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Neverending History Exam part 4

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Sorry this is late. Work has gotten even more busy. I should have some extra time over the next week to write some proper posts. Until then I’ve got a couple more random questions and the answers to last week’s.

Question #13: In which country would you find the Jewish Autonomous Oblast?
A: Russia
B: Israel
C: Poland
D: Germany

Question #14: In what year did the Soviet Union test their Tsar Bomba hydrogen bomb?
A: 1949
B: 1955
C: 1961
D: 1965

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S QUESTIONS
#9: C - Edward V. Rickenbacker was the official top Ace of America from the Great War.
#10: B - The Boston Massacre was on 5 March 1770.
#11: A - India did not contribute troops to the Coalition during the Gulf War.
#12: D - During Operation Torch the Americans and British were battling the French.

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Neverending History Exam part 3

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Welcome back. This week I’ve got four more questions as part of the Neverending History Exam.

Question #9: Who was the highest scoring American ace during World War I?
A: Raoul G. Lufbery
B: Frank Luke, Jr.
C: Edward V. Rickenbacker
D: Chuck Yeager

Question #10: When was the Boston Massacre?
A: 3 July 1776
B: 5 March 1770
C: 19 April 1775
D: 19 October 1781

Question #11: Which country did not contribute troops to the Coalition during the Gulf War to liberate Kuwait?
A: India
B: Senegal
C: Bangladesh
D: Syria

Question #12: Operation Torch was an American & British invasion of North Africa in 1942. What forced battled the Allies during this invasion?
A: German
B: Italian
C: Moroccan nationalists
D: French

ANSWERS FOR LAST WEEK’S QUESTIONS:
#6: B - Gerald Ford had a chance at a NFL career when the Lions offered him a contract.
#7: A - Citizen Genêt was a French ambassador to the United States.
#8: C - The Teller Amendment

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Across the Blogosphere: The Bones of Santa Claus

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Saint Nicholas was a bishop in the city that is now Demre, Turkey back in the third century.  He would give gifts to the poor supposedly once even climbing down a chimney to leave a gift.

Centuries passed and when Muslims invaded the area the bones of Saint Nicholas were taken to Bari, Italy where they remain to this day.

There is an interesting post over at The History Blog about this topic and the Turkish government wanting the bones returned to their original resting place.  Please go check it out.

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Neverending History Exam part 2

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Welcome back. It’s been a busy week for me at work so I’ve only got a few new questions for this week. Here they are:

Question #6: Before becoming President of the Untied States, which of these men was offered a contract with the Detroit Lions?
A: Ronald Reagan
B: Gerald Ford
C: John F. Kennedy
D: Harry S. Truman

Question #7: Who was Citizen Genêt?
A: A French ambassador to the US who abused his position and violated American neutrality
B: Leader of the French Resistance in Lyons during World War 2
C: The man who took control of France after Napoleon Bonaparte
D: The protagonist in a movie from the 1930s

Question #8: Which of the following was part of the resolution of the Spanish-American War and included a clause that would not allow the US to annex Cuba?
A: Platt Amendment
B: Hay-Herran Treaty
C: Teller Amendment
D: De Lôme Letter

ANSWERS FROM LAST WEEKS QUESTIONS:
#1: B - The CSS Florida was the Confederate ship captured at Bahia, Brazil.
#2: D - The Battle of Maiwand was fought during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The Afghans defeated the British in that battle.
#3: A - The Chicago Bears won the 1943 NFL Championship Game.
#4: D - Checkers was Nixon’s dog while he was Vice-President.
#5: D - Albany is the capital of New York.

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Review: Hostile Skies

Monday, December 28, 2009

James J. Hudson’s Hostile Skies: A Combat History of the American Air Service in World War I is an outstanding book. It covers all aspects of American aeronautics during the war from the nearly non-existent air force when war was declared through all the training, bumps, and chaos as the Americans established themselves.

The book is more than just a series of descriptions of various American aces; it goes into the history of how the service was built from the ground up. Not only are combat aircraft covered but there are sections on the Balloon Corps that contributed to the war effort.

Each chapter is well documented with extensive notes to point the reader in the right direction for further research. I don’t think mine is ever going back on the shelf, I’m going to have to keep it at my desk for easy reference.

In the back there are a number of tables. One shows, by squadron, the number of squadron victories and victories by individual pilots. The second shows the records of the American Air Service Aces during the war, from Eddie Rickenbacker with 22 planes and 4 balloons destroyed to Jerry C. Vasconcelles & Rodney D. Williams who each had 4 planes and 1 balloon. The last table is of the officers who served as chiefs of the Air Service of the various army corps in the AEF.

The writing itself is good. It doesn’t read like a boring old high school history text. Mr. Hudson had experience during World War II as a pilot. He flew 191 missions in P-39, P-38, and P-47 aircraft and that experience shows in his writing.

With the wide range of data on the topic, the enjoyable writing style, and extensive footnotes, this book is a must-have for anyone interested in aviation during the Great War. It’s also priced reasonably.




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Neverending History Exam part 1

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Welcome to the first part of the Neverending History Exam! Every week, usually on Wednesdays, I’ll post a few random questions on history, some easy, some difficult, some strange. Since the exam will never end there will be no grades.

Question #1: While the American Civil War mostly took place in North America, there were some operations that took outside of the continent. One of these was the USS Wachusett capturing a Confederate ship in Bahia, Brazil. What was the name of the Confederate ship that was captured?
A: CSS Shenandoah
B: CSS Florida
C: CSS Huntress
D: CSS Louisiana

Question #2: Who won the Battle of Maiwand in 1880?
A: Russian Empire
B: The Zulu
C: British Empire
D: Afghanistan

Question #3: Which team won the 1943 NFL Championship game (Hint: It was not the Steagles)?
A: Chicago Bears
B: New York Giants
C: Washington Redskins
D: Detroit Lions

Question #4: What was the name of the dog Richard Nixon had while he was Vice-President of the United States?
A: Heidi
B: King Timahoe
C: Pasha
D: Checkers

Question #5: Here’s an easy one. What is the capital of New York State?
A: Buffalo
B: New York City
C: Yonkers
D: Albany

Next week will be the next set of questions as well as the answers for this week’s questions.

