Your favorite statistics and bits of trivia

[StillStunned]

The skeleton of Napoleon's warhorse, Marengo, is in the National Army Museum in London.

I thought Marengo was the name of his pet chicken?

(Not really.)

 

[big_cane_sugar]

Whatever identity they're using to work illegally can be used to collect illegally.

They'd need a social security number. They don't need that to work.

 

[big_cane_sugar]

India not only now has the world's largest population; it also has the world's largest diaspora.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Did you even read the piece you linked?

It says a study from the Cato Institute (hardly an unbiased or reliable source) said that. Everyone else who has looked at it has a number in the 200-300 billion range.

I did not want to continue this here, but don't misquote things like that so blatantly.

I didn't misquote it. That's the number the University of Michigan was using. Other sources use similar numbers. The article later sates that using a different methodology the figure was 393 billion in 2018. Well above your supposed 200-300 billion range.

According to the St Louis Fed we spend over 110 billion on SNAP.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TRP6001A027NBEA

Medicaid spending was another $893 billion.
We are already over the low end of your supposed figure with just two programs.

And of course that doesn't count spending by the states.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Back to fun facts:
The Beatles officially broke up at Disney World.

Josh Lennon was there on vacation when he signed the paperwork.

 

[AG31]

ditto liver transplants.

suicide by liver transplant??????

 

[UsuallyPresent]

suicide by liver transplant??????

side effect of paracetamol overdose is liver damage. So less paracetamol ODs, fewer liver transplants needed.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Whether I agree with the particulars or not, I'm going to consider posts in this thread that are obviously meant to be politically provocative to be trolling

 

[SkyBubble]

They'd need a social security number. They don't need that to work.

Actually, they're supposed to have one. They steal Social Security numbers. That's how they get their jobs. Unless they're working completely under the table.

 

[gunhilltrain]

The Anglo-Zanzibar war lasted less than an hour.
The pro-Brit sultan died. His anti-Brit nephew took over.
The Brits said "nope".
Couple of warships in the harbor shelled the palace when the new Sultan wouldn't reconsider.
New Sultan ran away.
War was over.

The British got lucky that time. They have a tendency to underestimate opponents. But then everybody does that or they wouldn't start a war in the first place.

That brings up a bit of trivia. I think the only true warfare ever fought in New York City was the British invasion of New York in 1776. (Well, much of it wasn't the city yet.) A good start, soon after the Declaration of Independence, and they defeated Washington at the Battle of Long Island (really, Gowanus / Park Slope) and pushed him all the way up Manhattan, through the future Bronx, and the future Westchester County to White Plains. There really were guns at Gun Hill, an American position in what is now Woodlawn Cemetery.

https://mtv-drupal-assets.s3.amazon...pg?VersionId=SjTFw9le058l3aMJk8rqp1WKZBS199ZU

 

[big_cane_sugar]

Actually, they're supposed to have one. They steal Social Security numbers. That's how they get their jobs. Unless they're working completely under the table.

We're talking about illegal immigrants?

 

[big_cane_sugar]

The British got lucky that time. They have a tendency to underestimate opponents. But then everybody does that or they wouldn't start a war in the first place.

That brings up a bit of trivia. I think the only true warfare ever fought in New York City was the British invasion of New York in 1776. (Well, much of it wasn't the city yet.) A good start, soon after the Declaration of Independence, and they defeated Washington at the Battle of Long Island (really, Gowanus / Park Slope) and pushed him all the way up Manhattan, through the future Bronx, and the future Westchester County to White Plains. There really were guns at Gun Hill, an American position in what is now Woodlawn Cemetery.

https://mtv-drupal-assets.s3.amazon...pg?VersionId=SjTFw9le058l3aMJk8rqp1WKZBS199ZU

Reminds me of the Irish draft riots in NYC. Not technically a war but interesting to know that the riots were crushed by troops returning from the Battle of Gettysburg.

 

[YDB95]

Gene Pitney died in Cardiff, Wales.
When you factor in layovers and travel to and from the airport at both ends, Cardiff is about twenty-four hours from Tulsa.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Gene Pitney died in Cardiff, Wales.
When you factor in layovers and travel to and from the airport at both ends, Cardiff is about twenty-four hours from Tulsa.

I had to Google that, but it was worth it.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Reminds me of the Irish draft riots in NYC. Not technically a war but interesting to know that the riots were crushed by troops returning from the Battle of Gettysburg.

I was thinking of that. It wasn't all Irish, although a lot of them were. The death toll was at least 200, but it was certainly much higher.

