It was spring break for me last week, so when I got back up here for school on Sunday evening, I realized that there was nothing to eat in my apartment. Ok, there were things to eat, however since most of the stuff left in the fridge were food items that wouldn’t go bad, there wasn’t a lot of food I could piece together to make a meal with. So my roommate and I went to the supermarket to stock our fridge with food, which always makes me happy.
Now, one item we had used up before the break was pancake mix. Now, for as long as I can remember my family has been a Bisquick house, so naturally I went looking for the Bisquick when we finally found the pancake mix. However, we soon realized there was no dry pancake mix.
So instead, I wanted to try Aunt Jemima’s Pancake Mix. And that is what we bought. I’m assuming most people are familiar with Aunt Jemima’s Pancake Mix, it has been around since 1888, a long time.
But what most don’t know is the reason I wanted Aunt Jemima’s Pancake Mix was because I read an article on it in one of my history classes. Yes, I am enough of a nerd to seek out specific brands because of their historical appeal.
This article explained the entire history of Aunt Jemima’s Pancake Mix, over the last 100 years it has been around. It first explained how the mix got its name. The original founders, Chris L. Rutt and Charles G. Underwood created a mix, and needed a brand name to go along with it. After seeing a show Rutt stumbled on the name Aunt Jemima after seeing a show featuring a character with the same name.
The Aunt Jemima character was a staple for comedy shows in the South after the Civil War. She was a character in the same way Uncle Tom was, usually being the butt of a joke. However, she was unparalleled in the kitchen, an amazing cook. She was similar to the mammy character, which is basically the well-treated content happy slave character Southerners created to help justify slavery. That’s right, when you buy Aunt Jemima’s Pancake Mix, you’re really buying into a long held stereotype.
Aunt Jemima went through a transformation, and an elaborate story was placed behind her character. Crafty marketers shaped her into a real woman, one who witnessed the Civil War, and whose pancakes were known throughout the South. After the war, the story went, she sold her recipe so people at home could enjoy the same wonderful pancakes she had made before. Though the sales pitch, and the colorful women found to portray Aunt Jemima, the pancakes began to sell quickly, and became a hit in the U.S. It was a simple illusion, the working class woman could have the luxurious pancakes featured in a Plantation in the South. And it worked.
Most of my information I received from an article I had to read for a class, “Aunt Jemima Explained: The Old South, the Absent Mistress, and the Slave in a Box” by Maurice M. Manring. Therefore, it is only right to credit him for his research, and for the information I gained from it. As always, if you want to learn more about the subject, read the material. Also while searching I found that Manring also published a book titled: “Slave in a Box: the Strange Career of Aunt Jemima.”
I must admit: Aunt Jemima makes a good pancake. So go break open the box of pancake mix, and stir up a little history.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
What makes St. Patrick's Day Specail?
This Wednesday, March 17th is a special day. It is St. Patrick’s Day, an Irish holiday which traveled to the U.S. probably with the Irish immigrants at the end of the 19th Century.
There are two larger questions regarding this holiday. The first was who is St. Patrick? According to the historychannel.com, St. Patrick was originally British, and came to Ireland after the fall of the Roman Empire when the Irish began raiding Britain for slaves. He was enslaved in Ireland for 10 years before he finally escaped to the continent, where be became a priest. He returned to Ireland and successfully converted the entire country from a pagan society to a Catholic one. Thus, the story about St. Patrick banishing all the snakes from Ireland is half true. A snake in Christianity is someone who deals with the devil, someone who does not believe in the same religion, someone like, oh I don’t know… a pagan perhaps.
The other question to ask at this point is the one posed on my subject title for this week: what makes St. Patrick’s Day special? The answer is pretty obvious (at least for me, a college student)… it is a massive party. And what makes this party so much fun? Mass amounts of drinking of course.
Today, I’m going to do something a little different. In conjunction with the holiday, I am going to blog about a commodity, a good in today’s society. A certain beverage that has been in our society for ages. This beverage is one many know, and love… beer.
I think every person has his or her preferred beer, I like mine dark. But what I don’t think a lot of people know is the history of beer, which is a really long one. I found a really wonderful article giving some background information in early history about beer and how it was consumed around the world. I only have the space to summarize it, but it really is fascinating, so if you have the time, click the link to check it out.
Fermented beverages (yes that includes beer) have been consumed for centuries. Some have even been made out of rice as well as grains. These fermented drinks played an important role in the early religious life in China; they believed the Gods prescribed the use of alcohol in moderation. These drinks were used throughout society for hospitality. Fermented drinks made of grapes (i.e. wine) were not as well known in the east.
In South America “chicha” is the term that referred to native beer, which contained a slight amount of alcohol. Maize was usually used to create this beer, although other materials could be used, like potatoes (which originated in South America, not Ireland).
In fact, only the Aborigines people of Australia and the Eskimos lived without consuming alcohol in their diet!
