Interesting Facts - Printable Version +- Board 6 (http://board6.com) +-- Forum: The Good Shit (http://board6.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=34) +--- Forum: General Discussion (http://board6.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=35) +--- Thread: Interesting Facts (/showthread.php?tid=11719)

Interesting Facts - insane - 09-12-2012 Abraham Lincoln established the Secret Service on the day he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. Unfortunately, even had the organization been instituted earlier, it wouldn’t have helped. The Secret Service in the beginning had no part in protecting the President, but rather were tasked with cutting down on the amazing amount of counterfeit money circulated in the United States at the time (hence why until March of 2003 they were a branch of the U.S. Department of the Treasury). It is estimated that about 1/3 of the U.S. currency in circulation was counterfeit when Lincoln signed the piece of legislature that would establish the Secret Service. Re: Interesting Facts - insane - 09-13-2012 So how did grandfather clocks get this name? Here’s the scoop… In 1875, an American songwriter named Henry Clay Work was visiting England. While there, he checked in to the George Hotel in North Yorkshire. In the hotel’s lobby was a large pendulum clock. The clock had stopped long ago and just sat in the lobby, serving no apparent purpose. This unmoving clock fascinated Work and he asked about its history. He was told a story by the proprietors, whether true or not (probably not) isn’t important to how grandfather clocks got there name. The story was that the clock had belonged to the inn’s previous two owners, the Jenkins brothers, both deceased. It seems the clock had kept perfect time during their lives, but when the first Jenkins brother died, the clock started becoming less accurate. After this, the story went that the clock stopped completely dead- to the minute-on the day the second Jenkins brother had died. Maybe because it was his job to wind it and nobody else wanted the task, you say? ;-) According to the story Work was told, it was actually because it broke. Despite the best efforts of a host of repairmen supposedly hired by the new owners of the inn, they couldn’t get the clock going again. Now, of course, what probably actually happened was the clock died and was prohibitively expensive to fix, but looked nice, so the new owners of the hotel came up with a great story for the clock to hide the fact that they maybe just didn’t want to pay to get it fixed nor have it hauled off. Whatever the case, the bemused Work thought it was a great story. Being a song writer, he then wrote a song about the incident. The song was called “My Grandfather’s Clock”, released in 1876. The lyrics were as follows: 1. My grandfather’s clock was too large for the shelf, So it stood ninety years on the floor; It was taller by half than the old man himself, Though it weighed not a pennyweight more. It was bought on the morn of the day that he was born, And was always his treasure and pride; But it stopp’d short – never to go again – When the old man died. Read more at <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/09/why-do-they-call-grandfather-clocks-by-that-name/#focB0gClvtDQp5lv.99" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php ... tDQp5lv.99</a><!-- m --> Re: Interesting Facts - dirtymonkey22 - 09-13-2012 Steves gay Re: Interesting Facts - insane - 09-13-2012 Bajajajajajaja but at least you were my first. Re: Interesting Facts - dirtymonkey22 - 09-13-2012 still hurts Re: Interesting Facts - insane - 09-13-2012 Re: Interesting Facts - dirtymonkey22 - 09-13-2012 I hate you Re: Interesting Facts - Stoopid Dog - 09-13-2012 interesting...very... Re: Interesting Facts - dirtymonkey22 - 09-13-2012 Lincoln also wanted to colonize the freed slaves because he didn't feel whites and black could get along Re: Interesting Facts - insane - 09-13-2012