This Week In History - To Catch a Princess

April 18th,1956

Commemorate the royal wedding with this fantastic collection of vintage stamps from  Coco's Room on etsy.

On April 18th, 1956, actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco. The glamorous Miss Kelly met her Prince Rainier while filming the 1955 Hitchcock movie, "To Catch a Thief", in the French Riviera. When the two met, it wasn't exactly love at first sight, at least not for the Hitchcock blond. It took a bit of time to convince Miss Kelly that this man she met wasn't just any Prince...he was her Prince Charming. The Prince started a letter writing campaign and his persistence paid off. After a year of correspondence, he won her over. Apparently, that is how you catch a Princess. Miss Kelly retired from acting and traded her star for a crown.

For more information on the wedding of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco or this date in history check out this article on The History Channel website.

This Week In History - Define Timeline...

February 1st, 1884

Adorable handmade dictionary rings from Out Of The Blue's etsy shop

On February 1st, 1884 the first portion of the Oxford English Dictionary is published. Sure there were other dictionaries in publication at that time, but members of London's Philological Society wanted to step it up. What does Philological mean? Why don't you look it up in the dictionary? Plans to produce an error free, up to date dictionary started brewing in 1857. The concept was to cover all of the vocabulary from 1150 A.D. to present (present as in 1850's ish) into four volumes. They estimated it would take about ten years to complete. Over forty years later, after the 125th and final fascicle, the dictionary was published, complete with 400,000 words and phrases in ten volumes. Yes, I see a hand back there...What is a fascicle? You are going to have to look that up in the dictionary. 

For more information on the Oxford English Dictionary or this date in history check out this article on The History Channel website.

This Week In History - Man, That Is One Ugly Mermaid

January 9th, 1493

Hubba, hubba...this pretty little vintage mermaid paperweight was spotted in The Colonies shop on etsy.

On January 9th, 1493, While sailing near the Dominican Republic, Italian Explorer Christopher Columbus, spots three mermaids.  According to Mr. Columbus...these sirens of the sea were "...not half as beautiful as they are painted".  Now, I understand that being at sea for months at a time with a bunch of scurvy mates may cause one to long for the sight of a vivacious little mermaid, but you see Mr. Columbus, what you really spotted while at sea was a little less Ariel and a little more sea cow. Sorry Charlie...I mean Christopher, those ugly mermaids were actually manatees. You know, 1,200 pound slow moving, plant eating, aquatic mammals. Mr. Columbus, you might want to stick to discovering "A Whole New World..." (My Bad. I guess those lyrics belong to a song in a different Disney film, but if the shoe fits...sing it).

For more information about Christopher Columbus or this date in history be sure to check out this article on The History Channel Website.

This Week in History - The Kid Gets Busted

September 23rd, 1875

Fantastic 1950's Wild West Outlaws printed fabric from ErikawithaK Vintage on etsy.

On September 23rd, 1875 the Kid got busted for the first time, Billy The Kid that is, aka William Henry McCarty. What did this infamous outlaw get busted for? Let's just say the crime wasn't quite as intriguing as one might imagine from such a notorious scallywag . The crime that landed the Kid in the clink was stealing...not money...not guns...not horses, but a basket of laundry. Now, any criminal with aspirations of being an unforgettable bad ass knows that you can't let a basket of laundry take you down. The Kid later busted out of jail and headed out to the Wild West where he would earn his stripes as an outlaw and murderer. Yeah, it may have been embarrassing to get busted for stealing a basket of laundry but trying to out do himself on his rap sheet by allegedly murdering twenty-one people...come on Billy, don't ya think you were over compensating just a bit?

For more information on Billy The Kid or this date in history check out this article on The History Channel website.

This Week In History - Meat Uncle Sam

September 7th, 1813

Fantastic Patriotic Uncle Sam Graphic on the cover of this 1913 sheet music from Second Life Collectibles etsy shop. 

Have you ever wondered where the United Sates got the nickname "Uncle Sam"? Well, I am about to tell you. 

On September 7th 1813 the United Sates got its nickname, "Uncle Sam". The name is linked to a meat packer from Troy, New York, named Samuel Wilson. He provided barrels of beef to the U.S. Army during the War of 1812. Mr. Wilson stamped his big barrels of beef "U.S." for United Sates, but the soldiers referred to their beefy chow as "Uncle Sam". Just like today, the media was keen to pick up on a new catch phrase. Local newspapers picked up on this story and eventually "Uncle Sam" caught on and gained acceptance as a nickname for the U.S. Federal Government. 

Since I am an inquiring mind, I have to ponder, why is it that the U.S. Federal Government picked up the nickname "Uncle Sam"? The media could have spun it in another direction though...we could have been calling our meat "Uncle Sam". What if that old lady in the 1984 Wendy's commercials said, "Where's the Uncle Sam?"?  

For more information on this date in history check out this article on History Channel website.

This Week in History - Yer On

Drum roll please...

This week I am introducing a new post to my blog...Ta Da! You know, mix it up a bit.

I call it, "This Week in History". I bet no one has ever done that (please note the sarcasm in my typing).

This is just a little post with a nugget of history from a girly that loves finding out about historical events and not to mention my love for finding something fantastic from an esty seller to help me illustrate! 

Without further ado...

August, 26th 1939

Play Ball! This great vintage planter is from Old Comfort Shop on etsy.

The first televised Major League baseball game is broadcast. What teams played in this game? The Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers. At that time, regular programing didn't really exist and not many people owned televisions. Only about 400 folks in the New York area were able to view this broadcast. It wasn't until 1946 when regular television broadcasting caught on and it wasn't until the mid 1950's that televisions became more common in U.S. households...

For more information on this date in history visit this article on The History Channel website.