A Brief History On June 2, 1886, President of the United States, Grover Cleveland, aged 49, married 21 year old Frances Folsom in the White House, a wedding that today may well draw negative comments, but received no particular censure at the time. Cleveland is not alone as a world leader that married someone much older or younger than himself, and today we discuss 5 such pairings of chronologically distant people, one of which in each relationship was an important leader. Digging Deeper 1. US President Grover Cleveland (49), Frances Folsom (21). Cleveland was the second US president to married…
Browsing: June 2
A Brief History On June 2, 2018, the new R-rated comedy from Johnny Knoxville (of Jackass fame), Action Point, is in its second day at the movies. An 84 minute romp through coarse sexual and physical comedy, the film is what you would expect from Knoxville. Funny, almost slapstick, and filled with “Oh no you didn’t!” moments. Digging Deeper Based on the familiar story line of the low budget, struggling amusement park (interchangeable with zoo, water park, ski lodge or other struggling small business) fighting against greedy corporate types looking to take over, the movie is told through the flashback…
A Brief History On June 2, 1835, American showman and huckster Phineas T. Barnum began his first tour of the US with his circus, later called “The Greatest Show on Earth,” and then “Barnum and Bailey’s Circus,” “Barnum and Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth,” and finally “Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus.” Digging Deeper The legacy of perhaps America’s greatest showman of all time finally went out of business on May 21, 2017, when the last performance of Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus ended at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Barnum ran a variety of businesses…
A Brief History On June 2, 1692, the trial of Bridget Bishop began, starting a reign of terror in Salem, Massachusetts known as The Salem Witch Trials. The hysterical idiots responsible (unless you believe in witches) executed (by hanging) 20 people from 1692 to 1693 before the madness ended. Scores of others had been accused, many of whom confessed to avoid execution, and scores were imprisoned. At least 5 of those imprisoned died while in jail. Cracked fact: No “witch” was burned at the stake in these trials. Execution was by hanging. Digging Deeper Despite the common name of this…
A Brief History On June 2, 1983, Air Canada flight 797 had an accidental fire. So far, not freaky. When the airliner made an emergency landing, 90 seconds after the doors opened the inrush of air caused a “flashover” fire, killing 23 people, a freak accident. Every so often something seemingly normal goes horribly wrong. Here we list 10 of those occasions out of the millions that have occurred, each of which resulted in someone’s death. Digging Deeper 10. Air Canada Flight 797, 1983. As you read above, a fire bad enough to cause the airliner to make an emergency…
