Obscure American history trivia

Pierce is our second-best president from New Hampshire, behind Jed Bartlet.

 

Yeah, I can see where losing a son might put a damper on one’s desire to host parties for awhile.

 

Alas, it’s not true. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/07/the-truman-show.html

 

According to McCullough's biography of Adams, when the two were on a diplomatic mission to Paris Jefferson outraged Adams' Puritan sensibilities because he was such a spendthrift.

 

What simple invention by the child of escaped slaves became a mainstay of transportation and arguably generated the idiom "the real McCoy?"

 

Calvin Coolidge's son died during his first term at age 17. Coolidge never seemed to recover and historians have speculated that one reason he had such a passive role about the activities of government is he checked out. I have read that during the floods of 1927 it was difficult to get him to engage.

In other historical trivia I read a review of all presidential biographies. Grant's was rated the best, which is not surprising. It has sold millions of copies, is probably still in print and I can attest is very good. But the reviewer said that Coolidge's is second best.

 

Good read, thanks.

 

+1

 

The detail in Grant's autobiography is ... well ... mind-blowing. A few years ago, I researched and wrote a story about a week Grant spent in my area. IIRC, Grant wrote about 10-15 pages about the experience and this was well before he became famous. As some here are aware, Grant wrote that book while he was dying, in an attempt to provide money for his wife. Mark Twain basically served as Grant's literary agent.

 

Looks like we've reached an expiration date. What are the answers?

 

Educated in Scotland as a mechanical engineer, Elijah McCoy was working as a railroad fireman when he invented the automatic oiler that delivered gravity-fed lubrication to moving parts on locomotives. You can still see an adaptation of McCoy's invention on those little spring-loaded oil cups on many power-driven machines.

McCoy is also credited with inventing the first lawn sprinkler. There are many theories behind the history of "the real McCoy," but I believe Elijah's was the earliest. Elijah McCoy Timeline.

 

Started going down a rabbit hole on a historical artifact auction. There are some really cool things in there. This ... might not be one of them. But for about $10,000 it can be yours.

https://historical.ha.com/itm/polit...082.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515