Beethoven’s “Battle Symphony,” celebrating Wellington’s victory shows a shift in Beethoven’s political views. He originally was an admirer of Napoleon, and intended to dedicate his 3rd Symphony to Napoleon. He changed his mind dramatically when he heard the news that Napoleon was going to crown himself Emperor, turning his back on republican principles. The story is that Beethoven scratched Napoleon’s name off the cover page for the sheet music so vigorously that the paper tore. The 3rd Symphony is instead known as the “Eroica Symphony.” It was first played in public in April, 1805.
Bertolt Brecht renamed his cantata Der Lindberghflug, with music by Kurt Weill and Paul Hindemith, to Der Ozeanflug (The Flight Across the Ocean) when he became aware of the great aviator’s Nazi sympathies. The original opening line “My name is Charles Lindbergh” became “My name is of no account”.
Charles Lindbergh’s calls for neutrality during World War II caused President Roosevelt to compare Lindbergh to Clement Vallandigham, the Copperhead who called for a negotiated peace during the Civil War.
Copperhead snake bites are generally nonfatal unless you have an allergic reaction and go into shock. Scientists believe that this is because the copperhead’s first bite is meant as a warning and little venom is injected (sometimes they inject no venom at all). It can be very painful, however and it’s best to get to a doctor as soon as possible.
Clement Vallandigham, perhaps the most prominent Copperhead leader during the American Civil War, campaigned for Governor of Ohio from a hotel room in Windsor, Ontario, after his expulsion from U.S. territory. He lost.
Pope St Clement’s epistle to the church at Corinth is one of the earliest Christian writings other than the books of the New Testament.
Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, “Corinthians” for short, is the richest football club not based in Europe.
In 1975, actor Ricardo Montalban starred in a car commercial for the Chrysler Cordoba. His accented delivery when he spoke of the car’s “rich Corinthian leather” became famous and often-copied. There is no such thing as Corinthian leather – it is merely a marketing concept. Yet, the Cordoba became a successfully-selling car.
A cordwainer is a shoemaker who uses soft leather to make luxury shoes.
Science fiction writer Harlan Ellison has on occasion used the pseudonym Cordwainer Bird to alert members of the public to situations in which he feels his creative contribution to a project has been mangled beyond repair by others, typically Hollywood producers or studios. The literal transaction of the phrase is “shoemaker for birds,” but it can also be seen as giving the maglers “the bird.”
Harlan County, Kentucky, is one of the poorest, most backward, rural Appalachian counties in the United States.
Manly Wade Wellman’s stories about Silver John take place in Appalachia.
Long John Silver was quartermaster under the notorious Capt. Flint. Long John later named his parrot Capt. Flint.
Daniel Mead, whose porn-film name was Long Dong Silver, actually wore a prosthetic. Anita Hill told the Senate committee considering Clarence Thomas’ nomination to the Supreme Court that Thomas had told her he was a fan of Mead’s work.
Clarence Thomas, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, once told an interviewer that his favorite guilty pleasure is cheese fries.
Karl Thomas received the Medal of Honor for bravery during the Boxer Rebellion in June, 1900.
John L. Sullivan is generally considered to be the last bare-knuckle boxing heavyweight champion.
Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger ditched his US Air Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in 15 Jan 2009. Sully is a USAFA graduate (US Air Force Academy), class of 1973, and on his graduation he received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship award, as the class “top flyer”.
Hudson University is a fictional university whose name has been used by a large number of television programs, including The Cosby Show, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Law & Order, Tru Calling, Castle, and The Secret Live of the American Teenager.
Sullenberger ditched his plane in the Hudson on Jan. 15, 2009, just five days before the U.S. Presidential inauguration. The captain and his wife were then invited guests of the new President and First Lady at the inaugural ceremonies.