Generations of Germans believe Frederick the Great brought potatoes to Germany. It's a myth
The legend is this: King Frederick II of Prussia wanted his subjects to eat potatoes, introduced to Europe in the 16th century from South America. But the people of Prussia, which later became part of a united Germany , wouldn't touch the tuber.
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Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Have Confirmed the Shipwreck of Captain Cook's Long-Lost Endeavour
Here's what you'll learn when you read this article: Experts have finally confirmed that a shipwreck off the coast of Rhode Island is the wreckage of Captain James Cook's HMS Endeavour. Also known as the HMB Endeavour and the Lord Sandwich, the ship was purposely sunk in 1778. The Australian National Maritime Museum claimed the identified wreck, called RI 2394, was the Endeavour back in 2023, but the Rhode Island Maritime Archeology Project required more evidence before confirming the remains in question were indeed those of the lost vessel. This story is a collaboration with Popular Mechanics A shipwreck off the coast of Rhode Island has officially been confirmed to be the HMS Endeavour, according to a new report from the Australian National Maritime Museum. The sunken vessel, also known as the HMB Endeavour (short for His Majesty's Bark) and the Lord Sandwich, had long been sought since it was purposefully sunk in 1778. Now, the wreckage once labeled RI 2394 has been confirmed to be that same ship, once made famous by Captain James Cook. But if you feel like you'd actually read this same story years ago, it's not just deja vu. As Popular Mechanics previously reported, RI 2394 had been announced by the Australian National Maritime Museum to be the HMS Endeavour in February of 2022. But at that time, their research partners involved in the project, the Rhode Island Maritime Archeology Project, questioned the announcement, feeling that while RI 2394 was certainly a strong candidate, more research was needed to officially declare it the Endeavour. Then, in December of 2023, the Australian National Maritime Museum reasserted their declaration, pointing to further evidence gleaned from the wreckage's pump well and bow. At that time, they stated that they '...call on the preponderance of evidence where we've got a whole series of things that tie into Endeavour. And so far, we've found lots of things that tick the boxes for it to be the Endeavour and nothing on the list which says it's not.' Yet, only now, in this new final report for 2025, has the Rhode Island Maritime Archeology Project come to see eye to eye with the Australian National Maritime Museum. The report's executive summary, written by Kieran Hosty & James Hunter and published by the Australian National Maritime Museum, states: 'In 1999 and again in 2019, RIMAP and ANMM agreed on a set of criteria that, if satisfied, would permit identification of RI 2394 as Lord Sandwich[…] Based on the agreed preponderance of evidence approach, enough of these criteria have now been met for the ANMM to positively identify RI 2394 as the remnants of Lord Sandwich, formerly James Cook's HMB Endeavour.' So now, there is no dispute. The long-sought Endeavour wreckage has officially been identified. What made the search for the Endeavour such enduring one across these centuries? As the report writes, 'His Majesty's Bark (HMB) Endeavour is a significant vessel in Australian maritime history,' though they concede that it is 'one that elicits mixed opinions.' 'For some, the Pacific voyage led by James Cook between 1768 and 1771 embodies the spirit of Europe's Age of Enlightenment, while for others it symbolizes the onset of colonization and the subjugation of First Nations Peoples,' the report reads. But even for those in Australia deeply aware of Captain Cook, they might not know the other role the Endeavour played, that of a 'British troop transport and prison ship caught up in the American War of Independence.' Hence why the then-named Lord Sandwich was sunk near Rhode Island, only just now to be officially, formally found. This final definitive declaration identifying the vessel isn't just the resolution of an announcement controversy from a few years back; it's the culmination of what the reports notes was 'a 26-year program of archival and archaeological research.' The collaboration between the two organizations began in 1999, due in part to the state of Rhode Island having claim over all wrecks that had been scuttled in Newport Harbor in 1778, which would include the wreck proved to be the Endeavour. Building on the archival research of Australian historians Mike Connell and Des Liddy and the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project's Dr. Kathy Abbass, the report notes this collaboration 'led to a series of archaeological expeditions in Newport Harbor in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004.' These endeavors to find the Endeavour consisted of 'remote sensing of the seafloor, underwater survey by divers, and analysis of samples of stone, coal, timber, and sediment raised from a range of shipwreck sites of 18th-century vintage.' But none of the wreckages exhibited characteristics which could be indicative of the Lord Sandwich. Their efforts resumed in 2015, and by 2016 they had narrowed down where in the harbor the ship had been scuttled. That allowed them to whittle down a group of 13 ships sunk in 1778 to just 5, which were, in the absence of proper identification, labelled as RI 2396, RI 2397, RI 2578, RI 2393, and RI 2394. 