It was in Mesopotamia where beer was born, because it was there where barley could be grown. In addition to the other grains which were grown in the area, the Mesopotamians were able to produce a wide variety of beers, although they were not strong by today’s standards. These beers were also drank with straws so the drinker did not consume the sediment left at the bottom of the glass (gross mental image). Beer was a popular drink in Ancient Egypt, enjoyed by all classes of society.
Wine has always been the preferred beverage of the wealthy, and it seems the only claim the drink had was its stronger alcohol content than beer. Wine was also consumed widely through the ancient Middle East. This eventually spread to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who preferred wine over beer. Beer was consumed in the Roman Empire, especially along the boarder areas. This makes sense: the tribes around the Roman Empire preferred beer, especially the Celts in Britain, France and Germany. It was at high Celt festivals where mead was preferred to beer. It is also believed it was the people of Celtic origin who kept the practice of brewing beer alive all through Europe.
Now, to the Middle Ages. Again, if anyone is interested, I found several references to a book titled: Beer in the Middle Ages and Renaissance by Richard Unger. So, want to do a little light reading about beer in the Middle Ages, check out the book.
I have learned in a previous class (Medieval England) that brewing was predominantly a woman’s job. During this time period, sanitation was not existent, so beer was the safer bet than the water supply was. For this reason, mead, or beer was the better choice, and almost every family produced their own supply of beer. This caused many Kings, including one King of England to create an Assize of Ale. This meant that if you did not follow a precise recipe to produce your beer, you would be taxed. The catch, this recipe created a very weak beer. People did not follow the Assize, and when they were caught they were taxed.
However ale is not the same as beer, since it consists of malt, water and yeast. At the start of the 15th Century beer came into existence when the recipe was important to England from Flanders. Hops was added to the mixture, making the beer bitter. Beer was readily available to every person, from the queen and her court, to the common person. It was even common at the work place, again because the water supply was still unsafe and unfit for consumption comparatively.
Americans were introduced to beer through our European roots, and it has taken off today. There is a long history of beer in America, but today beer serves a different purpose than during the Middle Ages. Water is safe to drink, and beer is not just of religious rituals anymore. However, it does serve as a good beverage to celebrate just about anything, a holiday, a good test grade, or making it through a hard day. Today, beer is just as important as it was in the past, and it has survived the test of time. So next time you grab a beer realize it has an interesting history, and thousands of years have gone into producing that beer you are about to enjoy.
Feel free to post on my blog, your favorite beers, or maybe what you use it to celebrate, or any other feedback you want me to know. I’m open to just about everything. I think I’ll celebrate this blog by grabbing myself a beer. Until next week, as always, happy history!
There are two larger questions regarding this holiday. The first was who is St. Patrick? According to the historychannel.com, St. Patrick was originally British, and came to Ireland after the fall of the Roman Empire when the Irish began raiding Britain for slaves. He was enslaved in Ireland for 10 years before he finally escaped to the continent, where be became a priest. He returned to Ireland and successfully converted the entire country from a pagan society to a Catholic one. Thus, the story about St. Patrick banishing all the snakes from Ireland is half true. A snake in Christianity is someone who deals with the devil, someone who does not believe in the same religion, someone like, oh I don’t know… a pagan perhaps.
The other question to ask at this point is the one posed on my subject title for this week: what makes St. Patrick’s Day special? The answer is pretty obvious (at least for me, a college student)… it is a massive party. And what makes this party so much fun? Mass amounts of drinking of course.
Today, I’m going to do something a little different. In conjunction with the holiday, I am going to blog about a commodity, a good in today’s society. A certain beverage that has been in our society for ages. This beverage is one many know, and love… beer.
I think every person has his or her preferred beer, I like mine dark. But what I don’t think a lot of people know is the history of beer, which is a really long one. I found a really wonderful article giving some background information in early history about beer and how it was consumed around the world. I only have the space to summarize it, but it really is fascinating, so if you have the time, click the link to check it out.
Fermented beverages (yes that includes beer) have been consumed for centuries. Some have even been made out of rice as well as grains. These fermented drinks played an important role in the early religious life in China; they believed the Gods prescribed the use of alcohol in moderation. These drinks were used throughout society for hospitality. Fermented drinks made of grapes (i.e. wine) were not as well known in the east.
In South America “chicha” is the term that referred to native beer, which contained a slight amount of alcohol. Maize was usually used to create this beer, although other materials could be used, like potatoes (which originated in South America, not Ireland).
In fact, only the Aborigines people of Australia and the Eskimos lived without consuming alcohol in their diet!
It was in Mesopotamia where beer was born, because it was there where barley could be grown. In addition to the other grains which were grown in the area, the Mesopotamians were able to produce a wide variety of beers, although they were not strong by today’s standards. These beers were also drank with straws so the drinker did not consume the sediment left at the bottom of the glass (gross mental image). Beer was a popular drink in Ancient Egypt, enjoyed by all classes of society.
Wine has always been the preferred beverage of the wealthy, and it seems the only claim the drink had was its stronger alcohol content than beer. Wine was also consumed widely through the ancient Middle East. This eventually spread to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who preferred wine over beer. Beer was consumed in the Roman Empire, especially along the boarder areas. This makes sense: the tribes around the Roman Empire preferred beer, especially the Celts in Britain, France and Germany. It was at high Celt festivals where mead was preferred to beer. It is also believed it was the people of Celtic origin who kept the practice of brewing beer alive all through Europe.
