Weekend Open Thread

Magic 8-Ball says…

… the first coast-to-coast airplane flight in the U.S. was made in 1911? Piloted by Calbraith Perry Rodgers (1879-1912), the flight began on the East Coast on September 17, 1911, and ended 49 days later on the West Coast on November 5, 1911. Amazingly, the total time in the air was only three days, 10 hours, 14 minutes. In between the 70 individual “hops” of the flight, the Wright biplane Rodgers was flying had to be repaired so often that by the time the trip ended, the only parts of the plane that were original were the drip pan and the vertical rudder. (And the pilot, of course.)

… the city of Atlanta, Georgia has 71 streets with the word “Peachtree” in their name? Guess what you will not find in Atlanta – an actual peach tree. None exist within the city limits. (Ever try growing a tree in a city? It ain’t easy.)

… at one time, dog collars did more than help identify dogs? During the early 1950s, a fad started among teenage girls with dog collars being worn on their ankles. If the teen was “spoken for,” or had a boyfriend, the dog collar would be worn around the right ankle. If the girl was single, it would be around the left ankle. (When they got married, they’d attach the collar to the man’s neck, and stick a heavy iron ball on a chain to it as well.)

… the hyperinflation in Germany following World War I was incredible? I’ll give you one example. In 1923, when the financial situation in the country was at its worst, the inflation rate was 3.25 million percent per month. Translated into figures I can handle, that means prices in the country doubled every 49 hours. (I try so hard not to do political humor here, but sometimes the urge is overwhelming.)

… the political figure who survived the most assassination attempts died of old age? Fidel Castro (1926-2016), who led the revolution that took over Cuba in 1959, survived more than six hundred attempted assassinations during his lifetime. After all those tries, Castro died at the age of 90 – of natural causes. (Yeah, that figures.)

… a popular jazz concerto was written because of forgetfulness? In 1924, composer George Gershwin (1898-1937) performed the concerto “Rhapsody in Blue” for the first time. Gershwin had written the concerto in a fast five weeks, after he read a newspaper article saying he was scheduled to debut a new concerto at a concert in New York by bandleader Paul Whiteman (1890-1967). The problem was, Gershwin had totally forgotten about Whiteman’s concert until he read the article, so he scrambled to get something composed, and ended up with the beautiful “Rhapsody in Blue.” (Love that piece of music. I’m glad Gershwin forgot.)

Now … you know!