Grab Bag
Wednesday, February 15th, 2006Quote of the Week:
"Am I hot? Am I hot?"
- spoken by a decidedly un-hot woman this weekend. She was serious, too.
What's Up With That?
On February 15, 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine was parked in the harbor of Havana, Cuba. Cuba, as you may well know, is the place that spawned Ricky Ricardo and famous cigars. At about 10pm on that February evening, a mysterious explosion tore the Maine a new ass, and sent her straight to the bottom of the harbor. This incident had a profound effect on history, because when President William "Bill" McKinley heard the news, he cut himself shaving, got pissed, and promptly declared war on Spain. Later, Bill became the first president to use the telephone, the first president to ride in an automobile, and the first president to be shot to death in the 20th century. But that's not the weird part.
Here's the weird part. In 1910, the U.S. Congress decided to raise the Maine. It took them two years, but they managed to raise that sucker, and make it float again. The operation cost nearly a million dollars, which, adjusted for inflation from 1912 to 2006, was a serious shitload of money. After raising it, they towed it out of Havana harbor to a point three miles off the Cuban coast, and sank it again. On purpose.
Aside from the Obvious...
I was so not aware that "uttering and publishing" were punishable crimes.
"Am I hot? Am I hot?"
- spoken by a decidedly un-hot woman this weekend. She was serious, too.
What's Up With That?
On February 15, 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine was parked in the harbor of Havana, Cuba. Cuba, as you may well know, is the place that spawned Ricky Ricardo and famous cigars. At about 10pm on that February evening, a mysterious explosion tore the Maine a new ass, and sent her straight to the bottom of the harbor. This incident had a profound effect on history, because when President William "Bill" McKinley heard the news, he cut himself shaving, got pissed, and promptly declared war on Spain. Later, Bill became the first president to use the telephone, the first president to ride in an automobile, and the first president to be shot to death in the 20th century. But that's not the weird part.
Here's the weird part. In 1910, the U.S. Congress decided to raise the Maine. It took them two years, but they managed to raise that sucker, and make it float again. The operation cost nearly a million dollars, which, adjusted for inflation from 1912 to 2006, was a serious shitload of money. After raising it, they towed it out of Havana harbor to a point three miles off the Cuban coast, and sank it again. On purpose.
Aside from the Obvious...
I was so not aware that "uttering and publishing" were punishable crimes.
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