Now, to the Middle Ages. Again, if anyone is interested, I found several references to a book titled: Beer in the Middle Ages and Renaissance by Richard Unger. So, want to do a little light reading about beer in the Middle Ages, check out the book.
I have learned in a previous class (Medieval England) that brewing was predominantly a woman’s job. During this time period, sanitation was not existent, so beer was the safer bet than the water supply was. For this reason, mead, or beer was the better choice, and almost every family produced their own supply of beer. This caused many Kings, including one King of England to create an Assize of Ale. This meant that if you did not follow a precise recipe to produce your beer, you would be taxed. The catch, this recipe created a very weak beer. People did not follow the Assize, and when they were caught they were taxed.
However ale is not the same as beer, since it consists of malt, water and yeast. At the start of the 15th Century beer came into existence when the recipe was important to England from Flanders. Hops was added to the mixture, making the beer bitter. Beer was readily available to every person, from the queen and her court, to the common person. It was even common at the work place, again because the water supply was still unsafe and unfit for consumption comparatively.
Americans were introduced to beer through our European roots, and it has taken off today. There is a long history of beer in America, but today beer serves a different purpose than during the Middle Ages. Water is safe to drink, and beer is not just of religious rituals anymore. However, it does serve as a good beverage to celebrate just about anything, a holiday, a good test grade, or making it through a hard day. Today, beer is just as important as it was in the past, and it has survived the test of time. So next time you grab a beer realize it has an interesting history, and thousands of years have gone into producing that beer you are about to enjoy.
Feel free to post on my blog, your favorite beers, or maybe what you use it to celebrate, or any other feedback you want me to know. I’m open to just about everything. I think I’ll celebrate this blog by grabbing myself a beer. Until next week, as always, happy history!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Hockey
As I was searching for something to blog about this week, I realized that nothing happened this week. Ok, not true, things did happen; despite common knowledge something happens every day. But I could not find something really riveting that I wanted to blog about this week. March 8th marks the anniversary of the first Russian Revolution, but I already blogged about the event marking the February date corresponding to the Russian calendar.
So I find myself in a predicament; I really want to find a good topic to blog about this week since I didn’t really do anything too historical last week.
So, as I’ve been searching, for something, anything really interesting not only for me to learn about (Because surprisingly I actually learn quite a lot about random history by doing this blog) but also something interesting for my readers.
And the best I found under the circumstances were a lot of hockey events happening this week. So I’ll take the bate, and look a little closer at hockey this week and how it came to be a major sport not only in the U.S. but around the world.
Personally, hockey is not one of my favorite sports, and beyond watching the game between the U.S. and Canada at the Olympics, don’t really follow the sport. However, just like football which I blogged about earlier, Hockey has a long interesting history.
In my search through websites Hockey began to be played as far back as 4000 years ago, and it was known as the “ball and stick game.” That does make sense, you try to hit a ball with a stick, I do know that much about the sport (I really do know more than I’m letting on). Hockey was played in Egypt, Rome, Scotland and South America, although it was referenced differently in each location. The Irish dubbed the name “Hockie” and the term stuck. I see the similarity, hockie to hockey… pretty crafty.
In the 17th and 18th Centuries in England the game became fierce, with nearly 100 players on one team, and some games lasting as long as half a month. Eventually hockey was organized more and rules were introduced to the sport from Eton College in England, and in the year 1875 the Hockey Association was formed.
The sport really began to grow in North America, where it spread first to Canada then the United States. In 1875 the first game of ice hockey was played, and the origins of the sport are credited to J.G. Creighton. The first rink for ice hockey was used for curling, and initially there were as many 30 players on each team and the goals were two stones frozen on one side of the ice.
The game eventually traveled to America by 1893 and traveled to Europe by the 1900’s.
Speaking of the latest Olympic games, once the game was introduced to the Olympic games in 1924 that the sport grew in popularity. Back then only male teams were allowed to play.
The NHL was formed in 1917, with 30 teams, 24 that are in the U.S. and the others in Canada.
Once again, I do not frequently watch Hockey, I only watched a couple games in middle school because everyone loved hockey. Back then Colorado had a great team, and then there was the walk out, and the game got changed dramatically. Even so, today Ice Hockey is one of the most popular sports in the U.S.
I am sorry if my knowledge of hockey is not up to par, but more than anything I hope that after reading this you know a little more about where the game came from and the sports long history. Next week I have a very interesting blog planned. Until then I wish everyone a great week, and as always happy history!
So I find myself in a predicament; I really want to find a good topic to blog about this week since I didn’t really do anything too historical last week.
So, as I’ve been searching, for something, anything really interesting not only for me to learn about (Because surprisingly I actually learn quite a lot about random history by doing this blog) but also something interesting for my readers.
