Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - What is the most useless historical fact you know?

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Kennedy didn't misspeak. Here's an excerpt from the explanation at http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa021700a.htm Linguist Jürgen Eichhoff, writing in the academic journal Monatshefte, confirms there was no flub on Kennedy's part. "'Ich bin ein Berliner' is not only correct," he writes, "but the one and only correct way of expressing in German what the President intended to say." An actual resident of Berlin would say, in proper German, "Ich bin Berliner." But that wouldn't have been the correct thing for Kennedy to say. The indefinite article "ein" is added to a statement like this, explains Eichhoff, to suggest a metaphorical identification between subject and predicate. In fact, "ein" is required in a sentence such as this unless the speaker wants to be taken literally. " 'Ich bin ein Berliner' is not only correct but the one and only correct way of expressing in German what the President intended to say." For example, the German sentences "Er ist Politiker" and "Er ist ein Politiker" both mean "He is a politician," but they're understood by German speakers as different statements. The first means, more exactly, "He is [literally] a politician." The second means "He is [like] a politician." You would say of George W. Bush, "Er ist Politiker." But you would say of a politically astute coworker, "Er ist ein Politiker." So, while the proper way for a Berlin native to say "I am a Berliner" is "Ich bin Berliner," the proper way for a non-native to make the same statement metaphorically is exactly what Kennedy said: "Ich bin ein Berliner." In spite of the fact that it's also the correct way to say "I am a jelly doughnut," no adult German speaker could possibly have misunderstood Kennedy's meaning in context.

The problem with the right-left "positioning" of this thread is caused bu the "one word too long" (a web address all run together with no space in it), in the post at 2:26 p.m. This ranks right up there with worthless information.

There has been a book recently published about Pope Joan. Does anyone know the title?

Who actually invented the radio & electricity (AC current)? Not Marconi & Edison but Nikola Tesla (like the Italian dude Meoucci who really invented the telephone he didn't have the business savvy to get this recognised...get thee to a patent office!)

Scipio Africanus was the Roman general who defeated Hannible when he invaded the Roman Empire. He was also the first recorded man to shave daily.

I have learned so much from this thread; so many usefull tidbits to fill in that awkward lull in any conversation...how can I not share these? 1. Germans used to fry those "berliners" in horse fat. (Oldtimers still insist they tasted better in the olden days!) 2. Romans kept their tunics sparkling white by using urine (human and animal) as bleach. Judy in Germany

rising to the top....any more obscure/usless info???

Actually, St Johns College, Cambridge retain the right to kill and eat up to five swans a year, so it's not just the Queen who can eat swan burgers.

Thomas Crapper(inventor of flush toilet) is one of the few people in history to have a noun, a verb and an adjective named after him. Also the state flag of Texas is the only state flag that can be flown at the same height as the US flag.

Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

There have been many books about Pope Joan. Emmanuel Royidis (sometimes Rhoides) wrote the first major volume on the topic. His novel first published in Athens in 1886, was a political jab at contemporary Greece. Ballantine recently published a new Pop Joan novel, written by a Donna Woolfolk Cross. There was also a film of Pope Joan produced in 1972 with Liv Ulman, Olivia de Haviland, Patrick Magee and Maximilian Schell.

Is this even relevant ?? Go to some other 'chat-room' for this garbage.

Poor, poor Scotty, he doesn't know anyhting and feels left out.... it's OK you can play in our sandbox.

In 1954, after it had been pointed out that Elizabeth II of England was only the first Elizabeth to reign over Scotland, the EIIR cipher was not used in Scotland. Letter boxes were made with just a Scottish Crown on instead.

The Samson fountain at Peterhoff is a post-WWII copy as the German Occupation force cut the original into little pieces.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa was nearly blown up during WWII by US forces in fear of enemy snipers.

Aaron Burr challenged Alexander Hamilton to their duel after Hamilton implied that Burr's relationship with his daughter, Theodosia, was incestuous. Not historical but the space shuttle toilet can flush up to 5 times in an hour.

Great and deeply, deeply useless, eric hazard, but isn't this backwards? "spades represented the military, clubs represented agriculture" Or do you have another useless fact about farming or warfare?