'The two largest shipwreck sites, RI 2578 and RI 2394, were considered the most likely candidates for the remains of Lord Sandwich,' the report continues. But further analysis determined that RI 2578 didn't demonstrate enough of the requisite characteristics to be the Lord Sandwich. In investigating RI 2394, however, the team found a number of characteristics that looked promising, including 'dimensions of a range of structural timbers' which 'compare favorably with measurements taken when Endeavour was surveyed by the Royal Navy in 1768,' and procured timber samples which suggest repairs made with European timber, much in the same fashion as the Endeavour/Sandwich, 'which underwent significant repairs in 1776, shortly after being sold out of naval service.' After much analysis, all parties involved can now confidently conclude that RI 2394 is, in fact, Captain Cook's long lost HMS Endeavour/HMB Endeavour/Lord Sandwich. If anyone else has any reason why this wreckage should not be identified as such, speak now or forever hold your peace. You Might Also Like Nicole Richie's Surprising Adoption Story The Story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Her Mother Queen Camilla's Life in Photos Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
From Benjamin Franklin to Pony Express to anthrax: How the US Postal Service shaped a nation
The one government agency that still reaches nearly every American daily — undeterred by rain, sleet, snow or even gloom of night — turns 250 on Saturday. Established in 1775, when the Second Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as postmaster general, the postal service predates the United States. It was launched nearly a year before the colonies declared their break from British rule. 'The country may not even have come into existence but for the Postal Service,' said Stephen Allen Kochersperger, the postal service historian and a former local postmaster. While it now grapples with concerns over its financial viability in the modern era, the agency has had a long and colorful history that helped shape the nation. It has grown from serving the 13 colonies to delivering more mail than any other postal system in the world, reaching nearly 169 million addresses and employing more than 635,000 people. A new postal service In those early days, creating an American postal system was a key priority for the nation's founders, who needed to communicate with the Continental Army and the colonies. When the Continental Congress met in 1775, it appointed Franklin as the first postmaster because he had served in the British postal service for North America. The early postal system also became crucial to unifying the diverse, fragmented colonies into a nation by spreading ideas of liberty and independence through letters, newspapers and pamphlets. 'People were reading, getting ideas of what it would be like to be an independent country,' Kochersperger said. Westward expansion When the U.S. Constitution was ratified, Congress was granted power to establish post offices and mail routes that were first used by mail carriers on horseback and later upgraded for stagecoaches. Some evolved into highways still used today. Initially running north–south along the East Coast, post roads later extended westward. Historians have said this aided settler expansion into Native lands and was intertwined with the displacement of tribes. As western migration accelerated, mail was sent by ship from New York to Central America and on to California. Delivery typically took two to three months. The Pony Express, operated by private carriers, was started to speed things up. A relay system of riders on horseback carried mail from California to Missouri, the furthest westward railroad stop. The 1,800-mile (2,900-kilometer) journey took 10 days. While legendary, it only lasted about 18 months, until Oct. 26, 1861. The service was scuttled by the Civil War and made obsolete with the advent of the telegraph, said Daniel Piazza, chief curator of philately at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Later, the transcontinental railroad reduced mail delivery from months to days. New types of delivery Free mail delivery to homes began in earnest in 1863 in the nation's largest cities. It was initially created as a response to grief during the Civil War. At the time, the only communication from a father, brother, husband or son usually came through letter-writing. Women lined up daily at post offices, awaiting word. They sometimes got their own letters back, with a note saying their loved one had been killed. Postal officials in Cleveland decided to take mail to people's homes out of compassion. Enthusiasm for home delivery spread quickly, and people living in rural