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Showing posts from 2016

20 Freaky Historical Facts: So very Halloweenish!

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1.) Some chapels buried thousands of bodies in their floorboards. Instead of a separate cemetery, bodies used to be buried in churchyards, which in the olden days was profitable for churches. Since there was a finite amount of space in the yard, some churches buried corpses under their floors - one London chapel had 12,000 bodies in it. 2.) The Spanish Donkey was one of the worst tortures ever. During the Spanish Inquisition, this device would be used for torture and eventual death. The person would be placed on a triangular log and weights attached to their feet. They would be pulled downward by the weights as the sharp edge of the log slowly sliced them in half. 3.) 17th century rich people ate human flesh. They thought that consuming flesh, drinking human blood, and even rubbing human fat on the outside of the skin could cure any number of diseases. 4.) Human skulls were used by ancient civilizations as cups. Many ancient cultures hollowed out the skulls of their sla

Breakdown of the Generations with the last 100 years

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Generations table The following table summarizes what you need to know about Western generations so you can track your own in time. Generation Births from Births until Coming of age The G.I. Generation – Greatest Generation 1900 1924 1918 - 1929 The Silent Generation – Lucky Few 1925 1945 1943 - 1962 The Baby Boom Generation – Baby Boomers 1946 1965 1963 - 1972 Generation X – Latchkey Kids 1966 1979 1988 - 1994 Generation Y – Millennials 1980 1994 2098 - 2006 Generation Z – Gen Next 1995 2016 2007 - 2020 Most of these primary generations still have a role in today’s market place, but the recent research has shown that Millennials have overtaken Baby Boomers as largest generation in the US. What generation am I? The  generation calculator  tool provides you with descriptions for all the established generations starting with 1900 and right until present: G.I. Generation (1900-1924) 442nd Nisei Regiment ■  Also known as the Greatest Generation, include

10 Jobs That No Longer Exist

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10. TELEPHONE OPERATOR Before the advent of computerized telephone dialing systems, making a phone call required a switchboard operator. Some of you may have even held this job at one point, so we won’t go into too much detail, but the switchboard operator would connect calls by inserting a phone plugs into corresponding, appropriate jacks. From Seattle Municipal Archives via Wiki Commons 9. GANDY DANCER Don’t let the name fool you; being a Gandy Dancer is a tough job! Gandy dancer is a slang term used for early railroad workers. Before machines became capable of laying and maintaining railroad tracks, that work was done by hand. The term’s origins are unknown, but many think it comes from a “Gandy Shovel Company.” From Edward Hungerford via Wiki Commons 8. PINSETTERS Here’s one that we were surprised to learn about. Before Gottfried Schmidt invented the mechanical pinsetter in 1936, bowling alleys employed pinsetters. Yep, a pinsetter would set the bowlin

Newton Knight: Free State of Jones

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Newton Knight Newton Knight  (November 1837 – February 16, 1922) was an American farmer, soldier and  southern Unionist , best known as the leader of the Knight Company, a band of Confederate army deserters that turned against the Confederacy during the  Civil War . Local legends state that Knight and his men attempted to form the "Free State of Jones" in the area around  Jones County, Mississippi , at the height of the war, though the exact nature of the Knight Company's opposition to the Confederate government is disputed. After the war, Knight aided Mississippi's  Reconstruction  government. Knight has long been a controversial figure. Historians and descendants disagree over his motives and actions, with some arguing he was a noble and pious individual who refused to fight for a cause in which he did not believe, while others have portrayed him as a manipulative outlaw. This controversy was fueled in part by Knight's postwar marriage to a freed slave,

15 Badass Historical Women To Name Your Daughters After

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1.  Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz en.wikipedia.org Listen carefully to your pregnant belly: Can you hear the romantic sighs of a celebrated poet? Then name your daughter  Juana  or  Inés  for the 17th-century poet Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, who lived in Mexico City and wrote  many kinds of poetry , including somewhat raunchy love poems. As a child, Juana taught herself a wide range of subjects using her grandfather’s library, and continued her rigorous programme of self-education into adulthood. She eventually joined a convent in order to be left alone with her studies and her ~scandalous~ poetry. She came to be “ one of the world’s most daring erotic writers ” of her time and  ruffled a few feathers  in the Catholic church for that reason. Just think of the feathers your baby Juana Inés will ruffle. 2.  The Mirabal sisters tumblr.com Does your baby possess uncommon courage? Does your baby fill your uterus with equal parts bravery and righteousness? Then n