more interesting facts

1. In movies about the westward expansion, we usually see settlers


traveling in huge Conestoga wagons laden with family possessions and

pulled by a team of horses. It’s a very romantic vision of the

pioneers who trekked across the United States—but, of course, it isn’t

true. Conestoga wagons were far too heavy, and horses were not strong

enough to pull a loaded wagon over the rough terrain or for that

distance. What settlers used were smaller more agile wagons called

“prairie schooners” pulled by oxen or mules. Conestoga wagons are used

in movies because they look better—and isn’t that more important than

the truth.



2. “I tell you, Wellington is a bad general, the English are bad

soldiers; we will settle the matter by lunchtime. (Napoleon Bonaparte

at the Battle of Waterloo, 1815)

3. At the same time explorer Samuel Wallis discovered the Tahitian

Islands in June 1767, his crewmen discovered the native women would

trade sex for iron nails. The Tahitians found many uses for iron

nails, and they soon became more precious than silver or gold. Soon a

very precarious condition evolved: On the one hand, you had beautiful

exotic women willing to “do anything” for iron nails, and on the other

hand, you had lonely, bored sailors with nothing to do but figure out

how to get their hands on iron nails—thereby getting their hands on

the beautiful exotic women. And at the heart of the dilemma was the

HMS Dolphin—a wooden ship held together by iron nails. Captain Wallis

was forced to forbid the trade. “It was soon found that all the

belaying cleats had been ripped off,” wrote the captain in his log,

“and that there was scarcely one of the hammock nails left.” The nail

crisis came to a head when a Mr. Pinckney’s robust transactions led to

the collapse of the mainsail. I’m not sure about this, but it’s

possible this is where “nailing” or “getting nailed” became synonymous

with sex.

4.



Myth



The forbidden fruit said to be plucked from the Tree of Knowledge of

Good and Evil and eaten by Adam and Eve was an apple.



Truth



Not sure. The Bible references only the “fruit of the tree” (Genesis

3:3) and names no particular fruit. In Christianity, the fruit is

usually portrayed as an apple, but in Judaism, it is thought to be a

fig, grapes, a citron, or wheat.



5. Here’s something about the presidents we all know is correct:

George Washington was the first president of the United States. Nope.

Think about it: The original thirteen colonies of the United States

claimed their independence from England through the Declaration of

Independence signed in 1776. Okay. Now, George Washington wasn’t

elected president of the United States until 1789. That means there is

a gap of thirteen years between the founding of our nation and the

election of the first president. Who ran the country during those

first thirteen years? John Hanson, that’s who. John Hanson was elected

“President of the United States in Congress Assembled” by a unanimous

vote of Congress on November 5, 1781. He served for one year.



Hanson was then followed by Elias Boudinot, the second president of

the United States; Thomas Mifflin, the third president; Richard Henry

Lee, the fourth; Nathan Gorman, the fifth; Arthur St. Claire, the

sixth; and Cyrus Griffin, the seventh. And coming in at number eight

is good old George Washington.



6. In October 1971, the Arbeia Roman Fort and Museum in South

Shields, England, was proudly displaying an exhibition of Roman

artifacts found nearby. (The museum is located near the end of

Hadrian’s Wall, built by the Romans around A.D. 160.) One case

contained a Roman sesterce coin, identified by museum experts as

having been minted sometime between A.D. 135 and A.D. 138.



But one visitor, nine-year-old Fiona Gordon, claimed to have seen

similar coins much later than that—given out as a token by a local

soda bottler. She pointed out the soda bottler’s trademark on the

reverse of the coin. The R museum officials had originally taken to

mean “Roman” actually stood for the soft drink

manufacturer—Robinson’s. The realization they had been displaying a

fake Roman coin made the curators feel like glutei maximi.



7. Pope John XXI, who served as pope for only eight months, added a

new wing to his palace at Viterbo, Italy. The workmanship was shoddy,

and on May 12, 1277, while the pope lay sleeping, part of the roof

fell in, and he was seriously injured. John XXI became just another

name and number on the long list of popes after he succumbed to his

wounds and died eight days later.



8. A research study conducted by Ohio University in December 2005

reported that-Americans unintentionally eat one to two pounds of

insect parts per year, The study didn’t say, however, how many insects

are eaten intentionally.



9. Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest was leading his

Confederate troops to Alabama in late September 1864 to attack the

Union post located in Athens. But there was an overwhelming problem:

The post was well manned and heavily fortified. The general knew he

was greatly outnumbered, and he knew Union reinforcements were on the

way, but he had a plan. He sent a message to Union commander Colonel

Wallace Campbell requesting a personal meeting. Campbell agreed to the

meeting, and on September 24, 1864, Forrest escorted Campbell on a

tour of his Confederate troops. Campbell took the opportunity to

secretly count the number of soldiers and artillery he saw surrounding

his fort. But what Campbell didn’t count on was that Forrest had

ordered his men, after being inspected and tallied, to pack up their

belongings and quietly move to the back of the line to be counted

again. After counting continuous counterfeit Confederates, Campbell

returned to his fort, believing he was heavily outnumbered, and

surrendered without a fight.



10. Countries have invaded other countries for centuries in order to

increase their size or to lay claim to natural resources like gold,

silver, copper, and oil. But in 1865, the United States passed an act

to acquire by “peaceable possession” any uninhabited, unclaimed

island, mainly in the South Pacific, for the sole purpose of taking

their crap. The Guano Act of 1865 authorized the United States to

occupy these islands to mine guano (bird droppings), which is rich in

nitrogen and phosphorus and highly valued as a fertilizer. The United

States claimed nearly 100 islands under the act and still owns 6 or so

today. As to the amount of crap the government still has—that’s for

you to decide!!

Kazakhstan's Astounding Futuristic Pyramid

Kazakhstan's Astounding Futuristic Pyramid

Since 2006, kazakhstan's new capital city of astana, itself an enormous hub of construction since it inherited the title in 1997, has been home to one of the world's most impressive and visually futuristic pyramids, known as the palace of peace and reconciliation. It was designed by British super-architects foster + partners, cost 8.74 billion kazakh tenge (I don't need to tell you bright young humans that this equates to approx. £35m) and was built to accommodate the triennial 'congress of world and traditional religions'. If there was ever a positive to be found for the existence of the idiocy we know and love as religion, this building could be it, as after an impressively rapid 2 years of design and construction, the end product is a masterpiece.

 Above: the visible 5-storey pyramid section of the palace is as high as its base is wide (203ft) and is to be the centrepiece of the country's 'presidential park'.

 Above: a plan of the pyramid. The interior is just as impressive as the outer skin. This place is like a tardis and below the above-ground pyramid itself sits, amongst other things, an enormous 1'500 seat opera house - see final photo below.

 Above: the pyramid's 2 storey tip is home to the congress chamber, a space which has been surrounded by 10'100 sq feet of stained glass designed by renowned British artist Brian Clarke.

 Above: inside the congress chamber, possibly one of the smartest meeting rooms on earth.

 Above: the dove-covered stained glass of the congress chamber.

 Above: the view as you look through the middle of the congress chamber's circular table. Walking down to the next level takes you through nearly a whole storey of greenery, below which is the amazing atrium seen in the next photo.

Above: the atrium, and another incredible conference table.
 Above: looking up from the atrium towards the upper section. This enormous space is surrounded by walls of rooms, 5 floors high, to be used both for meetings and accommodation.

Above: the opera house beneath the atrium. The domed ceiling sits below the enormous circular table belonging to the room above. For more detailed info about the pyramid I'd suggest reading this article by Ellis woodman.