BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: AMERICANA #3

                  MINNEAPOLIS BANS RED AUTOMOBILES
       
       Minneapolis. August 11, 1932 (A.P)  If one drives
       a red automobile after this, it's going to be
       too bad.
          The City Council has passed an ordinance prohibiting
       the driving of automobiles painted red "or a red color
       so similar to fire department vehicles that they are
       not easily distinguishable."
          Just what shade fire department red is will be left
        to policemen, and, if a policeman happens to be color
        blind, it may mean sixty days or worse and a $50 fine.
          To make matters worse all fire department equipment
        isn't painted the same shade of red.
**
        In 1913, Colorado Springs, Colorado passed a law
        that limited the length of women's hat-pins. The
        ordinance wasn't revoked until 1949.

  **
      
NEXT QUESTION!
What woman’s name is on the Declaration of Independence?
(answer somewhere below)

THE BURNING DOWN OF THE BROOK FARM HOUSE

Boston, July 4 1905. Mischievous Boys last night
destroyed with their Fourth of July firecrackers
the famous old Brook Farm House -- the ancient
dwelling in West Roxbury where sixty years ago
Ralph Waldo Emerson, George William Curtis, 
Margaret Fuller, Frank B. Sanborn, the elder
Parker, Charles A. Dana, and a dozen more 
kindred spirits set up their short lived 
democracy. it was there that Hawthorne wrote
at the beginning of his literary career.
**


NERF BALL

"The most popular toy of 1970 was the nerf ball, 
beloved by kids and parents alike for its harmless 
indoor use. Since then, nerf has gone on to become 
a hugely popular brand with a wide array of blasters, 
all firing special foam balls or darts. Nerf stands 
for "non-expanding recreational foam..."

Source: Thrillist | Date Updated: April 6, 2021 
(GENIUS TRIVIA site) 

**
THE ONLY WOMAN WHO "SIGNED" THE DECLARATION OF 
INDEPENDENCE

Mary Katherine Goddard — the only woman who "signed" the Declaration of Independence. Mary Katherine Goddard is unfamiliar to many Americans, but her name sits on the Declaration of Independence alongside those of founding 
fathers like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.

CAMEL SIGHTING IN AMERICA IN 1709

"The first mention of a camel ever being seen
in America was made in 1709, when one was reorted
to be in the colony of Virginia. Why the animal
was there and what became of it later are not
recorded."

Doug Storer. AMAZING BUT TRUE FACTS (NY:
Sterling Publishing Co., 1980)
**

From THE WASHINGTON POST FACT CHECKER

ON SENATOR TIM SCOTT'S BIOGRAPHY 

“Our family went from cotton to Congress in one lifetime,” 
Scott said in a speech to the Republican National Convention last year.

Our research reveals a more complex story. Scott leaves out 
that his grandfather’s father was a substantial landowner — 
and Scott’s grandfather, Artis Ware, worked on that farm.

Indeed, Scott’s family history in South Carolina offers a fascinating window into a little-known aspect of history 
in the racist South following the Civil War and in the 
immediate aftermath of slavery: that some enterprising 
Black families purchased property as a way to avoid sharecropping and achieve a measure of independence 
from White-dominated society.

Against heavy odds, Scott’s ancestors amassed relatively 
large areas of farmland, a mark of distinction in the 
Black community at the time, though this distinction 
did not necessarily translate to wealth at the time, 
according to our investigation.


From THE WASHINGTON POST FACT CHECKER
**(

BOWLING FOR DOLORS

"...John Hickle, Jr. of Illinois, bowled a perfect
game using a bowling ball filled with his father's
ashes. "I had tears in my eyes in the 11th and
12th frames," said Hinkle.

from THE WEEK, March 7, 2021