Professor Walter's History Lessons

So Uncle Sam on an Elephant, and Santa Claus on a Jackass, walk into a bar.

Thomas Nast was a German-born American caricaturist and political cartoonist. Featured in Harper's Weekly, his artwork, including his representation of Uncle Sam and the modern version of Santa Claus, was some of the most influential in American culture. Two of his most lasting creations are still in the news today: the Republican Elephant and the Democrat Donkey.

The Democrat Donkey originated with an 1828 political cartoon titled "A Modern Balaam and his Ass." The drawing depicted Andrew Jackson riding and directing a donkey. Jackson was caught in bitter mudslinging and had been labeled a jackass by his opponents. Nast, a strong supporter of Republican President Grant, used the less-than-flattering donkey as the symbol for Democrats. He pitted the image against the strong Republican elephant.

His symbols rang true with many Americans. The elephant remains the official symbol of the Republican Party and the Donkey retains its well known affiliation with the Democratic party though it is no longer the official symbol.

Nast continued to support the Republican party for the rest of his life, going so far as to take control of a failing newspaper and re-tool it as a vehicle for his cartoons in support of Benjamin Harrison's presidential campaign. The impact of his paper was limited and circulation stopped shortly after Harrison's defeat.

In 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt sent Nast to Ecuador, South America, as the United State's Consul General. After an outbreak of yellow fever, Nast helped many escape the disease. He was not as fortunate, however, and on December 2, 1902 he passed away from yellow fever. He is interred in The Bronx, New York.

-Professor Walter

Kittens are cute, so they play with string. Goats aren't cute so they are the string.

The durable cord called "catgut" is known throughout the world for its use in the finest musical instruments and sports equipment. Until nylon began to replace it in many applications, it was quite prevalent. But, despite its name, catgut is sorely lacking in any cat based materials.

The origins of the word are steeped in mystery. Some explanations are more plausible than others, though they are all conjecture. What is known is that, rather than felines, it is created from the intestines of sheep or goat and occasionally cows, hogs, horse, mules or donkeys.

So rest assured that next time you're batting around a birdie, you won't be doing it with parts of the household pet.

-Professor Walter

Let loose the dogs of war!

Off the gulf coast of Mississippi is the barrier island Cat Island, named so because Spanish explorers mistook the native raccoons for cats. Its sandy shores hold a unique distinction for its role during WWII, ironically as the location for an experiment in dog training.

In November 1942, William A. Pestre, a Swiss refugee from New Mexico, convinced the U.S. Army to let him attempt to create a platoon of dogs. His plan was to train large breeds to sniff out Japanese soldiers on the assumption that different races had different odors. Therefore the dogs would be able to distinguish between an American soldier and a Japanese one. Japanese Americans were brought in, not as trainers but as bait. Originally the dogs were exposed to them without provocation. However, the dogs soon familiarized themselves with their intended targets and would not attack. So the subjects were told to hit the dogs until they bled to make them angry. Then the trainers would give the command, "Kill!" The dogs, who were already a bit peeved before that, attacked -- and the Japanese Americans, wearing protective clothing, were repeatedly bitten.

Pestre envisioned armies of twenty-forty thousand dogs unleashed on the islands surrounding Japan, tearing the enemy to shreds. However, he soon discovered that there is no discernible scent difference between the Japanese and Americans, and the project was canceled after ninety days. Pestre was not pleased with the cancellation of the program and began to make threats to his superiors. The FBI was assigned to watch him and he eventually faded to history. The dogs were moved into regular Army Corp service.

-Professor Walter

 

A shining star in The Wizard of Oz

The cast of the 1939 classic film "The Wizard of Oz" contained many singers and extras. There were those in costume as well as those working behind the scenes. And there was the star, Terry. She was born in 1933 during the Great Depression and took to acting early, with stars such as Shirley Temple in 1934's "Bright Eyes." Terry's big break would come in The Wizard of Oz where her performance was so perfect that she is cemented in the national psyche.

At the time of The Wizard of Oz, Terry commanded a salary of $125 per week, more than most of the actors in the film and of most Americans at the time. Many on the set felt this unfair, as Terry was younger and "less-traditional" than the others. Despite this Terry retained her salary and performed well, even after an on-set accident broke her foot, requiring two weeks of recovery at Judy Garland's home.

Terry continued to make films up until her death in 1945 at the age of eleven, yet nothing would ever compare to her stellar performance in The Wizard of Oz; as Toto, Dorothy's dog.

-Professor Walter

If the shoe fits...

The tale of Cinderella is considered one of the oldest, tracing its origins to antiquity. The version that we have come to know and love was written down in 1697 by Charles Perrault who made a few tweaks to the story, such as the pumpkin and fairy-godmother, which helped to make it a hit. By far his most famous change to the original story, glass slippers, was actually a mistake.

When he wrote down the tale he mistook vair (ermine) for verre (glass). The result was that Cinderella's "fur" slippers became "glass" and the rest is history. Perrault discovered his error eventually but it was too late, his story was already too popular to "fix".