Compared to BLM and Antifa, those guys were really serious. They broke into armories and stole rifles, and fought gun battles with Federal troops in the streets. Unfortunately, Blacks in New York (who weren't that numerous then) could be lynched, and most of them fled the city for a while. The scale of looting and arson was intense, too, and happened throughout the city. The scenes in Gangs of New York are a bit overstated; naval gunfire was not used against the city.

https://www.mrlincolnandnewyork.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/draftriotmap_large.jpg

Ironically, the Battle of Fort Wagner, the engagement depicted in Glory, was two days later on July 18. After that, Blacks volunteered for the war in large numbers, and the government as glad not to have to rely so much on white conscripts - although that continued throughout the war.

 

[gunhilltrain]

A further comment on the Draft Riots. (They happened elsewhere beyond New York.) It was likely the worst urban disorder in American history, with the Rodney King riots (around 53 killed) I think was the second worst. Federal troops and Marines were deployed in L.A. too, but by the time they arrived, almost all violence had ended.

Military convoy on L.A. freeway, May 1992.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/202...arge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale

New York has had disorders in the 20th Century, but nothing close to what other American cities have seen. I don't think even the State National Guard was ever deployed in New York.

 

[big_cane_sugar]

I was thinking of that. It wasn't all Irish, although a lot of them were. The death toll was at least 200, but it was certainly much higher.

Compared to BLM and Antifa, those guys were really serious. They broke into armories and stole rifles, and fought gun battles with Federal troops in the streets. Unfortunately, Blacks in New York (who weren't that numerous then) could be lynched, and most of them fled the city for a while. The scale of looting and arson was intense, too, and happened throughout the city. The scenes in Gangs of New York are a bit overstated; naval gunfire was not used against the city.

https://www.mrlincolnandnewyork.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/draftriotmap_large.jpg

Ironically, the Battle of Fort Wagner, the engagement depicted in Glory, was two days later on July 18. After that, Blacks volunteered for the war in large numbers, and the government as glad not to have to rely so much on white conscripts - although that continued throughout the war.

I wouldn't see BLM or Antifa as anything analogous to the draft riots. If anything, given the racial politics involved, they're more like the anti-Confederates in the South, and the draft rioters would be the January Sixers and tiki torch guys.

Anyway, one of the underappreciated aspects of the American Civil War is how much both sides had to deal with that. The North's struggles are relatively better known because it is less romanticized, but some excellent books have been written on the Confederacy's struggles as well. Freehling's The South vs The South is a nice broad view but McCurry's Confederate Reckoning usually gets more love. I haven't read either book yet....

 

[gunhilltrain]

I wouldn't see BLM or Antifa as anything analogous to the draft riots. If anything, given the racial politics involved, they're more like the anti-Confederates in the South, and the draft rioters would be the January Sixers and tiki torch guys.

Anyway, one of the underappreciated aspects of the American Civil War is how much both sides had to deal with that. The North's struggles are relatively better known because it is less romanticized, but some excellent books have been written on the Confederacy's struggles as well. Freehling's The South vs The South is a nice broad view but McCurry's Confederate Reckoning usually gets more love. I haven't read either book yet....

The only reason I mentioned BLM and Antifa and compared them to New York is the scale of the violence they were willing to inflict and receive. Politically there is no analogy at all. The 19th Century rioters, even though I don't agree with them, were really tough, perhaps even brave at times. However, the whole nation was different then.

Perhaps the United States has been fortunate in that since the Civil War, 160 years ago, we've been able to avoid the horrors that have occurred elsewhere in the world. Let's hope our good fortune continues.

 

[MillieDynamite]

NYC in the 19th century wasn't as 'civilized' as it is now.

1857 Dead Rabbits Riot, The movie, The Gangs of New York, depicts this as a major gang battle, but historians record it as being far less bloody than the Draft Riots. The real riot occurred on July 4–5, 1857, between the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys (not the comedy series of movies). Records show that eight people were killed and between 30 and 100 were wounded. It's suspected that the gangs dragged away many of their dead and injured so that the official number may be low.

The 1863 New York City Draft Riots were a real event, accurately shown in the same film as more destructive and deadly than the earlier gang fight. The riots resulted in more than 100 deaths, including the lynchings of at least 11 free African Americans. Rioters primarily targeted Black people and the wealthy, due to fears that freed slaves would compete for jobs and anger over the $300 fee that allowed wealthy men to avoid the Civil War draft. The New York State Militia and federal troops fresh from the Battle of Gettysburg were ultimately needed to restore order. However, the film's depiction of a naval bombardment is fictional.

 

[sister jenny]

Michael Collins, an Apollo 11 astronaut, was dubbed the “worlds loneliest man” after his time passing through the dark side of the moon alone and losing communication with earth for over 40 minutes.

 

[gunhilltrain]

NYC in the 19th century wasn't as 'civilized' as it is now.

1857 Dead Rabbits Riot, The movie, The Gangs of New York, depicts this as a major gang battle, but historians record it as being far less bloody than the Draft Riots. The real riot occurred on July 4–5, 1857, between the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys (not the comedy series of movies). Records show that eight people were killed and between 30 and 100 were wounded. It's suspected that the gangs dragged away many of their dead and injured so that the official number may be low.