And the best I found under the circumstances were a lot of hockey events happening this week. So I’ll take the bate, and look a little closer at hockey this week and how it came to be a major sport not only in the U.S. but around the world.
Personally, hockey is not one of my favorite sports, and beyond watching the game between the U.S. and Canada at the Olympics, don’t really follow the sport. However, just like football which I blogged about earlier, Hockey has a long interesting history.
In my search through websites Hockey began to be played as far back as 4000 years ago, and it was known as the “ball and stick game.” That does make sense, you try to hit a ball with a stick, I do know that much about the sport (I really do know more than I’m letting on). Hockey was played in Egypt, Rome, Scotland and South America, although it was referenced differently in each location. The Irish dubbed the name “Hockie” and the term stuck. I see the similarity, hockie to hockey… pretty crafty.
In the 17th and 18th Centuries in England the game became fierce, with nearly 100 players on one team, and some games lasting as long as half a month. Eventually hockey was organized more and rules were introduced to the sport from Eton College in England, and in the year 1875 the Hockey Association was formed.
The sport really began to grow in North America, where it spread first to Canada then the United States. In 1875 the first game of ice hockey was played, and the origins of the sport are credited to J.G. Creighton. The first rink for ice hockey was used for curling, and initially there were as many 30 players on each team and the goals were two stones frozen on one side of the ice.
The game eventually traveled to America by 1893 and traveled to Europe by the 1900’s.
Speaking of the latest Olympic games, once the game was introduced to the Olympic games in 1924 that the sport grew in popularity. Back then only male teams were allowed to play.
The NHL was formed in 1917, with 30 teams, 24 that are in the U.S. and the others in Canada.
Once again, I do not frequently watch Hockey, I only watched a couple games in middle school because everyone loved hockey. Back then Colorado had a great team, and then there was the walk out, and the game got changed dramatically. Even so, today Ice Hockey is one of the most popular sports in the U.S.
I am sorry if my knowledge of hockey is not up to par, but more than anything I hope that after reading this you know a little more about where the game came from and the sports long history. Next week I have a very interesting blog planned. Until then I wish everyone a great week, and as always happy history!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Holocaust
Once again, another week, another blog, and I do always look forward to writing. Although instead of looking for a historical event, I’m going to blog about the Holocaust. Now, the Holocaust is one specific genocide in a list that is longer than most people would care to acknowledge, or even worse, a list than is longer than some people know.
I am at taking the opportunity to blog about the Holocaust this particular week because for the second year I am a part of a Colorado State University group known as Students for Holocaust Awareness. Our main goal as a student org is to put on a Holocaust Awareness Week every year, a week that has different events every evening. There is the Survivors Panel on Monday night, a move on Tuesday, a Key Note presentation Wednesday, and a genocide evening Thursday.
The Holocaust is something that hits home with me on a personal level, which is why I decided to join the group. My mother is Jewish. My grandmother worked in a work camp, and was able to survive the war. Some of her family was not so lucky. But after having to deal with people’s bullshit for the second year in a row, the impact the week has on people has been lost to me. I’ve been funning around, and barely had any time to myself, while others simply took my hard work for themselves to make themselves look good.
There is surprisingly, a person behind the blog after all, and I suppose I am allowed one bitchy blog at least once a year. Being sick, tired and emotionally drained, I think I’ll take advantage.
There is nothing I could say about the Holocaust that would surprise anyone (at least I hope not). Every time I hear a survivor speak I hear something new, and while I have been exposed to the stories since a young age, there are still things that shock me, although not much. The universal life suffering events are the same, but the stories of hope and survival are all unique.
I think one thing people need to realize is the Holocaust is one specific genocide. We strive to teach people so it will not happen again. Yet even though the knowledge of the past is there, genocide is still happening.
My goal is to try and apply history to today so perhaps people can understand its relevance. I think this is one of the most relevant pieces of history to today.
I am at taking the opportunity to blog about the Holocaust this particular week because for the second year I am a part of a Colorado State University group known as Students for Holocaust Awareness. Our main goal as a student org is to put on a Holocaust Awareness Week every year, a week that has different events every evening. There is the Survivors Panel on Monday night, a move on Tuesday, a Key Note presentation Wednesday, and a genocide evening Thursday.
The Holocaust is something that hits home with me on a personal level, which is why I decided to join the group. My mother is Jewish. My grandmother worked in a work camp, and was able to survive the war. Some of her family was not so lucky. But after having to deal with people’s bullshit for the second year in a row, the impact the week has on people has been lost to me. I’ve been funning around, and barely had any time to myself, while others simply took my hard work for themselves to make themselves look good.
There is surprisingly, a person behind the blog after all, and I suppose I am allowed one bitchy blog at least once a year. Being sick, tired and emotionally drained, I think I’ll take advantage.
There is nothing I could say about the Holocaust that would surprise anyone (at least I hope not). Every time I hear a survivor speak I hear something new, and while I have been exposed to the stories since a young age, there are still things that shock me, although not much. The universal life suffering events are the same, but the stories of hope and survival are all unique.
