A to Z Historic Trivia - S

S

Deborah Sampson disguised herself as a man for two years in order to serve as a continental soldier in the Revolutionary war.  Wounded in battle, she dug a bullet out of her own leg. Her true gender remained a secret to most until, many years later, when she was gravely ill, a necessary exam exposed the truth. She was honorably discharged from service, and her husband became the first man to receive a widow’s pension.

Located at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia is a chair that not only made but changed office furniture history. The chair once belonged to Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, who modified a Windsor chair into what we call a Swivel Chair – though without those handy wheels that have enabled many a clandestine chair race. It has been said that Thomas Jefferson sat in that very chair when he drafted the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776.

One evening in 1936, Sylvan Goldman, owner of the self-serve supermarket chain “Humpty Dumpty,” using a folding chair and two baskets wired together, came up with an idea to facilitate customer movement of (more) groceries. The idea, now known as the Shopping Cart, wasn’t widely accepted at first. Men thought it was too effeminate, while women thought it suggestive of a baby carriage. Nonetheless, savvy marketing paid off and made Goldman a millionaire. 

Carved by the waters of the mighty Snake River, Hell’s Canyon is the deepest gorge in the United States and the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Shoshone Falls, in southern Idaho, is sometimes called “Niagara of the west,” though it is 45 feet higher and flows over a rim almost a thousand feet wide. Sign language used by Native American Shoshones to represent swimming salmon was misinterpreted to mean snake, giving the river its name. There is much to see and do, and even more to learn along - and about - the Snake River. I’ll tell you more about our unforgettable visit when the letter W comes around ;-)

Happy Blogging!