The 1863 New York City Draft Riots were a real event, accurately shown in the same film as more destructive and deadly than the earlier gang fight. The riots resulted in more than 100 deaths, including the lynchings of at least 11 free African Americans. Rioters primarily targeted Black people and the wealthy, due to fears that freed slaves would compete for jobs and anger over the $300 fee that allowed wealthy men to avoid the Civil War draft. The New York State Militia and federal troops fresh from the Battle of Gettysburg were ultimately needed to restore order. However, the film's depiction of a naval bombardment is fictional.

New York has certainly had its ups and downs, but it probably hasn't been an easy place to live in the last two centuries. The Gangs of New York was an uneven movie mostly, and Scorsese is an uneven director. The death toll could have been as high as 1,000, but we're probably never going to know. One other thing he gets wrong: the Five Points, which was a real place, was not affected the way it's shown in the movie.

One amusing thing: "The Bowery Boys" movies started with the Humphrey Bogart movie Dead End around 1937. The actors were really adolescents then. Twenty years later people like Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall were still doing the same roles in ever dumber movies.

https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/inspirethoughts/13441765/1116763/1116763_2000.jpg

 

[TheLobster]

Michael Collins, an Apollo 11 astronaut, was dubbed the “worlds loneliest man” after his time passing through the dark side of the moon alone and losing communication with earth for over 40 minutes.

Relatedly, the crew of Apollo 13 holds the record for the furthest distance humans have travelled from Earth. Their gravity assist maneuver around the moon put them at over 400 thousand kilometers or almost a quarter million miles away.

It's unlikely this record will be beaten until humans either travel to Mars or the Webb Space Telescope requires a crewed mission to repair it.

 

[gunhilltrain]

The London Underground and Overground have obvious explanations of their names. Except at Whitechapel where the Underground is actually overground and the Overground is underground (and Wombling free...)

Transit can get eye-glazingly complicated if you are not into it. The London Underground started as the world's first rapid transit line in 1863. Most of it was truly in tunnels, what we call "subways" or "Metros" today. It used steam locomotives at the start, which must have been quite bothersome for the passengers. The tunnels were shallow with vents to let the smoke out.

Building tunnels is quite expensive, so over the years lines were built above ground on their own rights-of-way. Most cities built elevated lines as extensions of their subways, although New York started an entirely elevated line around 1870. That was the first of it's kind of in the world, and also used steam power.

That's enough of that for the moment. One of George Carlin's oxymoron examples is "elevated subways," which was used in New York. Most people now just call it "the train."

Sloane Square, one of the oldest London stations. I guess the high ceiling with this one helped with the smoke.

https://usercontent.one/wp/www.theh...III-P149-resized-630x365.jpg?media=1747394328

 

[Kelliezgirl]

While traveling on the radial lines of the Moscow Metropolitan to the center the stations are announced by men’s voices and while going from the center women announce them. On the circle line men’s voices announce the stations while going in the clockwise direction, with women’s voices used when going counterclockwise. This is done to simplify the orientation for blind people in the subway.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Transit can get eye-glazingly complicated if you are not into it. The London Underground started as the world's first rapid transit line in 1863. Most of it was truly in runnels, what we call "subways" or "Metros" today. It used steam locomotives at the start, which must have been quite bothersome for the passengers. The tunnels were shallow with vents to let the smoke out.

I'm not sure if 'runnels' is a typo or an American technical term, but the London Underground as opened in the 1860s-80s isn't in tunnels (it's also not what we'd ever call rapid transit!), but what we call "cut and cover' lines - roads were dug up, a ditch made, and then the railway cutting was covered up in many places - with gaps to let the steam out.

The tunnelling shield wasn't invented until the late 1860s and the first actual tunnel on the London Underground was only opened in 1890 (from Stockwell to King William St near Bank, mostly now the Northern Line), with electric trains. Technically, the term 'Tube' only includes these deep tunneled lines, and not the 'sub-surface' lines.

Building tunnels is quite expensive, so over the years lines were built above ground on their own rights-of-way. Most cities built elevated lines as extensions of their subways, although New York started an entirely elevated line around 1870. That was the first of it's kind of in the world, and also used steam power.

Outside the built-up areas, the extending London rail networks were mostly surface level and the city expanded around them. We don't actually have many elevated lines - cuttings are much more common.

Sloane Square, one of the oldest London stations. I guess the high ceiling with this one helped with the smoke.

https://usercontent.one/wp/www.theh...III-P149-resized-630x365.jpg?media=1747394328

The Circle Line including Sloane Square was always black on the brick walls when I was a kid. Then in the 80s and 90s a huge renovation programme started, cleaning buildings all over London. The walls went back to their original limestone colour,.as did the Houses of Parliament. Some of the stations on the original Paddington to Farringdon section look pretty much how they'd have looked to Sherlock Holmes.