areas wanted it, too. Despite logistical challenges, rural free delivery began expanding rapidly around 1900. By the 1920s, mail carriers mostly had replaced horse-drawn wagons with automobiles. Around that time, mail started being sent by airplane as well. The nation's first regularly scheduled airmail service began on May 15, 1918. The initial routes were between Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York, using Army pilots and planes. The post office soon took over air mail, running operations for nine years until turning to fledgling private airline companies, some of which remain major airlines. In the early days, flights were so dangerous that some pilots dubbed themselves the Suicide Club. Thirty-two pilots were killed. Major changes to the system The postal service saw major growth during President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's time in office. His New Deal plan to address the Great Depression put people to work building 2,000 new post offices. After World War II, a booming economy and growing population led to a surge in mail. To handle the increasing volume, the post office needed a faster alternative to manual sorting. So, on July 1, 1963, each post office was given a five-digit ZIP code. Previously, clerks had to memorize thousands of points of address information so they could sort the mail, Kochersperger said. The public was skeptical at first, balking at more numbers. So, the post office came up with a friendly cartoon character named Mr. ZIP, who helped convince people their mail would arrive faster. By 1970, postal workers were angry over low wages and a strike was called by leaders of the National Association of Letter Carriers union in New York. Eventually about 200,000 workers joined the postal stoppage, which led to the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. It authorized collective bargaining rights for postal workers and transformed the taxpayer-supported Post Office Department into the United States Postal Service, a financially self-sustaining and independent agency within the executive branch. In more recent times, U.S. Postal Service workers have faced various threats, including anthrax, a serious infectious bacterial disease. Weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, four threatening letters contaminated with anthrax were sent through the mail. Two workers at a mail distribution center in Washington, D.C. died after breathing in the spores, and thousands were potentially exposed. Three other people were killed, and more than a dozen were sickened. The anthrax scare led to major changes in how mail was monitored and sorted and how USPS workers protected themselves. Years later, they'd be designated essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and don protective gear again. ___ Haigh reported from Hartford, Conn. Susan Haigh, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Buzz Feed
4 days ago
- Buzz Feed
37 Wildly Dumb People From This Month
This person thought sunscreen and sunglasses caused skin cancer. This person thought people in first-world countries didn't use WhatsApp. This person confused being Samoan and Somalian. This person thought Spain was in South America. This person thought COVID killed over seven billion people. This person thought the British spelled "exactly" differently. This person claimed Russia is not in Europe. This person claimed other countries "have a poor grasp of English." This person claimed Superman isn't an immigrant; he's an orphan. This person was *hopefully* trolling us all. This flat-earther thought Earth couldn't be round because of the weight of water. This person claimed "failed" home births were a result of fear. This person claimed Germans speak Dutch, and not, y'know, German. This person knew nothing about Harley Quinn. This person was confused about what "for good" meant. This person didn't know how many minutes were in an hour. This bigot claimed trans people were "created in the last 15 years." These people had the audacity to correct the DICTIONARY. This millennial was confused about the meaning of the word "millennial." This person forgot about a wholeeee lot of movies. This person tried to claim the Germans were justified in WWII. This person made the baffling claim that life-saving medication is a "privilege." This person forgot about PEMDAS. This poor soul was so, so dumb. This person claimed Kwanzaa and Juneteenth were created in the last ten years. This person made a wild claim. This person didn't understand what "support" meant. This man was just straight-up wrong about periods. And this person was very, very wrong about testosterone. This man asked a very dumb question. This American claimed no one uses Euros. This person claimed Europeans needed to be "introduced to the concept of drinking water." This person suggested Europeans celebrated the Fouth of July. This person claimed they were not given a takeout box, then showed a photo of their food in a takeout box. This person claimed "there's not enough food in Europe for obesity." This person claimed America invented cars. And finally, this person made a baffling claim about Live Aid.