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Hawaii Overprint Note

Thursday, December 17, 2009

During World War II, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, America became worried about a possible invasion of the Hawaiian Islands. If the Japanese managed to conquer the islands they would have access to a large amount of cash in the banks and owned by the businesses and citizens of the territory.


$20 Hawaii Overprint Note

$20 Hawaii Overprint Note


On this chance the American government created the Hawaiian Overprint Notes. Regular money was withdrawn from circulation on Hawaii and these overprint notes were used. If Hawaii were to fall to the Japanese the money could instantly be made worthless.

In April 1946 these notes were recalled and many were destroyed.

Works Cited
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAWAII_Overprint_Note (accessed 17 December 2009)

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RIP Robert G. Heft

Sunday, December 13, 2009

On 12 December 2009 Robert G. Heft, the creator of the current 50-star flag for the United States, died.  He was a high school student when he designed it as part of a school project.  He received a B- for his efforts, but when President Eisenhower chose his design to become the new flag for America Heft’s grade bumped up to an A.

More information on Heft and his efforts to create the flag can be found over at the World History Blog post Who Created the First US Flag of 50 Stars?

Other Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Heft (accessed 13 December 2009)

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Review: Vietnam Zippos

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

I haven’t read too much recently on Vietnam. The last book I had read on the subject was years ago when I took a class at college. However I recently got a copy of Vietnam Zippos by Sherry Buchanan. It is a really nice book.

This book is filled with photographs of a large number of Zippo lighters that belonged to American soldiers fighting in Vietnam. The various inscriptions and engravings are fascinating and give a view into the thoughts of the owners. Customizing their lighter was a way for many of them to express themselves. With each set of photos is a list of any information known on the previous owner such as where they were stationed and when. There are even notes explaining any slang or acronyms used on the engravings or the meanings of any symbols or pictures.

The book is 180 pages long and about 9 ½ by 8 ½ inches in size. It’s full color (except for a few B&W photos) and overall is a beautiful book. There are a few places where I don’t like the typesetting, but it does not take away from the book as a whole. Additionally it is reasonably priced with a cover price of $25 and I was able to get mine for about a third off. The binding seems pretty good (I have an extreme dislike of books with shoddy bindings) and was printed in Italy.

If you have an interest in the Vietnam War this would be a great book to add to your library. As I stated earlier I never really spent much time in the past really studying it but I still found myself compelled to purchase this book and don’t regret it.

FYI: There are a number of naughty words and pictures on many of these lighters.




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Steagles vs. Packers; Regular Season Game 10

Sunday, November 29, 2009

It was to be the Steagles’ last game of the regular season; it was against the Green Bay Packers. 5 December 1943. “The lines had started forming outside the ticket windows at nine o’clock that morning, two-and-a-half hours before they opened and five hours before kickoff. It was the first NFL game ever played in Philadelphia for which the demand for tickets exceeded the supply.” (Algeo p.199)

First Quarter
The Steagles fumbled the ball early in the game. Green Bay recovered the ball and then Tony Canadeo scored for the Packers. John Hinkle made up for his fumble by scoring a touchdown of his own tying the game.

Green Bay pulled ahead again on another Canadeo touchdown. The Steagles, not wanting to lose their last game in front of a huge hometown crowd pushed back. Zimmerman made a long pass to Tony Bova that was nearly intercepted. Bova gained possession of the ball and tied the score again.

Second Quarter
While the first quarter was very active with a total of four touchdowns, the second quarter only saw Don Hutson of Green Bay kicking a 25 yard field goal. At half-time the score was 17-14 in favor of the Packers.

Third Quarter
“…Joe Laws intercepted a Zimmerman pass to set up a four-yard scamper by Irv Comp: Green bay 24, Phil-Pitt 14. On the last play of the third quarter, Zimmerman was intercepted again, leading to a 12-yard touchdown pass from Comp to Hutson: Green Bay 31, Phil-Pitt 14. (Algeo p.201)

Fourth Quarter
Zimmerman, who was exhausted at this point, was pulled from the game and Allie Sherman was put in as quarterback. After a long drive Sherman passed to Tony Bova who scored.

After that touchdown Zimmerman returned to the game and led another drive with Ernie Steele scoring at the end. The score was now 31-28 in favor of Green Bay.

The Steagles defended well against the Packer’s next drive and Green Bay was forced to punt. However when Jack Hinkle got the ball he was quickly tackled by five Green Bay players and he fumbled. Green Bay recovered the ball and then scored one last touchdown.

The final score was 38 to 28 in favor of Green Bay. Not only had they lost the game, but they ended up coming in third place in their division with the Redskins and Giants ahead of them. However, it was the first winning season in the history of the Steelers and only the second for the Eagles.

“Their defense ended the season ranked second to the Bears in fewest total yards allowed per game (230.1) and first against the rush, ceding opponents just 79.3 yards per game on the ground. On offense they led the league in rushing yards per game (173), ending the Bears’ four-season hold on that title.” (Algeo p.202)

Works Cited
1) Matthew Algeo, Last Team Standing: How the Steelers and the Eagles “The Steagles” Saved Pro Football During World War II (copyright 2006 by Matthew Algeo, Da Capo Press) ISBN#: 0-306-81472-3
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steagles (accessed 29 November 2009)

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