I think one thing people need to realize is the Holocaust is one specific genocide. We strive to teach people so it will not happen again. Yet even though the knowledge of the past is there, genocide is still happening.
My goal is to try and apply history to today so perhaps people can understand its relevance. I think this is one of the most relevant pieces of history to today.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The Russian Revolution
On February 24, 1582 Pope Gregory XIII introduced the new Gregorian Calendar to the world. This calendar added an extra day every four years because… well, it takes longer than exactly 365 days to go around the sun. It takes about 365 and ¼ days. Well, when this calendar was introduced most countries decided to adopt the new calendar. Russia did not.
335 years later, to the day in 1917, Revolution broke out in Russia. I am currently taking a class titled Europe in Crisis, which covered the Russian Revolution. This means that instead of wading through websites, I can wade through my notes to discuss this particular event in history. Let us begin.
This initial Revolution is against the Tsar in Russia, in contrast to the second Revolution in October, which established the Bolsheviks as a power group in Russia.
Lets set up the situation: Russia is fighting in WWI with the Entente Powers. However, unlike the other Entente Powers, Russia has a very different situation because it was directly affected by the blockade Britain set up against Germany. Because of this, as well as the closing of the strait Black Sea by Turkey, Russia was hurting. Most of the needed supplies were being shipped in by the U.S. and then transferred in by the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
The war in the East wasn’t static, however it was still stuck. WWI was an in-between war; old techniques were being used while new industrial innovations were being used. The Russian Army was not performing well, so Tsar Nicolas decided to go out and lead the army, leaving the government in the hands of the Tsarina and the Duma, which was the Russian Parliament. Thus, there was severe strain on Russia’s Railroad system to get the necessary supplies to the front line, while also delivering food to the Russian population.
So, we have the perfect storm here. Food shortages through the country, and a foreign Princess (Alexandra was from Germany) ruling with the help of the infamous Rasputin, a Monk from Siberia who claimed to have mystical powers to help heal the sick prince.
An interesting side note about Rasputin is that I have heard of at least two differences in the way he died. Apparently his killers tried poison, shooting him, and finally had to drown him. What the true story is, I don’t know that anybody really knows. However, he is an interesting character in history, and he is always fun to talk about.
The population of Petrograd finally rioted over food shortages. So, the Russian government did what it has done in the past, and called out the Russian Army to put down the rioters. However, the men in the army became friends with the population, so instead of putting down the rebellion they joined in. Eventually the Tsar was forced to abdicate.
This event lead to a power void in Russia, since the Tsar was the sole ruler of Russia, and the only one who could make legislative decisions. The Russians had to scramble to reform the government, and do all of this while at war. The second Revolution would establist Lenin as the new political leader in Russia.
So, two things to address after these last couple of paragraphs: how does this relay to today, and why did I begin with the mentioning of the Gregorian Calendar?
Firstly, with the events that happened on February 24, 1917 the Bolshevik party was able to take control of power in Russia by gaining support. Lenin returned to Russia out of exile in Switzerland to gain the popularity of the people and eventually claim power in the second October Revolution. Russia became the first Communist nation in the world. Post WWII, the USSR and the USA would be in a power struggle lasting into the early 1990’s. Many of the effects of the animosity of the Cold War can still be seen today.
As to the calendar question, Russia did not adopt the Gregorian calendar like the rest of the world did. Thus, on February 24, 1917 in Russia, the date all this took place, the date of the rest of the world was actually March 8, 1917. They had fallen behind that much over the 335 years.
I was trying to decide when I would post this, the week of February 24, or the week of March 8. When I saw I hadn’t missed the Russian date I couldn’t help myself. So, time it seems is irrelevant, and despite how it changes, it still seems to go on.
335 years later, to the day in 1917, Revolution broke out in Russia. I am currently taking a class titled Europe in Crisis, which covered the Russian Revolution. This means that instead of wading through websites, I can wade through my notes to discuss this particular event in history. Let us begin.
This initial Revolution is against the Tsar in Russia, in contrast to the second Revolution in October, which established the Bolsheviks as a power group in Russia.
Lets set up the situation: Russia is fighting in WWI with the Entente Powers. However, unlike the other Entente Powers, Russia has a very different situation because it was directly affected by the blockade Britain set up against Germany. Because of this, as well as the closing of the strait Black Sea by Turkey, Russia was hurting. Most of the needed supplies were being shipped in by the U.S. and then transferred in by the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
The war in the East wasn’t static, however it was still stuck. WWI was an in-between war; old techniques were being used while new industrial innovations were being used. The Russian Army was not performing well, so Tsar Nicolas decided to go out and lead the army, leaving the government in the hands of the Tsarina and the Duma, which was the Russian Parliament. Thus, there was severe strain on Russia’s Railroad system to get the necessary supplies to the front line, while also delivering food to the Russian population.
So, we have the perfect storm here. Food shortages through the country, and a foreign Princess (Alexandra was from Germany) ruling with the help of the infamous Rasputin, a Monk from Siberia who claimed to have mystical powers to help heal the sick prince.
