"The Herd's" Fun Fact Path

Source for these facts, unless otherwise noted, are taken from "500 Fascinating Facts"-
published by the Harold Warp Pioneer Village (non-profit) Foundation, Minden, Nebraska, USA.
Used by permission.

(405) Safety pins were developed by Wm. Hunt and patented by him on
April 10, 1849; little did he realize that they would become popular
world wide, and still be in use more than 100 years later. Millions are sold annually, yet he sold his patent for $200 when the public at first
refused to accept the safety pin.

(408) The first pencil with an attached eraser was patented in 1858.

(414) Roller skates were invented by Joseph Merlin of London in 1760.

(321) One day in April, 1900, Harry Stevens, who ran the frankfurter stall
at the New York Polo Grounds, shouted "They're hot, red hot, get your
dachshund sausages while they're hot." A newspaper cartoonist, Tad Dorgan, hearing Stevens' sales pitch, drew a cartoon of two frankfurters barking at
each other and titled it "Hot Dogs". They have been hot dogs ever since.

(346) Ice cream sundaes were invented in 1885 in Evanston, Ill., when
selling soda was banned on Sundays.

(350) "Tootsie" was the Viennese sweetheart of an Austrian candy maker
named Leo Hirshfield. He left her to seek his fortune in New York City
in 1896, and when his candy roll caught on, he named it
"Tootsie Roll" for his girlfriend.

(326) The origin of "cocktails" - 1776. During the American Revolution a
barmaid garnished Colonial and French officers' drinks on one occassion
with the tail feathers of chickens she had stolen from the farm of a neighboring British sympathizer, that she intended to serve the British for dinner. This so delighted one Frenchman at the American table that he cried out,
"Vive le coq's tail!" The name stuck and now stands for any drink into which
fruit, flavoring, flowers or leaves are mixed - cocktail.

(387) The "White House" got its name after the British burned it in 1814 and
the marks of the fire were covered over with white paint.

(372) Right or left shoe! It made no difference prior to the Civil War what
shoe you picked to put on your foot. Each shoe was made from the same last.
(The early Cobbler's Shop featured at the Harold Warp Pioneer Village in south central Nebraska features cobblers machines, tools and lasts of the 1840 era).

(274) Glass coins of varying colors were used in Egypt from 908 to 1171 A.D.
Each denomination was a different color and were exchangable
for gold on demand.

(277) When coins disappeared from circulation during the Civil War, people commenced using postage stamps for legal tender. In 1862, Congress
authorized the printing of the first 25 cent stamps in clusters, with
Washington's picture on them, to be used for money. The second printing
was authorized by Congress in 1863, to print unperforated stamps in
denominations of 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents, all described on the face as
"Postage Currency". Several printings followed.
Over $15,000.00 of this fractional currency printed by the
U.S. Government between 1862 and 1876 was never redeemed.

(247) Although the Greeks and Romans had tubs (mostly public baths) as
far back as 1200 B.C., bathtubs did not gain favor in the U.S. until a
cast iron tub was introduced in 1870. The first bathtub in the U.S. was built
in Cincinnati, Ohio in December 1842. Cincinnati doctors condemned "this outrageous contraption" and a $30 luxury tax was imposed on it.
Boston passed a law forbidding the use of a bathtub during the cold months
as a health hazard.