is a town some 40 miles SE of Regina. Its population is under 200.
Per Wiki, Francis Scott Key, the Maryland lawyer and poet who wrote the words for what became the U.S. national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner,” owned slaves from 1800, during which time abolitionists ridiculed his words, that America was more like the “Land of the Free and Home of the Oppressed”. Key freed his slaves in the 1830s, paying one ex-slave as his farm foreman. Key publicly criticized slavery and gave free legal representation to some slaves seeking freedom, but also represented owners of runaway slaves as well. Representing both slaves and slave owners is emblematic of his complex relationship with slavery. As District Attorney, Key suppressed abolitionists and didn’t support an immediate end to slavery. Referring to blacks as "a distinct and inferior race of people,” he was a leader of the American Colonization Society which sent freed slaves back to Africa.
Francis the Talking Mule was a mule/character who became a celebrity during the 1950s as the star of seven popular Universal-International film comedies. The film series focused on the exploits of Francis, an experienced Army mule, and Peter Stirling (played by Donald O’Connor), the young soldier whom he befriends and stays with through civilian life and then back into the military.
The USMC MWTC, US Marine Corps’ Mountain Warfare Training Center, near Bridgeport CA high up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, still uses mules and horses. Some places of operation, like steep, mountainous terrain, are ideal for mules. the MWTC is located in Pickel Meadows, along Hwy 108, the Sonora Highway, near US-395.
When the Canadian Pacific Railway was originally planned, it was going to be farther north and cross the Selkirk Mountain range at the Yellowhead Pass. However, the route was moved south, to help insure against American annexation, as had happened in the Oregon territory.
As the CPR was driving its rail across the Prairies, they didn’t know how they would cross the Selkirk mountain range on the southern route. If they had to detour through the Big Bend, the additional costs would be high.
In 1881 and then 1882, a stubborn Yankee surveyor, Major Rogers, hunted for a pass through the Selkirks. In 1882 he found it, probably saving the CPR from bankruptcy, and by extension, saving the young transcontinental Dominion of Canada.
As the CPR had promised, they named the pass Rogers Pass. They also gave him a cheque for $5,000, which he declined to cash, instead framing it and putting it on his wall. Finally, the CPR offered him a gold watch as an incentive to cash the cheque.
The CPR and the Trans-Canada Highway still run through Rogers Pass, in spite of the dangers in winter of horrific snow avalanches.
Eusebio Kino was a Jesuit missionary who influenced the development of Sonora, California, Arizona and New Mexico in New Spain in the 1600s.
Kino travelled the area on horseback following ancient trading routes established by the natives. His expeditions covered over 50,000 square miles, during which he mapped an area 200 miles long and 250 miles wide. Kino’s maps were the most accurate maps of the region for more than 150 years after his death; the names that he gave to many features, such as the Colorado River, are still in use. Part of the territory he covered was later annexed by the US.
Kino opposed the slavery and compulsory hard labor in the silver mines that the Spaniards forced on the native people. He taught them to raise sheep and cattle and introduced them to European seed, fruits, herbs and grains.