In today’s post I thought it would be fun to discuss some of the weirder things that have occurred throughout American History because history is nothing if not highly fascinating. So many strange and coincidental events have occurred everywhere and I was happy to be able to speak and discuss the weirder sides of things on Facebook.

For the discussion in today’s post, I called upon two groups on Facebook to contribute what they knew about our odd history and they came through with some interesting tidbits! The groups that contributed were U.S History (USH) and U.S Remembered. I would like to thank all those who participated and also hope that everyone here on the blog joins us in discussing some weird history! I invite everyone to leave their weird facts in the comment below and look forward to hearing what everyone has to say!

Please enjoy reading below! Thank you! 

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FACT NUMBER ONE:

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Two of our founding fathers and the second and third president of our country died on the same day in 1826. Ironically they passed on July 4th as the country was celebrating our independence. As John lay on his death bed at 90 his last words were “Thomas Jefferson still survives”. Unknown to him Thomas had passed away several hours before at age 83 in Monticello.These two were founding fathers but adversaries at times. Frenemies as we would say today. — Kirby Frick

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FACT NUMBER TWO:

The story of how George Washington returned his enemy, British General William Howe’s dog that was captured by the continental army in a battle. A dog had been found wandering around after the battle and General William Howe was listed on the dog’s collar tag. The soldiers were feeling rather discouraged due to the constant defeats they had been suffering at the time. They had wanted to keep the pet as a war trophy. George Washington was not okay with this. Sources say he had taken the animal into his tent where he was fed, groomed, and taken care of. The man then ordered his army to return the dog to General Howe under a flag of truce. — Tim Piele

Washington had his aide-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton, a military officer who acted as his confidential assistant write Howe a note that read:

“General Washington’s compliments to General Howe. He does himself the pleasure to return [to] him a dog, which accidentally fell into his hands, and by the inscription on the collar appears to belong to General Howe.” 

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FACT NUMBER THREE: 

President James Garfield was the first known left handed president, he was multi-lingual. His talents were so celebrated that people said he could write a sentence in Latin with one hand while simultaneously writing the same sentence in Greek with the other. It has been proven that he wasn’t ambidextrous but still quite an impressive ability to be able to speak and write in multiple languages  — Mandi John

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FACT NUMBER FOUR: 

Abraham Lincoln could throw it down and apparently knew had to handle himself in the ring. As a young wrestler, Lincoln was defeated only once out of approximately 300 matches. Abraham Lincoln impressive wrestling skills were honored with an award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1992. — Anonymous

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FACT NUMBER FIVE: 

Teddy Roosevelt practiced a “the show must go on” mentality. Once while delivering a speech in Milwaukee, Roosevelt was shot in an assassination attempt. “I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot,” he told the stunned audience. “I give you my word, I do not care a rap about being shot; not a rap.” He went on to finish the hour and a half speech with a bullet lodged in his chest. — Anonymous

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FACT NUMBER SIX: 

Alexander Graham Bell designed a device to help doctors find the bullet in President Garfield’s body after an assassination attempt . He invented the metal detector. It didn’t work because Garfield was lying on a metal sprung bed. It did have success later one but unfortunately wasn’t able to save Garfield’s life. He died in 1881 shortly after the shooting; however, Alexander Bell’s invention would go on to help others  — John Smith

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FACT NUMBER SEVEN:  

We all know US is home to fast food. It was invented in the US. By Chinese migrant workers building the railroad from San Francisco side to NYC. The original fast food was Chow Mein. The railroad also saw the culinary discovery of the Passenger Pigeon. The Passenger Pigeon is migratory. In the inland desert of the US, food was scarce for building the railway. But flocks of passenger pigeons numbering in their billions blocked the sun on their journey from modern day Mexico to Canada and back. Hungry railroad workers could get nets in the sky to haul down the birds. In NYC, a dinner in a fine restaurant might include the birds caught earlier in the day. And so, the birds became extinct. — David Daniel Ball

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FACT NUMBER EIGHT: 

William Franklin was an American-born attorney, soldier, politician, and colonial administrator. He was the acknowledged illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin. William Franklin was the last colonial Governor of New Jersey, and a steadfast Loyalist throughout the American Revolutionary War. This caused much turmoil between both men and caused them to have a rocky relationship from the war on.  — Trudi Black

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FACT NUMBER NINE:

Betsy Ross likely never sewed the first flag. Betsy Ross got the credit for designing the original 13-star version of the American flag, but the current flag was designed by Bob Heft, a plucky 17-year-old who dreamed up the 50-star flag in 1958 for a history project. Although Heft’s teacher originally awarded the banner a B-minus, the grade was raised to an A after Heft successfully lobbied the White House to adopt the design as the official U.S. flag. — Tony Hanes

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FACT NUMBER TEN: 

Calvin Coolidge was pretty chill. During his presidency, Coolidge woke up in a hotel room to find a burglar going through his things. Coolidge struck up a conversation with the man and found out he was a student who needed money to pay for college. Coolidge asked the man to hand him his wallet and gave him the $32 that was in in there and told the student it was a loan. He then instructed the student to leave the way he came to avoid being caught by the Secret Service. — Anonymous

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Thank you everyone for taking the time to read! Please don’t forget to add your interesting knowledge into the discussion and leave your facts in the comments below!

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BOOK PICK OF THE DAY 

The American Revolution will transport you back in time and onto the frontlines. This complete overview of the war brings all the action to life, from the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party to the Declaration of Independence and the Treaty of Paris.

Beginning with the first stirrings of colonial resistance, The American Revolution presents illustrated accounts of every major military action and comprehensive timelines for every stage of the war. Revealing first-person accounts by soldiers and civilians and profiles of the war’s main protagonists, from George Washington to Benedict Arnold. Gallery spreads feature collections of weapons and uniforms, and feature sections detail the politics of the war, such as the treatment of prisoners and the revolution’s implications for women, Native Americans, and African Americans.Two hundred and forty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, The American Revolution demonstrates that the story of how America overthrew the British is as meaningful today as it was when the ink was still wet on the parchment. Created in association with the Smithsonian Institution.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO GET A COPY 

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