Fred Astaire, born Frederick Austerlitz, on May 10, 1899 in Omaha, Nebraska, is an icon in the world of American dance.
Posts Tagged ‘history’
What do I find fascinating?
April 2, 2018
“Today, views of the world’s ancient architectural wonders are firmly based in their current state of ruin, leaving to visitors’ imaginations the original glory of structures like the Parthenon, Pyramid of the Sun, and Temple of Luxor. NeoMam, in a project for Expedia, has resurrected several ancient buildings through a series of gifs. In a matter of seconds, centuries of natural and intentional damage and decay are reversed to reveal a rare glimpse at what the original structures would have looked like. The creative contractors behind the labor-intensive renderings are Maja Wrońska and her husband Przemek Sobiecki, who works as This Is Render.”
Whose birthday will I be celebrating?
March 22, 2018“Don’t let them promote you. Don’t let them transfer you. Don’t let them do anything that takes you off the bridge of that ship, because while you’re there, you can make a difference.”
James Tiberius (“Jim”) Kirk was a descendant of pioneers of the American frontier during the late 19th century. He was born on March 22nd, 2233, in Iowa, USA, Earth. He was the son of George and Winona Kirk. ( His parents named him after his maternal grandfather, James, and his paternal grandfather, Tiberius. He went on to become arguably the most decorated officer in Star Fleet history.
A plaque marks his future birthplace in Riverside, Iowa.
Whose birthday am I celebrating?
March 8, 2018
The namesake of my nom de blog, Anne Bonney, the Lady Pirate, born in Cork, Ireland on March 8, 1697.
“It is hard to separate the legend from the facts of Anne Bonny. The only thing we can be sure of is that Anne Bonny was a strong, independent woman, who was way ahead of her time. The 18th century was still a time when man made all important decisions, a time when women did not have many rights. In this men’s world, it was hard for Anne Bonny to become an equal crewmember and a respected pirate” – more here
She was a liberated woman, colleague of Mary Read, the former wife of Calico Jack Rackham, and a pirate in her own right – Happy Birthday, Anne!
What am I remembering?
March 6, 2018
The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar (modern-day San Antonio, Texas, United States), killing all of the Texian defenders. Santa Anna’s cruelty during the battle inspired many Texians—both Texas settlers and adventurers from the United States—to join the Texian Army. Buoyed by a desire for revenge, the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the revolution. – Wikipedia
What am I knitting?
January 30, 2018
“In the United States and abroad, wartime has long involved knitters. Especially before women were involved in combat, they were encouraged to support troops from home by knitting necessary items for soldiers such as socks and hats. Since knitting was a very common sight, nobody would think of knitting as a suspicious activity. But knitting and espionage have a certain connection throughout history.
Let’s go way back to the Revolutionary War in the United States. As British troops took over the homes of colonials during the war, these people became less than pleased. One such dissatisfied rebel was Molly “Mom” Rinker of Philadelphia. Troops quartered themselves in her house and did not allow the men of the household into the dining area, but Molly was allowed in to serve the troops. It was here that she listened closely to their conversations. She would then write the information down on a small piece of paper, wrap it around a stone, and wrap yarn around the stone until she had a very normal-looking ball of yarn. She would take this yarn ball to a rock overlooking some woods. There she would sit and knit, dropping the ball of yarn off the rock and into the woods below without notice. One of George Washington’s men would ride by and grab the yarn to learn British military secrets.
“During World War I, another yarn-equipped informant helped the Allies. A Frenchwoman named Madame Levengle would sit in front of her window and knit. As she knitted, she would watch troop movements from the window and tap her feet on the floor to send codes to her children pretending to do schoolwork on the floor below. The children would write down the codes, and all went unnoticed by nearby German marshals the whole time.
In World War II, an infamous American spy named Elizabeth Bentley used knitting to disguise her espionage as well. She ran two spy rings that sent damaging information about the United States to the Soviet Union, and she would sneak documents to the Soviets in her knitting bag.
Phyllis Latour Doyle was a secret agent for Britain during WWII. She parachuted into Normandy in 1944 and chatted with German soldiers, acting as a friendly helper. But then she knitted messages to the British, which they translated using Morse Code. Knitting coded messages is a form of steganography, which is a way to physically hide messages. A specific combination of knit and purl stitches could be translated into messages.
While knitting coded messages was less common than using knitting to disguise suspicious activity, codes in knitting were still a threat. The Belgian Resistance during World War II recruited women who had windows overlooking railway yards. They were to note the German train movements with their knitting: Purl one for one type of train, drop one for another. During World War II, the Office of Censorship in the United States banned people from posting knitting patterns abroad, since the instructions could in fact disguise military secrets.
Next time you suspect someone might not give knitters the respect they deserve, make sure to set them straight with the radical history of wartime knitters!”
