Here are a few things I found a little interesting:
The word "hobby" was first used during the reign of the Tudors in England. More specifically, during the reign of King George (forgot which number-sorry!) because he was a big-time gambler. His "hobby" was horse racing. As a matter of fact, he would import some of the finest horses in the world to compete for him and would make bets on who was going to win. (Keep in mind, the English aristocracy in general loved to gamble during this time-period.) Unfortunately, King George racked up a debt that was in the millions/billions of pounds. This was astronomical for the times because the average worker only had an annual income of five pence.* From that the people of England would go on to use the word "hobby" for any type of activity that was otherwise trivial to survival.
*(I don't know the configuration of that type of currency, but I'm taking a good guess that its equivilent is much like our own national debt verses the amount earn annually. =_=; Honestly, our politicians talk of trillions like it's nothing!)
The first time chairs and floors began to have apolstry [forgive me for spelling ^^;] was during the reign of the Tudors, but it wasn't the royal family who first started using it. It was actually the richest woman in England--next to Queen Elizabeth--who started that off to make her lifestyle more comfortable for herself while showing off her power.
Sugar, during the early reign of the Tudors, was a sign of wealth because it was expensive during these times. (That was because sugar was a product of the "new world" at that era in history.) To really show off their wealth the aristocracy would create entire meals featuring sugar, called "banquetes" (which we now just call "dessert"). [Brace youself, I found this kind of gross] The noblewomen, to show off that they had a lot of sugar, would puposly blacken their teeth because it was common knowledge that sugar gave you cavities.
I would post up more, but I think I'll save that for another time. (I just KNOW how enthusiastic people are about history. 
)
Source: History International. Show: What the Tudors Did For Us. Episode: "The Good Lyfe"
I just came back from watching Criminal Minds--which was pretty freaky tonight--but I still can't help but think back to president Bush's address to the country about our economy. (Right now, I really feel the need to put this down somewhere that can do it quick and hopefully get some feedback on it.)
This was really my first time bothering to listen to one of our president's speeches all the way through; the reason why I didn't do it with the other ones was because the way he delivered those other ones sounded rather incoharent to me. (That, and I've never been all that interested in politics.) Toninght was rather different. I think, for the first time, I actually see him as human. I know that sounds a little weird, but I say that because I've always viewed people involved in Congress as nothing more than "puppets" to whomever is sponsering them. While I was hearing him talk, I payed close attention to the look he gave in his eyes and, more importantly, the tone in his voice. (I can usually pick up on tone a hundred times better than most other signs of behavior.) Yes, he was definitely reading right off of the screen that was in front of him, but there were a few times when it sounded like he really wanted to cry (or at least pause for a few moments to recompose himself). More importantly though, I actually picked up an earnest concern for the situation at hand.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that his speech tonight was spectacular or anything; but, to me, it was comforting to actually hear directly from him that he is actually acknowloging what's going on in our country today. His speech became even better when he mentioned, breifly, what events led to where we are now. I still remain a little frustrated because he didn't formally announce that we're in a freaking recession right now, but at the same time glad that he didn't. (If he had formally announced that, as my father pointed out, there probably would've been quite a few incidents involving hesteria happening around the country similar to what happend on Black Tuesday.)
This is the part where I'll be completely honest--I'm a little scared right now myself. We've almost always been known as "the land of opprotunity" throughout our history, and it's been encouraged through countless generations to always look forward to a brighter tomorrow, and I definitely want to continue believing in that philosophy. However, I can't help but draw to question how long it'll take us to recover from all of this. If history serves correctly, past efforts to help whatever crises we were in generally never lasted all the way through due to people just giving up. (I'm particularly pointing at the latter years of WWII, if anyone's wondering.) I really do think we could, but that's only because I value myself as an optimist. Realisticly, does anyone else think we could if the situation gets really bad?
(Please forgive me for any and all errors on this page: I wanted to jot down my thoughts before I completely forgot about them like I almost did with 9/11, and I'd rather not have to go through living with a mistake like that.)
Thank you for your time.
(Finally, a history post! 
)
Today in my history class, we had finally finished watching an informative (and bloody 
) documentary of the French Revolution. After aquiring this information, since most of the these details definitely weren't covered at the public high school I attended, I've come to this conclusion: the French are wack!
Just kidding! Actually, I made some comparisons between that and the Salem Witch Trials, since the both of them have quite a few things in common. To try and keep things short and sweet, I'll share this information with you list-style. (I'll start off with some things that some people might find painfully obvious, then work on from there)
The French Revolution VS.
The Salem Witch Trials
Happened in the 18th century France (about ten years after our Revolution)
Happened in the 17th century USA (well before our Revolution)
Started as a means to create a better government ruling the country due to an incompetent monarchy
Started as a means of punishing those who were supposedly practicing witchcraft
Main city involved: Paris
Main city involved: Salem
Both spiraled out of control
A regime of terror would grip them for a time (France's being much longer)
Unjustified accusaitons/bloodshead would be a result of mass paranoia
Execution preferance: beheadment (via the Guillotine since it was deemed "humane" for the time since it was a quick way of delivering death)
Execution preferance: lynching (via the Gallows; this was mainly because this style of execution was popular at the time)
Trials would usually be quick and heavily one-sided
(in other words, you were guilty before you even took the stand)
It wouldn't end until after the death of a powerful and influencial figure leading the Revolution (at the guillotine) and five years of having no official ruler of the country
It wouldn't end until after there was a change in public opinion
After that, Napoleon would emerge as the ruler of France
After that, prisoners who were still in line to die would be released
Death toll: estimated at 25,000
Death toll: 19 total
Both events still effect us in one way or another today
Hoped you enjoyed!
