Tell us something we don’t know.

[kenmbz]

Whale Sharks are the largest fish in the ocean.

We got to see these whale sharks and an Ocean Sunfish while off the coast of Belize.
This was one of the smaller whale sharks we saw. The Sunfish was too far below us to get a good picture.

 

[turnkey4099]

There has been a conspiracy theory that Patton didn’t die accidentally.

there are idiotic conspiracy theories for any subject you care to name.

 

[MossRoad]

George Washington owned over 122 slaves. Ben Franklin owned at least 2. Hamilton bought and transferred at least two slaves, to an owner under his wife's request. Thomas Jefferson, owned over time, 600 or more slaves. Ulysses S Grant owned a man called William Jones. Every one on our current currency, owned slaves. Andrew Jackson owned over 150 slaves. Abraham Lincoln owned slaves. One person we did include in our cuurency that was not a slave owner, was in fact a slave her self, bought by Toussaint Charbonneau, was Sakakawea. We have continued this, as if looking at that dollar bill wasn't an insult to many people. Correct me if wrong, but the only minted currency in circulation with a figure that didn't own slaves, or wasn't a slave, was Susan B. Anthony?

Abraham Lincoln owned slaves...

I think more information should be presented on that.

I'd post a link to several good sources for you, but they all point to sites that show alt-right idiots that promote this in not-full context, and quickly veer off into politics, so look it up if interested, but no politics here, please.



Abe's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, was the daughter of a salve owner. She never owned slaves herself. When her father died, she was a married woman, and married women in Kentucky at that time didn't get the inheritance, their husband did. So as soon as her father died, Abe became a slave owner by default. He never bought slaves. They were forced upon him by Kentucky law.

What happened to them afterwards is a guess, because most of the documents regarding the settlement of the estate with all of Mary's other relatives, have either been scattered to the winds or destroyed. He could have freed them. There's no record of that. He most likely sold them and other estate assets through the lawyers in Kentucky handling the estate. It's a logical assumption, but there are no records of that either. Or he could have gifted or traded them to other members of the Todd family for other assets in the estate, but again no records of that either.

Lincoln in general is a fascinating person to read about. His views on things over the span of his life, how he had to balance friends and foes, ideas with his conscience, etc. History is great. Keeping it in context is important. Finding things out that were previously not known is not rewriting history. It's telling the truth.

Anyhow, spend a rainy afternoon reading on this subject some time. It's fascinating.

 

[lman]

Abraham Lincoln owned slaves...

I think more information should be presented on that.

I'd post a link to several good sources for you, but they all point to sites that show alt-right idiots that promote this in not-full context, and quickly veer off into politics, so look it up if interested, but no politics here, please.



Abe's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, was the daughter of a salve owner. She never owned slaves herself. When her father died, she was a married woman, and married women in Kentucky at that time didn't get the inheritance, their husband did. So as soon as her father died, Abe became a slave owner by default. He never bought slaves. They were forced upon him by Kentucky law.

What happened to them afterwards is a guess, because most of the documents regarding the settlement of the estate with all of Mary's other relatives, have either been scattered to the winds or destroyed. He could have freed them. There's no record of that. He most likely sold them and other estate assets through the lawyers in Kentucky handling the estate. It's a logical assumption, but there are no records of that either. Or he could have gifted or traded them to other members of the Todd family for other assets in the estate, but again no records of that either.

Lincoln in general is a fascinating person to read about. His views on things over the span of his life, how he had to balance friends and foes, ideas with his conscience, etc. History is great. Keeping it in context is important. Finding things out that were previously not known is not rewriting history. It's telling the truth.

Anyhow, spend a rainy afternoon reading on this subject some time. It's fascinating.

As an undisclosed female once stated. "What difference, at this point, does it make?"

 

[two_bit_score]

I'd post a link to several good sources for you, but they all point to sites that show alt-right idiots that promote this in not-full context, and quickly veer off into politics, so look it up if interested, but no politics here, please.

Moss you really should practice what you preach.

 

[bigtiller]

Abraham Lincoln owned slaves...

I think more information should be presented on that.

I'd post a link to several good sources for you, but they all point to sites that show alt-right idiots that promote this in not-full context, and quickly veer off into politics, so look it up if interested, but no politics here, please.



Abe's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, was the daughter of a salve owner. She never owned slaves herself. When her father died, she was a married woman, and married women in Kentucky at that time didn't get the inheritance, their husband did. So as soon as her father died, Abe became a slave owner by default. He never bought slaves. They were forced upon him by Kentucky law.

What happened to them afterwards is a guess, because most of the documents regarding the settlement of the estate with all of Mary's other relatives, have either been scattered to the winds or destroyed. He could have freed them. There's no record of that. He most likely sold them and other estate assets through the lawyers in Kentucky handling the estate. It's a logical assumption, but there are no records of that either. Or he could have gifted or traded them to other members of the Todd family for other assets in the estate, but again no records of that either.

Lincoln in general is a fascinating person to read about. His views on things over the span of his life, how he had to balance friends and foes, ideas with his conscience, etc. History is great. Keeping it in context is important. Finding things out that were previously not known is not rewriting history. It's telling the truth.

Anyhow, spend a rainy afternoon reading on this subject some time. It's fascinating.

This is proof that history can be fun and informative without going all bananas. Good post Moss.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Wife & I grew up in Virginia, always lived here. Neither she nor I going back generations both sides ancestors did not own slaves. The misconception was all slaves were mistreated. Many had a much better standard of living than where they came from and they were sold to traders by their own people. This is apolitical, simply fact.
Talk of reparations is insane since it would require extensive ancestry and DNA analysis. Slave ownership was of course pot luck, some owners were extremely kind and generous, other extreme was of course abusive owners and everything in between.
Years ago there were quite a few slave decendants in this area with red hair kin to Thomas Jefferson.
Where I grew up my grandfather bought his farm in 1939 from a fellow who had 2500 acres handed down from a land grant from King George II. The family had slaves and I have the large bell here from that farm they used to call in the slaves.
After the Civil War that land owner's father allowed slave decendants named Freeman (free men) to build homes a couple miles from his home yet they had no deed. As a kid in the late 50s my grandfather convinced the landowner to give each Freeman 1/2 acre so they had legal property ownership.
I remember as a child a slave cabin foundation was still there between our house and grandparents. Metal detecting I've found lots of things buried there.

 

[MossRoad]

As an undisclosed female once stated. "What difference, at this point, does it make?"

What makes the difference is once you know something is true, you shouldn't keep telling the false version. Just that simple.

 

[MossRoad]

This is proof that history can be fun and informative without going all bananas. Good post Moss.

Thanks. I try and learn stuff every day. And while doing that, I almost always find links to other interesting things, and off I go. Spend a lot of time reading and verifying.

I think the first recollection I have of something being told to me as fact and then finding out it was not, was the U.S. maps we were shown in grade school in the 60s and 70s. All of them showed the U.S. larger than it really was, and showed other countries and continents smaller than they really were. South America and Africa were horribly distorted to make them look smaller. The first time I saw an accurate map of the world that showed Africa in true scale I thought it was wrong.

Just crazy stuff like that makes you wonder.

For anyone interested in how big the United States would be superimposed over the continent of Africa, here you go.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

What I was taught as fact was Columbus discovered America in 1492. I raised my hand asking but weren't the Indians already here? Teacher said they weren't civilized and weren't human (!?) then sent me to principals office.
Same exact thing happened to my wife except they called her parents. Her Dad shows up, 6'6" Cherokee! He informed teacher his people were here thousands of years before Columbus.