Hello or Ahoy?

We all know Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Did you know he expected people to answer the phone by saying, "ahoy?" It was famed inventor and noted buttinski, Thomas Edison, who suggested, "hello." Edison's case was strengthened by the first phone books. An early New Haven edition listed "hulloa" as the official greeting. The official ending, you might wonder? "That is all."

That is all.

For more, here's the article from NPR

The Battle of Los Angeles

The events of the night of February 24th, 1942 were quite strange even for Hollywood. Early on the 24th, the Navy released a statement that an attack on Los Angeles by the Japanese was possible. Artillery units were put on high alert as night fell. An unusual number of lights were in the sky that night making for an even more tenuous situation. Things returned to normal until around 2:15. Reports came in of enemy planes flying west of L.A. A red light was spotted and fire upon. Artillery units followed shooting at lights in the night sky. Despite all the fire, no aircraft either fired back or was hit.

The problem? There were no planes or a battle over Los Angeles. The military was still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor and was a bit too quick on the trigger. While UFO enthusiasts will claim the army was shooting at aliens, the truth lies with the first red light. The artillery officers that night commented that what they were firing at seemed to be too slow to be a plane; that's mostly because they were firing at weather balloons. The Japanese released a statement years later saying that, while they did launch planes from submarines near the American coast during the war, it did not take place near Los Angeles or on the night in question.

A Different Lincoln/Booth Tale

Robert Todd Lincoln:
"The incident occurred while a group of passengers were late at night purchasing their sleeping car places from the conductor who stood on the station platform at the entrance of the car. The platform was about the height of the car floor, and there was of course a narrow space between the platform and the car body. There was some crowding, and I happened to be pressed by it against the car body while waiting my turn. In this situation the train began to move, and by the motion I was twisted off my feet, and had dropped somewhat, with feet downward, into the open space, and was personally helpless, when my coat collar was vigorously seized and I was quickly pulled up and out to a secure footing on the platform. Upon turning to thank my rescuer I saw it was Edwin Booth, whose face was of course well known to me, and I expressed my gratitude to him, and in doing so, called him by name."
John S. Goff, "Robert Todd Lincoln: A Man In His Own Right"

Edwin Booth:
He (Booth) had started for Philadelphia from New York, and while he was standing on the platform of a car, still in the Pennsylvania railroad station at Jersey City, and just as the train was above to move, a young lad, going from one car to another, stumbled, and would have fallen between them, had not Edwin caught him by the collar of the coat and landed him in safety by his side. The boy, whom Edwin had never seen before, evidently recognized him, and holdibng out his hand said to him, "That was a narrow escape, Mr. Booth," and thanked him warmly. Two weeks later Edwin received a letter from General Adam Badeau in which the latter mentioned that Robert Lincoln had told him that it was his life that had thus been saved.
William Bispham "Memories and Letters of Edwin Booth"

That's right. John Wilkes Booth's brother, Edwin, saved Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert, about a year before the assassination. It is also striking to note that Robert is the only son of Lincoln who survived to adulthood. Had this encounter not happened, there may have been no direct descendants of Lincoln.

May we borrow your Constitution?

In 1861, the Confederate States of America drafted their own Constitution, or did they?

The Confederate Constitution and the U.S. Constitution are remarkably similar. In a lot cases, entire sections are lifted. It's strange considering that men on both sides were fighting and dying for two documents that outlined ways of life that were almost the same.

The differences:
In the CSA, the President had a line item veto. The U.S. instituted the same in the 1990's, but it was quickly struck down as unconstitutional.

The President of the CSA would serve for one, six year term. At the time, U.S. Presidents were allowed to run for as many 4 year terms as they liked although all only ran for two out of respect for George Washington.

And the biggie, slavery. Slavery was expressly allowed in the CSA Constitution. Foreign slave trade was outlawed but there was no doubt that slavery would continue in the CSA and in any other states they added.

I decided to share this story after reading this post on Kenneth Davis's Don't Know Much About blog, which is great and everyone should read. I don't agree with everything in the post, but there are some very interesting points presented.

More than a pretty face

Hedy Lamarr was one of the most famous actresses of the Golden Age of Hollywood. She starred in 18 films during the 1940's. A little known fact about Lamarr, however, is that she played a significant role in the remote control of everything from torpedoes to wifi.

Early in her acting career, Lamarr married an Austrian arms manufacturer name Friedrich Mandl. Mandl did not approve of Lamarr's acting career and would often take her to business meetings with him. From these meetings, the mathematically gifted Hedy learned about military technology.

In 1941, she paired with German composer George Antheil to create a wireless system of musical instruments. The radio technology they developed could also be used by the military to remotely control torpedoes. Their work was not received with great attention until the advent of later technologies such as cordless phones and wireless internet connection. The so called frequency hopping makes the connection you're on right now more secure.