An interesting side note about Rasputin is that I have heard of at least two differences in the way he died. Apparently his killers tried poison, shooting him, and finally had to drown him. What the true story is, I don’t know that anybody really knows. However, he is an interesting character in history, and he is always fun to talk about.
The population of Petrograd finally rioted over food shortages. So, the Russian government did what it has done in the past, and called out the Russian Army to put down the rioters. However, the men in the army became friends with the population, so instead of putting down the rebellion they joined in. Eventually the Tsar was forced to abdicate.
This event lead to a power void in Russia, since the Tsar was the sole ruler of Russia, and the only one who could make legislative decisions. The Russians had to scramble to reform the government, and do all of this while at war. The second Revolution would establist Lenin as the new political leader in Russia.
So, two things to address after these last couple of paragraphs: how does this relay to today, and why did I begin with the mentioning of the Gregorian Calendar?
Firstly, with the events that happened on February 24, 1917 the Bolshevik party was able to take control of power in Russia by gaining support. Lenin returned to Russia out of exile in Switzerland to gain the popularity of the people and eventually claim power in the second October Revolution. Russia became the first Communist nation in the world. Post WWII, the USSR and the USA would be in a power struggle lasting into the early 1990’s. Many of the effects of the animosity of the Cold War can still be seen today.
As to the calendar question, Russia did not adopt the Gregorian calendar like the rest of the world did. Thus, on February 24, 1917 in Russia, the date all this took place, the date of the rest of the world was actually March 8, 1917. They had fallen behind that much over the 335 years.
I was trying to decide when I would post this, the week of February 24, or the week of March 8. When I saw I hadn’t missed the Russian date I couldn’t help myself. So, time it seems is irrelevant, and despite how it changes, it still seems to go on.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The Olympics (Winter Edition)
This week I was going to blog about a book I read for my New South class about the real John Henry. A tall tale in American history, John Henry was a man who raced a steam drill and won, but in the process killed himself. I learned a lot about John Henry, a story I had not heard before. If you are like me, click the link to hear my favorite version of his ballad I found on youtube.
John Henry doesn’t relate to this week per say, but he does live on in history. However, Friday February 23, 2010 the Winter Olympics opened in Vancouver, Canada, and while the event did not originate this week, it is going on in the present this week. So, it is my topic of choice this week.
I’ve decided to look into the history of the Winter Olympics this week, and one particular winter sport: luge.
Why luging you are probably asking. Friday February 23, 2010 history was made, but not in a good way. At a practice run Georgian Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed when he lost control of his sled and catapulted over the safety wall and into a support beam.
This event was, and still is tragic to hear. Mr. Kumaritashvili was born in 1988, and was 21 when he died. It is so strange, he was my age when he died, and tragic that his life was taken at such a young age. So, to honor his memory, I am going to research his sport as a tie in to my larger topic this week. Think about this as a post dedicated to his memory.
You know, I have never had this much difficulty finding information. I know Wikipedia is usually not that reliable, that that is honestly the most in depth information I have actually found on the subject! You would think the Winter Olympics would have a bunch of info, but apparently not… suppose I’ll have to make do with what I have.
From what I can gather, the Winter Olympics was introduced five years after the birth of the Summer Olympics in 1896. Figure skating was the first event, but it was featured in 1908, at the Summer Olympics in London. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) wanted to put skating in the Olympic program, a sport now associated with the winter games more than the summer games.
The original Winter Olympics were supposed to be held in Berlin, Germany, in 1916, featuring “Nordic” events as they were defined. However, the outbreak of WWI delayed the games.
The first Winter Olympic games were then held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. The first gold medal at the Winter Games went to speed skater Charles Jewtraw of the U.S.
That is basically all I could find involving the history of how the Winter Olympics came about, at least as far as free sites are concerned. While one day I will gladly pay for my information I need some sort of return off this hobby before I start doing that now.
I also looked up the different locations and found where the various games have been held over the years:
1924- Charmoinx, France
1928- St. Moritz, Switzerland
1932- Lake Placid, New York USA
1936- Farmisch- Partenkirchen, Germany
1940 and 1944 the games were not held due to WWII
1948- St. Moritz, Switzerland
1952 - Oslo, Norway
1956 - Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
1960 - Squaw Valley, California USA
1964 - Innsbruck, Austria
1968 - Grenoble, France
1972 - Sapporo, Japan
1976 - Innsbruck, Austria
1980 - Lake Placid, N.Y.
1984 - Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
1988 - Calgary, Alberta, Canada
1992 - Albertville, France
1994 - Lillehammer, Norway
1998 - Nagano, Japan
2002 - Salt Lake City, Utah USA
2006 - Turin, Italy
2010 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
2014 - Sochi, Russia
And next, because I am a really big nerd, I searched the different sports and how they’ve been added to the games over time. Click the link to take a look, since I’m too lazy to actually post them. Scroll down, there’s a nice little chart about half way down the page.
**Note: I found this listing on Wikipedia. I know, not the most reliable, but they had a little chart and all. So, if I am wrong I am sorry. I try to stay away from Wikipedia usually for that reason.