-Professor Walter

Shhhh, it's a secret

Intelligence experts in the United States are trusted with this nation's secrets. Within the hidden walls they perform their work, but upon emerging from their lairs they cannot speak of what they have done or even what classification level they have been working on. In order to talk "freely" a not-so-secret cover term has been used informally when these operatives where in public. Instead of saying, "I can't talk about that here it's Top Secret Umbra" or something similar they would say, "I can't talk about that here it's Secret Squirrel".

-Professor Walter

The American Bison

One of the greatest "back from the brink" stories is that of the American Bison.  Conventionally known as buffalo, the bison is an incredibly robust creature with the ability to survive in a wide variety of regions. While many think of the "wild west" when they think of the bison, the animals once thrived throughout the bulk of the United States.  

In the 1500s bison roamed across the United States, from New York down to Florida and across to Texas and into Mexico. They spanned as far west as California and as far north as the Yukon. At that time their numbers were close to fifty million. Native Americans helped to shape the land to encorage the growth of the Buffalo herds as they were used for food, clothing and a variety of other goods. European settlers changed the balance and pushed the herds west as they converted grazing land to farm and displaced bison with their own livestock.

By 1870 the bison had been pushed back to two areas seperated by the intercontinental railroad and their numbers had dropped to 20 million. Unfortunately, two key factors would drive their numbers even lower. First was the fact that bison often damaged railroad tracks. The railroad companies paid rewards for the killing of buffallo to reduce damage. At the same time, William Frederick Cody became known as "Buffalo Bill" for his success in killing 4280 bison. Mostly, though, the massacre of the bison was a result of their value to the Native Americans. A large scale effort to either eliminate or "civilize" the natives led many to the conclusion that the elimination of one would facilitate the elimination of the other. So the slaughter continued, and in 1889 the bison's numbers had been reduced to fewer than 1000.

Today, thanks to recovery efforts, there are around 200,000 bison. They are raised for the same purposes as cattle. Their hearty nature and leaner meat makes them a better choice than traditional cattle in many ways, with herds as far flung as Haiwaii. There is still one wild herd and many others in captivity. Most of the bison today are the offspring of 77 buffalo in five different herds. The Bronx Zoo was instrumental in the recovery because many of their exhibits came from a variety of herds. Luckily the animals were already on the road to rapid recovery by 1900 which allowed them to escape the risk of problems arising from inbreeding.

Today many fine restaraunts carry buffallo steaks. Eating one is a bittersweet experience, knowing that they were nearly wiped off the face of the earth, yet understanding that with every steak sold thier survival is ensured.

-Professor Walter

The Guillotine - An invention that improved the life of horses

The guillotine was implemented in the midst of the French Revolution during the last decade of the 1700s as a method to execute all class levels, with the first such execution occurring in 1792. The device became a part of popular culture and was celebrated by supporters of the Revolution.  One often missed benefit was the relief it gave to horses.  

Before the guillotine became the standard in France, many other methods of execution were used.  One of them was for a person to be drawn and quartered by chaining the condemned's arms and legs to four horses who would then pull the body in all directions until it ripped apart.  Unfortunately for the horses, human bodies are fairly resilient. Sometimes the bodies refused to to cooperate before the horses were worn down. The executioner would then have to slice the arms and legs at the joints to "help" the horses out before they were too tired to continue the execution.

-Professor Walter

Ghostly footprints in the Capital Rotunda

The Capitol Building of the United States is rife with ghost stories.  Many are of Civil War soldiers who died under the rotunda when it was used as a makeshift hospital.  One of the most prevalent is that of the Demon Cat who was first sighted right before Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.  The cat has reappeared before other tragedies, including the assassination of John F. Kennedy, as well as before presidential elections.  Tour guides will point out the Demon Cat's foot prints in the floor near the entrance to the old Supreme Court offices.  

The truth is that the foot prints were left after an accidental explosion occured when workers were installing natural gas.  When fresh concrete was laid for a new floor, a cat walked across the wet cement.  As for the other signs of the Demon Cat, who can tell what really happened there?

-Professor Walter

A tale of a little fish who wanted to be eaten

In 1961 Tom Rogers, of the Leo Burnett Agency, created a tuna icon that would last for decades.  His name was, Charlie the Tuna.  The concept was to create an marketing icon who wanted to be caught by the StarKist company.  He was a hipster tuna with Greek fisherman's hat and glasses who believed he had such good taste he would be perfect for a can of tuna.  Alas, he would be rejected in the form of a note on a fish hook stating, "Sorry Charlie".  A voice over would explain that they weren't looking for tuna with good taste, but instead looking for tuna that tastes good.  

Charlie appeared in over 85 advertisements until the campaign was retired in the 1980s.  In 1999 he was brought back and has retained the role of spokesfish for StarKist until this day.

Many consumers have commented that it is creepy that Charlie would be so upset that a company refused to capture him, cut him into small chunks and then seal him in a can for human consumption.

-Professor Walter