Delaware is the only state without a national park.

I wasn’t del-aware of that.

I don’t know what’s worse.  That pun.  Or the post’s useless title.

Until the early 1930s, the only day of rest in America was typically the Sabbath (for Christians Sunday, for Jews Saturday).  During the Depression there was a demand for “sharing the work,” which resulted in codes of fair competition, which created the 40-hour, 5-day work week.  These codes were adopted in the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933.  This act was later deemed unconstitutional, but the practice remained.  In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act renewed the 40-hour week’s basis in law by stipulating that hours worked in excess of 40 were to be compensated at one and one-half times the normal rate.

Now I finally understand the lyrics of that one song…  “Everybody’s working for the weekend (thanks to the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, which, although unconstitutional, created the weekend that we are working for)!”

It’s in parentheses because only the background singers sing it.

Christopher Columbus never set foot in North America.  The closest he got was the Bahamas.

Happy Columbus Day to the Bahamas!

I’ve been trying to figure out why Abraham Lincoln was called “Honest.”  I’ve read various explanations.  Some of them seem like folk lore, intended for elementary school teachers to tell their students.  For example, when young Abraham worked as a store clerk, he realized that he overcharged one of his customers by a few pennies.  He then walked a bunch of miles to the person’s house and returned the pennies.  He probably wanted to brag about how the penny featured an image of him…

I also read that when he worked as a lawyer, he would often help poor people for free.  That doesn’t really seem honest, actually. 

The last explanation is incredibly dubious and will most likely not be used by 2nd grade teachers:  Abe Lincoln got the nickname “Honest Abe” for his work as a cockfight official. 

In the three examples, it sounds more appropriate to call him, “Stalker Abe,” “Robin Hood Abe,” and “Creepy Abe.”

The first U.S. President ever to be photographed was John Quincy Adams.  Although he wasn’t actually President at the time.

I bet he was President by the time the old-timey camera finished taking the picture.

Samuel Wilson was a meat-packer in Troy, New York during the War of 1812.  Saying meat-packer makes me laugh.  Anyway, large amounts of meat were being sent to the soldiers.  Elbert Anderson, a contractor for the government, oversaw this process.  Before the meat could be shipped, it had to be inspected.  Enter Samuel Wilson, who was nicknamed “Uncle Sam” by his fellow meat-packers.  After it passed inspection, the provisions were marked with E.A.-U.S., as Elbert Anderson of the United States government approved the meat.  However, the workers didn’t know what E.A.-U.S. stood for, so they joked that it must stand for “Uncle Sam.”  To this day, the U.S. government has been personified by Uncle Sam.

It’s amazing how a little joke told by a bunch of meat-packers came to represent our country.

Uncle Sam “the Meat-Packer” sounds like an uncle that isn’t allowed at family events.

The circumference of a U.S. quarter has 119 ridges (technically called “reeds”).

Biggest waste of 3 hours ever.

Cops are sometimes referred to as Five-O because of the TV show Hawaii Five-O.  “Five-O” refers to Hawaii being the 50th state.

It also sounds a lot better than “Oklahoma Four-Six.”

This is fun.  I was looking at a list of Presidential Pets, or First-Pets, or whatever cutesy name you want to call the animals that live at the White House.  There have been some good ones.  The early presidents often had horses and donkeys.  Thomas Jefferson had two bear cubs.  John Quincy Adams had an alligator.  James Buchanan had an eagle (the pinnacle of badass pets).  Benjamin Harrison apparently had opossums (the least badass pets).  Calvin Coolidge pretty much had a zoo.  But my favorite pets of them all were owned by John Adams.  John Adams had two dogs.  One was named Juno.  The other one was named Satan.

I won’t even ruin this by saying anymore. The guy had a dog named SATAN!  Brilliant!