Now, on to luge. The Vikings are credited with creating luge, they built the giant slides to go down mountains, and were conducting races as early as 800 C.E. luge is a French word meaning toboggan. The first international race was in 1883 in Davos, Switzerland. There were 21 different competitors from seven different countries.
In 1964 luge became an Olympic sport. As we can see from the amazing listing posted above, the first place to host luge was Innsebruck, Austria. The goals are simple: make it down the hill the fastest while lying on an open sled on your back.
And with that, I am out for this week. I’m excited to see how the Olympics unfold today, and in the coming days. I have had fun watching so far. As always, I wish everyone a good week! Let’s see who makes history at these Olympic games!
John Henry doesn’t relate to this week per say, but he does live on in history. However, Friday February 23, 2010 the Winter Olympics opened in Vancouver, Canada, and while the event did not originate this week, it is going on in the present this week. So, it is my topic of choice this week.
I’ve decided to look into the history of the Winter Olympics this week, and one particular winter sport: luge.
Why luging you are probably asking. Friday February 23, 2010 history was made, but not in a good way. At a practice run Georgian Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed when he lost control of his sled and catapulted over the safety wall and into a support beam.
This event was, and still is tragic to hear. Mr. Kumaritashvili was born in 1988, and was 21 when he died. It is so strange, he was my age when he died, and tragic that his life was taken at such a young age. So, to honor his memory, I am going to research his sport as a tie in to my larger topic this week. Think about this as a post dedicated to his memory.
You know, I have never had this much difficulty finding information. I know Wikipedia is usually not that reliable, that that is honestly the most in depth information I have actually found on the subject! You would think the Winter Olympics would have a bunch of info, but apparently not… suppose I’ll have to make do with what I have.
From what I can gather, the Winter Olympics was introduced five years after the birth of the Summer Olympics in 1896. Figure skating was the first event, but it was featured in 1908, at the Summer Olympics in London. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) wanted to put skating in the Olympic program, a sport now associated with the winter games more than the summer games.
The original Winter Olympics were supposed to be held in Berlin, Germany, in 1916, featuring “Nordic” events as they were defined. However, the outbreak of WWI delayed the games.
The first Winter Olympic games were then held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. The first gold medal at the Winter Games went to speed skater Charles Jewtraw of the U.S.
That is basically all I could find involving the history of how the Winter Olympics came about, at least as far as free sites are concerned. While one day I will gladly pay for my information I need some sort of return off this hobby before I start doing that now.
I also looked up the different locations and found where the various games have been held over the years:
1924- Charmoinx, France
1928- St. Moritz, Switzerland
1932- Lake Placid, New York USA
1936- Farmisch- Partenkirchen, Germany
1940 and 1944 the games were not held due to WWII
1948- St. Moritz, Switzerland
1952 - Oslo, Norway
1956 - Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
1960 - Squaw Valley, California USA
1964 - Innsbruck, Austria
1968 - Grenoble, France
1972 - Sapporo, Japan
1976 - Innsbruck, Austria
1980 - Lake Placid, N.Y.
1984 - Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
1988 - Calgary, Alberta, Canada
1992 - Albertville, France
1994 - Lillehammer, Norway
1998 - Nagano, Japan
2002 - Salt Lake City, Utah USA
2006 - Turin, Italy
2010 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
2014 - Sochi, Russia
And next, because I am a really big nerd, I searched the different sports and how they’ve been added to the games over time. Click the link to take a look, since I’m too lazy to actually post them. Scroll down, there’s a nice little chart about half way down the page.
**Note: I found this listing on Wikipedia. I know, not the most reliable, but they had a little chart and all. So, if I am wrong I am sorry. I try to stay away from Wikipedia usually for that reason.
Now, on to luge. The Vikings are credited with creating luge, they built the giant slides to go down mountains, and were conducting races as early as 800 C.E. luge is a French word meaning toboggan. The first international race was in 1883 in Davos, Switzerland. There were 21 different competitors from seven different countries.
In 1964 luge became an Olympic sport. As we can see from the amazing listing posted above, the first place to host luge was Innsebruck, Austria. The goals are simple: make it down the hill the fastest while lying on an open sled on your back.
And with that, I am out for this week. I’m excited to see how the Olympics unfold today, and in the coming days. I have had fun watching so far. As always, I wish everyone a good week! Let’s see who makes history at these Olympic games!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Galileo's Inquisition
I almost failed this week. With the Super Bowl on Sunday and my increasing reading workload I found it to be game time and myself torn: do I stay behind and write me blog, or should I go watch the game? Well, I watched the game, and have been struggling with finding the time to research during the week when my time is more limited.
But I do think it was worth it. The game was really good, and the company was even better. Had a great time at my neighbors watching the game and eating traditional football food. Yeah, it was a good evening, and it was even nice watching the Saints pull off the win over the Colts. History people, the first time the Saints have gone, and they win. That is history in the making. Maybe I’ll be able to blog about it one day. But enough with the football talk, back to the history.
