The Aberrant, Weird and Humorous of the Past Quiz

Answer: A tulip bulb

In the 1630s the 'Semper Augustus' was a rare tulip bulb and speculation in their worth began in 1634. This tulip had blood-red flares or flames brightly streaked on a white background, a flower to be desired! According to several sources the prices of these bulbs and others skyrocketed.

Then, in February of 1637, the prices plummeted and hit rock bottom. Thousands of investors had lost their wealth and went bankrupt. Had the tulip bulb become 'the root of all evil' in this instance?

Answer: The Poet

This pensive pose created by Rodin has a 'hellish' theme to it. It is supposed to be Dante Alghieri seated at the Gates of Hell pondering his poem 'The Divine Comedy' and he named the statue 'The Poet'. It is believed that a critic or writer who did not know much about Dante simply referred to the art work as 'le Penseur' or 'The Thinker' and it has been called that ever since.

It was commissioned by Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Museum of Decorative Arts) in 1880 to adorn the great doors at the entrance to the museum and was to reflect Dante's "Divine Comedy". Meant to be Dante himself pondering the massive "Gates of Hell," the sculpture evolved to become a larger than life stand-alone piece.

The museum in question had a 'hellish' ending in that it never opened and Rodin never finished the work despite working on it for over a decade.

Answer: The United States

The law was passed on August 15, 1856, and it is known as the Guano Islands Act. Guano, the excrement of birds and bats, was a valuable commodity for fertilization because of its richness in nitrogen and phosphorous. When looking at a map of the South Pacific, one notes that there are many minute islands that have 'U.S.' in brackets beside the names.

These were acquired to secure an adequate supply of fertilizer for the American agricultural industry. Some consider the acquisition of these islands to have been the United States first entry into imperialism!

Answer: A UFO landing pad

The landing pad was officially opened during Canada's centennial in 1967. It even has a UFO interpretive display. A UFO hotline number has been established and is used for UFO sightings, unexplained phenomena and other irregular happenings. Stones from each province in Canada have been used in the construction. Do the other provinces care? This was a Centennial Project and many communities in Canada had Centennial Projects, but none like this one. One must wonder why aliens would select this Canadian community in which to land. Is Roswell, New Mexico, shaking in its boots?. I think not. Oh yes, Glendon, Alberta, has the huge 27' tall and 12' wide pyrogy (perogie) on a fork. Only in Canada, you say.

Answer: It has no meaning

"Idaho" was a fabricated name created by George M. Willing a mining lobbyist and presented to Congress as a name for the territory around Pike's Peak. Congress was told that it was a Shoshone name meaning 'Gem of the Mountains' or 'the Sun comes from the Mountains'.

Interestingly, it had become fashionable in the 1860s to use Indian names. When it was discovered that he had concocted the name, Congress rejected 'Idaho' and finally selected "Colorado Territory" as the name for the new area. The name 'Idaho' became popular with some places, such as 'Idaho Springs' and 'Idaho County', and a steamboat on the Columbia River was named Idaho. Congress on July 4, 1863, took part of eastern Washington Territory, including Idaho County, and named it the Idaho Territory. Idaho was admitted into the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state.

The name was entirely the result of a hoax.

Answer: General Stonewall Jackson

If you cannot trust your friends and your own troops, who can you trust? Jackson had just routed the Federal troops at Chancellorsville and had captured many Federal troops. He and some of his men pursued the retreating Federal forces until darkness descended; then they returned to their own lines. Upon getting close, the 18th North Carolina Infantry regiment shouted, "Halt, who goes there?" However, they fired before understanding the reply. Though Jackson's staff tried to identify themselves Major John D. Barry retorted with, "It's a damned Yankee trick! Fire!" And fire they did! Stonewall Jackson took three bullets, had his arm amputated and died of complications of pneumonia on May 10, 1863.

Answer: Italian

So you want to go native? Espera DeCorti did too. Born in Kaplan, Louisiana, on April 3, 1904, he was the son of Francesca Salpietra and Antonio DeCorti, first generation Italians. In 1924 he headed to California and started to act in movies. He changed his name from "DeCorti" to "Corti" and then to Tony Cody.

He presented himself as a Native American and married Bertha Parker, a Native American woman, and together they adopted two Native American boys. Throughout his life he claimed to be of Cherokee/Cree ancestry. Cody was most famous for his "crying Indian" role in the early 1970s with the "Keep America Beautiful" Public Service Announcements.

The commercial showed an Indian (Cody) shedding a tear after some trash is thrown from a speeding car which lands at his feet.

The voice in the background is that of William Conrad, who had the lead in the TV detective show 'Cannon', and says: "People start pollution; people can stop it." Cody was honored by the Hollywood American Indian community in 1995, for his contributions to Indian life.

He had roles in over 200 movies and cameos in several TV western dramas. Cody died in 1999 at the age of 94. Just as he was not a Native American, real tear in the commercial wasn't quite what it purported to be: it was a drop of glycerin.

Answer: Greece and Bulgaria

The war supposedly began on October 22, 1925, when a Greek soldier ran after his dog, which had strayed across the border from Greece into Bulgaria, so it is sometimes referred to as the War of the Stray Dog. One of the Bulgarian sentries shot the Greek soldier and, according to the Greek army, a Greek captain was also shot.

The Greek government under General Theodoros Pangalos sent soldiers into Bulgaria and tried to occupy Petrich, the Bulgarian border town. He also demanded: the punishment of the Bulgarian commanders of the troops that shot the Greek soldiers, an official apology from the Bulgarian government for the incident, and six million Drachmas as compensation for the families of the victims. What happened to the dog? The Bulgarians did not comply. Greece invaded Bulgaria and in the fighting there are about 50 casualties.

The League of Nations pressured Greece into retreating from Bulgaria, and Bulgaria received a monetary indemnity. All this over a dog! Would pet owners go to this extent for little Fido? 'What happened to the dog?' is another vital question. Or is it?

Answer: Ancient Persians

"Neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" is generally attributed to Herodotus, the Greek historian, who lived circa. 485-420 BCE. This phrase was in reference to the Persian 'postal' system.

This was developed by Cyrus the Great (in the 6th century BC) using mounted relay messengers. The messengers would stop at regularly placed stations to obtain a fresh horse and/or to pass on their letters and messages to another rider. Shades of the 'pony express'! Please note that the letters and dispatches were only for Cyrus and his civil service, not for ordinary Persian citizens.

The New York Post Office building bears the famous inscription and many believe it is the motto of the U.S. Postal Service.

The idea for the inscription was provided by William Mitchell Kendall, one of the building's architects, who gave credit to Herodotus.

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

This assessment was made on November 20, 1863, one day after Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address. It is astounding that the "Chicago Times" saw fit to denigrate the President in such a manner. The Gettysburg Address is considered to be one of the world's most sublime and eloquent funeral orations.

It is comparable to Pericle's Funeral Oration of 431 BCE, following the Spartan attack on Athens at the outbreak of the Peloponnesian Wars . The comments by the "Chicago Times" show shades of modern political mudslinging. Maybe it has always been with us.