4 for the Fourth! {Happy Fourth of July}

Here are some Fourth of July facts to think about as you are enjoying a barbecue with a slice of pie:

• John Adams thought that July 2nd would be the day we would celebrate our nation's birth. July 2nd happened to be the day that the Continental Congress ruled in favor of independence. The Continental Congress accepted Jefferson's Declaration of Independence on July 4.
• Americans have been celebrating the Fourth for quite some time. In fact, Philadelphia held a large celebration on the day in 1777 including a canon salute, fireworks, bonfires and a parade.
• The Continental Congress actually charged a committee including Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston and John Adams with the task of drafting the declaration. Jefferson was considered the most eloquent writer in the group and crafted the original document.
• John Phillip Sousa, famous for composing some of the marches we hear on the Fourth, also composed 10 operas and wrote 3 novels and an autobiography

Thanks to the Huffington Post and PBS with putting together so many fun facts!

Happy Fourth of July!

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5 for St. Patrick's Day: A Little Trivia, No Blarney

Today is one of our favorite days of the whole year: St. Patrick's Day!
I am sure that a lot of you are ready to celebrate and some of you have even been celebrating over the past weekend. Here is a little trivia to get you started today:

• The status of the four-leaf clover, the brilliant green symbol of St. Patrick's Day, as a sign of good luck goes way back. Like wwwaaaayyyy back. In fact, the four-leaf clover was originally a symbol of good luck for the ancient Celtic druids.
• Why green? Green became synonymous with St. Patrick's Day after green clovers were worn to ward off the devil during the Irish Rebellion.
• St. Patrick would combine Celtic rituals with his teachings of Christianity. For example, he incorporated the Celtic use of bonfires to honor gods into Easter celebrations.
• There already was a small number of Christians in Ireland when St. Patrick arrived.
• The first St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin was not held until 1931.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sources of fun: St. Patrick's Day Trivia in Real Simple
St. Paddy's Day Trivia from New Jersey 101.5
Who was St. Patrick on History.com

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Five for President's Day {Trivia}

I am total President geek. I love learning pretty much anything about our history. Every year, I look forward to learning some new tidbits on President's Day. Here some interesting facts about our Commanders-in-Chief:

• Benjamin Harrison was the first President to attend a baseball game. He attended a Cincinnati Reds and Washington Senators game on June 6, 1892. The Reds beat the Senators, 7-4.
• When John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were in England, they visited William Shakespeare's home and chipped off a piece of Shakespeare's chair to bring back as a souvenir.
• While he was president, John Quincy Adams enjoyed skinny dipping in the Potomac River early in the morning. 
• James Garfield was ambidextrous. He also could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other---both at the same time.
• Jimmy Carter is the first president to go on record about seeing a UFO.

Check our previous post for some more interesting Presidential facts

Sources: National Geographic
               Mashable
               Buzzfeed

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Columbus Day History {for a little fun}

Today is Columbus Day, so some of you have found yourself home with the kiddos. My daughter has really been enjoying learning about the explorers and actually began her long weekend by watching a little video about none other than Christopher Columbus.

I am total history junkie and I love reading about holidays because you always learn something new! Here is a little trivia for today:

• Columbus presented his plan to sail West to reach China to both Portugal and England before Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain gave him their support.
• By 1492, most educated Europeans knew that the Earth was round. The ancient Greeks had already proved this.
• When Columbus discovered Hispaniola, he actually thought that the island could be Japan.
• By his third voyage, Columbus realized that he had not reached China.
• Columbus sent Queen Isabella 500 Native American slaves as a gift. She was abhorred and believed that as Spanish subjects, they could not be enslaved.
• Columbus' rule over the new colony was often brutal and he was brought back to Spain in chains. Yet, Ferdinand would still finance the explorer's final voyage.
• On his last voyage to the New World, Columbus made it all the way to Panama.
• Columbus' remains were moved several times until he reached his final resting place in Seville, Spain.
• President Franklin D. Roosevelt made Columbus Day an official national holiday in 1937.
• Columbus Day is not a public holiday in Alaska, California, Nevada and Hawaii. 
• In Hawaii, the day is known as Landing Day or Discoverer's Day in honor of the state's Polynesian discoverers. South Dakota observes Native American Day while Berkley, California observes Indigenous People's Day.

Sources: History.com, Wikipedia, CBS News
The Northwest Florida Daily News

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