Portal:United States/Did you know/archive/2010/February

February 2010

 * ... that the Catskills' Esopus Creek (pictured, near Shandaken) is one of the most productive trout streams in the Northeast?
 * ... that the Alexandria Zoological Park in Alexandria, Louisiana, US, started mostly with discarded pets when it opened in 1926?
 * ... that members of the United States  Marine Corps (pictured) that were stationed in Central America  in the early 20th century have been credited with bringing the sport of  baseball to Nicaragua,  and popularizing it in the area?
 * ... that Harold Bell co-created Woodsy Owl (pictured), mascot of the United States Forest Service, on the set of the television series Lassie?
 * ... that Dean Fredericks, who portrayed Air Force pilot Steve Canyon in the 1958–59 NBC television series, was awarded a Purple Heart during World War II?
 * ... that University of Michigan freshman Devin Gardner compiled 3,287 yards of total offense  as a high school junior and was ranked as the top quarterback prospect in the United States in  2009?
 * ... that the American Piedmont blues  guitarist  Baby Tate  worked with a Blind Boy and a Peg Leg during his five-decade-long  career?
 * ... that the American Detroit blues musician Washboard Willie, derived his backing group's name, the Super Suds of Rhythm, from his job as a car washer?
 * ... that Presidential Medal of Freedom winner J. Warren Madden (pictured) was the first Chair of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, and said of his service on the Board, "It was all very frustrating"?
 * ... that Paul Harrington, inventor of the Harrington implant, once tried out for the United States Olympic team?
 * ... that Louis Merrilat played football with Dwight Eisenhower at West Point, trained Iran's Persian Guard, and served as a soldier of fortune in China and with the French Foreign Legion?
 * ... that, despite being named for Antelope, Antelope  Island State Park (map pictured)  is noted for being the home of one of the largest herds of Bison  in the United States?
 * ... that One City Center was the largest urban shopping mall  in the United States  when it opened in 1986?
 * ... that Facebook polls asking whether Barack Obama should be assassinated have been investigated by the government as possible felonious threats against the President of the United States?
 * ... that the first-ever paid youth soccer coach in the United States was an Englishman named Derek Armstrong?
 * ... that Paul M. Herzog`s grandfather-in-law, Oscar Straus, and his step-son, Alexander Trowbridge, were both United States Secretary of Commerce?
 * ... that despite writing multiple hits such as "Sticks and Stones," "Tell Me Why", and "Leave My Kitten Alone", the American R&B singer Titus Turner only recorded one album?
 * ... that during his 25 years on the U.S. National Labor Relations Board John H. Fanning took part in more than 25,000 decisions?
 * ... that, according to the hotel's owner, before Marshall's Hotel opened in 1880 in Yellowstone Park, a visiting U.S. Interior Secretary had to sleep outdoors, and it rained that night?
 * ... that the sports arena Wesley Brown Field House at the United States Naval Academy is named after Wesley A. Brown, the first African American to graduate from the academy?
 * ... that in 1939 it was ruled that a child born in the United States to alien parents retains U.S. citizenship, even if the parents take the child back to their home country?
 * ... that the American Piedmont and country blues singer and guitarist Alec Seward was one of at least five musicians billed as 'Guitar Slim'?
 * ... that the architecture of Agudas Achim Synagogue in Livingston Manor, New York, reflects both the Eastern European origins of its founders and the older Protestant churches in the area?
 * ... that a class action suit was filed in US Federal Court against R2C2, a company that sells term papers online, alleging copyright infringement for reselling papers written by other authors?
 * ... that Selective Service System director Lawrence Romo testified to the U.S. Senate that he knew of no more ways that the Defense Department can assist in increasing registration compliance?
 * ... that in 1963, Claude Hall, a historian of American diplomacy, published a full-scale biography of Secretary of State Abel Parker Upshur?
 * ... that in 1865, Henry Martin Tupper founded the first historically black college in the American South, Shaw University of Raleigh, North Carolina?
 * ... that archaeologist Vance Haynes challenged the right of Native Americans to rebury Kennewick Man—skeletal bone fragments about 9,000 years old—which Haynes said should be studied further?
 * ... that the American Chicago blues singer, harmonicist, and songwriter, Shakey Jake Harris, acquired his nickname from his previous career as a professional gambler?
 * ... that the American journalist George Wilkes (d. 1885) was one of the men who introduced parimutuel betting into the United States?
 * ... that Gustavo de Greiff, Colombia's first Attorney General responsible for prosecuting drug lords, advocated for drug decriminalization during the height of the United States's War on Drugs in Colombia?
 * ... that United States Air Force Major General Caleb V. Haynes was the grandson of Chang Bunker, one of the original "Siamese Twins"?
 * ... that Littleberry Mosby Jr, captain and brigadier general during the Revolution and War of 1812, disinherited his son, Littleberry Mosby III, for leaving Virginia?
 * ... that the Hollenden Hotel, established in 1885 and demolished in 1962, provided accommodations for the five U.S. Presidents following Grover Cleveland when they visited Cleveland, Ohio?
 * ... that blues scholars seem undecided if the American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter Ramblin' Thomas nickname referred to his style of playing, or itinerant nature?
 * ... that Pádraig MacKernan, who served as Ireland's Ambassador to both France and the United States, had a public falling out with Minister for Foreign Affairs David Andrews in 1998?
 * ... that Wayne Morse won the Democratic primary in an attempt to reclaim his Senate seat in the 1974 Oregon United States Senate election but died prior to the general election?
 * ... that Alabama is the first state in the United States to create its own legislatively enacted cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security?
 * ... that the American blues pianist Buster Pickens was shot dead following an argument in a bar?
 * ... that former baseball pitcher Butch Wensloff served in the United States Army during World War II?
 * ... that mastitis is the most costly and most common disease in dairy cattle in the United States?
 * ... that Carrie Jones is a multi-award winning American author of young-adult fiction?
 * ... that the American blues singer and pianist Maggie Jones, who recorded 38 songs between 1923  and 1926, was billed as "The Texan Nightingale"?
 * ... that an American judge was appointed to the Permanent Court of International Justice when it was formed, despite the United States not being a signatory to the Court protocol?
 * ... that the U.S. military base Camp Kearny, predecessor of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California, once housed a mooring mast for the Navy's helium dirigibles?
 * ... that the American Security and Trust Company Building used to appear on the U.S. 10 bill?
 * ... that the Barbours Cut Terminal, part of the Port of Houston, was the first seaport in the United States to implement the international ISO 14001 environmental standards?
 * ... that American country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Son Bonds was accidentally shot to death in August 1947 by his short-sighted neighbor?
 * ... that despite threatening the western coast of Florida, USA, 1950's Hurricane Love weakened prior to landfall and moved ashore with little fanfare?