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December,
2001:
 Did
you know the General
Sherman Tree is the World's
Largest Living Thing?
Yes, the General
Sherman is a sequoia located in Sequoia
National Park in California.
It is named after the Civil War General William
T. Sherman. Although other trees are taller or have
a greater circumference, the General Sherman has
the largest volume of wood which makes it the World's
Largest Living Thing. The General Sherman is 274.9'
tall -- that's taller than a 27-story building.
It is also very old -- it is between 1800 and 2700
years old.
Did
you know Sequoia National Park was the
second national park designated in the United States?
Yes, it was established on September 25, 1890. Yellowstone
National Park, established
on March 1, 1872, was the first National Park.
Photo: General
Sherman Tree
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November
26, 2001:
Did you know the Iroquois
called corn, beans, and squash the Three Sisters?
Yes, corn, beans,
and squash were important sources of food for the
Iroquois. Corn is a source of carbohydrates, beans
is a source of protein, and squash is a source of
vitamins. The Iroquois also ate fruits, nuts, meat,
and fish. Read
more about the Iroquois.
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November
19, 2001:
 Did
you know President Abraham
Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving as an
annual national holiday in 1863?
Yes, on October
3, 1863, in fact. This was during the American Civil
War. In 1941, the United States Congress passed
a law making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday of
November.
Photo: Abraham
Lincoln
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November
12, 2001:
Did
you know William
Howard Taft was the President
of the United States and the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court?
Yes, William
Howard Taft was the 27th President from 1909 to
1913, and he was the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court from 1921 to 1930.
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November
5, 2001:
 Did
you know the United States Congress is made
up of two Houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives?
Yes, during
the Constitutional Convention in 1787, there was
a division between small states and large states
regarding how representation in the federal government
would be determined. The small states wanted the
states to have equal representation. The large states
wanted representation based on population. A compromise
was reached which satisfied both sides. The Constitution
set up the United States Congress as a bicameral
system (a legislature made up of two chambers).
The Senate
is made up of two Senators from each state, and
the House
of Representatives is
elected according to population. Read
a book about the Congress.
Photo:
United
States Capitol
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October
29, 2001:
Did
you know North and South Dakota were admitted
to the Union on the same day?
Yes, on November
2, 1889, North and South Dakota became the 39th
and 40th states admitted to the United States of
America. Before becoming a state, they had been
part of the Dakota Territory. The United States
admitted four states to the Union in November, 1889.
On November 8, Montana became the 41st state, and
on November 11, Washington became the 42nd state.
What
year was your state admitted to the Union?
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October
22, 2001:
 Did
you know the White House requires 570 gallons
of paint to cover its outside surface?
Yes, the White
House is located in Washington, D.C., and it is
the place where the President of the United States
works and lives. The job of the President is very
demanding at times. However, there are also plenty
of ways the President can relax while at the White
House. Did you know
the White House has a tennis court, jogging track,
swimming pool, movie theater, and bowling lane?
Read a book about the Presidency.
Photo: White
House.
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October
15, 2001:
 Did
you know there were celebrations in 1929 and
1979 for the 50th and 100th Anniversaries of Thomas
Alva Edison's invention
of the light bulb?
Yes, in 1929, the Greenfield Village in Michigan,
held a celebration called the Golden Jubilee of
Light. Models were built of the homes where Alva
had lived, laboratories where Alva had worked, and
the Grand Trunk Railroad where Alva had worked as
a boy. Alva participated in the festivities, displayed
his ability to send high speed telegraphs, and recreated
the experiment which tested the light bulb. In 1979,
the Centennial of Light was a year long celebration
of the 100th Anniversary of the electric light bulb.
Read
a book about Alva.
Photo: Thomas
Edison at the 1929 Golden Jubilee recreates his
light bulb experiment.
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October
8, 2001:
 Did
you know Christopher Columbus landed in the
New World on October 12, 1492?
Yes, and many
regions recognize Christopher
Columbus' accomplishments
in different ways. The United States celebrates
Columbus' first voyage to the Americas with a holiday
on the second Monday in October. This holiday is
called Columbus Day. It has also been called Discovery
Day and Landing Day. Some cities, like New York
City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, have parades.
Did you know
the city of Columbus, Ohio, is named after Christopher?
Spain and South America celebrate Christopher's
accomplishments on October 12. Spain calls it National
Day. Some South American cities place flowers around
statues of Christopher.
Photo: Christopher
Columbus.
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October
1, 2001:
 Did
you know
NASA was started on October 1, 1958?
Yes, the
National
Aeronautics and Space Administration,
or NASA, was started for the purpose of human space
flight, aeronautics, and space science. During the
1950's, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were in a
"space race" to be the first country to successfully
launch a man into space and return him safely to
earth. In 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched
and landed Sputnik, the first artificial satellite.
In 1961, Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first person
in space. NASA followed with many accomplishes,
including Project Mercury (1 manned space flights),
Project Gemini (2 manned space flights), and Project
Apollo (3 manned space flights). Neil
Armstrong was the commander
of Apollo 11, and he was the first person to walk
on the surface of the moon. On July 20, 1969, at
9:56 pm (Houston time), Armstrong stepped out of
the lunar module Eagle, saying, "That's one
small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Photo: Mercury
Seven, the first seven
U.S. Astronauts
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September
24, 2001:
Did
you know the American Civil War began in Wilbur
McLean's backyard and ended in his front parlor?
Yes, in a way.
This is a popularly held fact about the American
Civil War. Although, the Civil War began on April
12, 1861, at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina,
the first main battle was the Battle
of Manassas (or Bull Run)
near Manassas, Virginia. This battle was fought
on part of Wilbur McLean's backyard. After the battle,
McLean moved his family to the small town of Appomattox
Court House, Virginia.
Appomattox remained quiet until April, 1865, during
Lee's Retreat. On April 9, 1865, General
Robert E. Lee surrendered to General
Ulysses S. Grant
in Wilbur McLean's front parlor. Read more about
the Civil
War.
Photo: Front
Parlor of McLean House
in Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
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September 10, 2001:
 Did
you know Galileo discovered the moon reflects
light from the sun?
Yes, in December,
1609, Galileo
looked at the earth's moon through his telescope.
He observed many things regarding the moon that
could not have been known by looking at the moon
with the human eye. First, the moon does not create
light itself. It shines because it reflects light
from the sun. Second, the moon's surface is not
smooth and perfect. It has mountains, craters, and
valleys just like the earth. Read a book about Galileo.
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September 3, 2001:
 Did
you know Mark Twain published Ulysses S. Grant's
autobiography?
Yes. Ulysses
S. Grant
wrote his autobiography called, Personal Memoirs
of Ulysses S. Grant. Ulysses was diagnosed with
throat cancer and was going to use the money from
the sale of the book to provide for his family after
he passed away. He finished the autobiography days
before he died. It is one of the most famous autobiographies
in American history. Read
a book about Ulysses.
Photos:
Ulysses
S. Grant.
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