There's two things I love about this world- lists and Abraham Lincoln. Why not combine both? So today I will share with you a list of one of my heroes and most inspirational people I have watched, read or listened about, but some of his lesser known... "accomplishments"
1. Abraham Lincoln is enshrined in the Wrestling Hall of Fame- Yep! The emancipator was a big competition not only in politics, but in tackling others to the ground with brutal force (ok, so maybe they're not that different)
2. Lincoln created the US Secret Service on the day of his death- On April 14, 1865, Lincoln signed a legislation creating the U.S Secret Service. Later that evening, our hero was shot through the skull. Another job well done, 'Merica.
3. Grave robbers attempted to steal Lincoln's corpse- Secret Service did come to Lincoln’s protection, but only in death. In 1876 a gang of Chicago robbers attempted to snatch Lincoln’s body from his tomb, which was protected by just a single padlock, in Illinois. Their scheme was to hold the corpse for a ransom of $200,000 and obtain the release of the gang’s best counterfeiter from prison. Secret Service agents, however, infiltrated the gang and were lying in wait to disrupt the operation. Lincoln’s body was quickly moved to an unmarked grave and eventually encased in a steel cage and entombed under 10 feet of concrete.
4. John Wilkes' Booth Brother Saved Lincoln's Son- A few months before the assassination, Lincoln's eldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln almost fell on a train platform resulting to his death. But just before he fell, the hand of god, reached upon him and saved the young man's life. It was no other than the actor Edwin Booth, John Wilkes Booth's brother.
5. Out of 44 Presidents and 233 years, Lincoln is the only president with a patent- Looks like Big Ben isn't the only now with an inventive mind. Lincoln, who loved tinkering with machines, designed a method for keeping vessels afloat when traversing shallow waters through the use of empty metal air chambers attached to their sides. For his design, Lincoln obtained Patent No. 6,469 in 1849.
6. Lincoln never slept in the Lincoln bedroom- When he occupied the White House, the 16th president used the current Lincoln Bedroom as his personal office, it wasn't his actual bedroom. It was there that he met with Cabinet members and signed documents, including the Emancipation Proclamation. If my dad ever becomes famous, and take his office and name it "The Brodsky Bedroom" they would be absolutely right, for he stays there 24/7.
7. Poisoned milk killed Lincoln's mother- Not only did Abe's mommy die when he was only 9 years old, but her mom, Nancy, died of a mysterious "milk sickness" that was spreading in Louisiana. Later it was learned that it was milk poisoning from cows that had infections in their utters.
8. Lincoln Personnally test-fired rifles in The White House- Lincoln was hands-on commander-in-chief, he even tested the damn guns! He was very interested on the artillery that the union used in the war. Lincoln attended artillery and cannon tests and met at the White House with inventors demonstrating military prototypes. Although there was a standing order against firing weapons in the District of Columbia, Lincoln even test-fired muskets and repeating rifles around the White House. Could you imagine Obama doing that? Never!
I hope you have enjoyed today's interesting and odd list, and that you have realized how much badassery is contained in one person.
Sources; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_lincoln
Reading is fundamental :)
Take care!
Sam.
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