Ultimately I had two choices this week: fail, or write. Failure is not an option with me, and this is a goal I set for myself, a fun goal that I enjoy doing once I sit down and do it. So tonight, I am sitting down and doing it.
And this week we’ll be dipping into the history of science, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t list some other worth wile historical events. Henry VIII’s sixth wife Catherine Howard was beheaded on February 13, 1542. Cool, but not something relevant to today really, unless… nope, really not relevant.
Instead I’ll be focusing on one of my weakest links: science. Galileo was the father of most modern thinking regarding the solar system. He built and improved the telescope, which allowed him to observe the moons of Jupiter and other parts of the solar system.
Through these observations realized the planets revolved around the sun, not the Earth as previously though. This idea was realized by Copernicus’ heliocentric theory, so it wasn’t his idea but his support that ultimately got him in trouble with the Church.
But before we get into those details it is important to note that Galileo went straight to nature to make observations and findings instead of relying solely on other scientists findings as was the norm of the time. I have heard it said (but may be totally incorrect) that Galileo studied nature and science to better understand God and religion. In fact, many of the scientists of the time were religious and claimed the same: they studied nature to get closer to understanding God.
Despite going against the teachings of the Church, Galileo was able to publish his findings so long as he treated them as hypotheses because of his friendship with then Pope Urban VIII. But when he published his book Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems in 1632 he angered many people because he seemed to be “advocate” the findings of Copernicus.
On February 23, 1633 Galileo’s Inquisition began. At first the Inquisitors only tried to ban him from teaching Copernicus’ theory, and with few powerful people left to protect him Galileo he was forced to abjure the “vehement suspicion of heresy.” He was sentenced to life imprisonment and spent the rest of his time under house arrest.
So now, why does this matter to today? Despite the obvious, that he was right, an interesting article came to my attention this summer. I can’t find the link as of right now, but I’ll try to keep searching. It stated that the Church has realized its mistake and pardoned Galileo, almost 400 years after trying him. Awwww.
So anyone who agrees with the heliocentric model Galileo supported, you can now study it without concern of going against the Church.
It is funny this came so late, almost 400 years later. This isn’t the time to go into the Church, and this blog definitely didn’t do Galileo justice. I mean there are several things surrounding the man, his findings, his telescope, his possible involvement with the Illuminati.
But that’s all for another day, and only the truly daring. As always, happy history all!
But I do think it was worth it. The game was really good, and the company was even better. Had a great time at my neighbors watching the game and eating traditional football food. Yeah, it was a good evening, and it was even nice watching the Saints pull off the win over the Colts. History people, the first time the Saints have gone, and they win. That is history in the making. Maybe I’ll be able to blog about it one day. But enough with the football talk, back to the history.
Ultimately I had two choices this week: fail, or write. Failure is not an option with me, and this is a goal I set for myself, a fun goal that I enjoy doing once I sit down and do it. So tonight, I am sitting down and doing it.
And this week we’ll be dipping into the history of science, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t list some other worth wile historical events. Henry VIII’s sixth wife Catherine Howard was beheaded on February 13, 1542. Cool, but not something relevant to today really, unless… nope, really not relevant.
Instead I’ll be focusing on one of my weakest links: science. Galileo was the father of most modern thinking regarding the solar system. He built and improved the telescope, which allowed him to observe the moons of Jupiter and other parts of the solar system.
Through these observations realized the planets revolved around the sun, not the Earth as previously though. This idea was realized by Copernicus’ heliocentric theory, so it wasn’t his idea but his support that ultimately got him in trouble with the Church.
But before we get into those details it is important to note that Galileo went straight to nature to make observations and findings instead of relying solely on other scientists findings as was the norm of the time. I have heard it said (but may be totally incorrect) that Galileo studied nature and science to better understand God and religion. In fact, many of the scientists of the time were religious and claimed the same: they studied nature to get closer to understanding God.
Despite going against the teachings of the Church, Galileo was able to publish his findings so long as he treated them as hypotheses because of his friendship with then Pope Urban VIII. But when he published his book Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems in 1632 he angered many people because he seemed to be “advocate” the findings of Copernicus.
On February 23, 1633 Galileo’s Inquisition began. At first the Inquisitors only tried to ban him from teaching Copernicus’ theory, and with few powerful people left to protect him Galileo he was forced to abjure the “vehement suspicion of heresy.” He was sentenced to life imprisonment and spent the rest of his time under house arrest.
So now, why does this matter to today? Despite the obvious, that he was right, an interesting article came to my attention this summer. I can’t find the link as of right now, but I’ll try to keep searching. It stated that the Church has realized its mistake and pardoned Galileo, almost 400 years after trying him. Awwww.
So anyone who agrees with the heliocentric model Galileo supported, you can now study it without concern of going against the Church.
It is funny this came so late, almost 400 years later. This isn’t the time to go into the Church, and this blog definitely didn’t do Galileo justice. I mean there are several things surrounding the man, his findings, his telescope, his possible involvement with the Illuminati.
But that’s all for another day, and only the truly daring. As always, happy history all!
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