Ages ago on a radio show a woman from Birmingham suddenly said "I can do a Scottish accent."
Before anyone could say anything she proceeded to say "Och, aye the noo." in a broad Birmingham accent.
I spent the next five minutes doubled up laughing.
Stranger than Fiction: Real History
- Thread starter Louanne Learning
- Start date
Before anyone could say anything she proceeded to say "Och, aye the noo." in a broad Birmingham accent.
I spent the next five minutes doubled up laughing.
Curious question: I know that a lot of Scottish culture was repressed after Culloden, including kilts, bagpipes, haggis etc., but were then revived by Walter Scott and popularized when the Prince Regent visited Scotland.
So ... were the original kilt patterns of the traditional Scottish clans preserved? If not, what took their place? Curious minds would like to know.
Saying "Och, aye the noo" obviously doesn't make you Scottish, any more than singing "Auld Lang Syne" or talkin' about Rabbie Burns, ye ken.
I'm not sure what a Scottish accent even is, and I've never even been to Scotland, but even I know there are differences between a Glaswegian dialect and an Edinburgh dialect. More obviously, there are differences between dialects in the highlands and dialects in the lowlands. And don't get me started in dialects in the Shetlands, Orkney, or the Hebrides.
Last edited:
There is a tartan registry. My step-dad is Scottish, full scottish dress with their clan tartan for their wedding, bagpipes, all of it. They go to Scotland every couple of years.So ... were the original kilt patterns of the traditional Scottish clans preserved? If not, what took their place? Curious minds would like to know.
He looks the part too. 6'7" big bear of a man, but he's the only one over 6'2" out of 6 boys lol
Last edited:
Louanne Learning
Active Member
Member
New Member
Role Play Moderator
Winner: 4th Contest August
Winner: June Flash Fiction
The Scottish Highlanders were allowed their plaids before that - the 78th Fraser Highlanders wore tartan at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham when the English took Quebec, in 1759. The English wanted the Scottish soldiers, so made that dispensation.
General James Wolfe died in that battle. Legend has it that he recited "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" to his officers, in the boat, before the battle, adding, "I would rather have written that poem, than take Quebec."
"Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" was the most popular poem of the 18th century.
Wow! I had no idea about this.
Thank you. Were the Scottish soldiers still using targes and claymores (or should I say claidheamh-mòr?) I know claymores were declining in popularity by that time in favour of basket-hilted swords (which were lighter), but the design was similar.I'm not sure if claymores were also banned after Culloden, but how did the British go about confiscating them? After all, a sword can be repurposed for other uses. A claymore is 55" high, so two of them can be stuck in the ground and a line of wire strung between them to create a laundry line.
"Weapons? What weapons, sir? Them's mementoes."
I remember reading about that. I also remember reading that nobody believed Wolfe, and some thought he was a madman.
General Joseph Montcalm (on the French side) also died at the Plains of Abraham.
Louanne Learning
Active Member
Member
New Member
Role Play Moderator
Winner: 4th Contest August
Winner: June Flash Fiction
Fraser's Highlanders were equipped with Brown Bess muskets and bayonets, a basket-hilted broadsword (claymore), a dirk, and a cartridge box. They also carried grenades, and wore Scottish bonnets
While idly browsing, I just learned about a man called Emerich Juettner.
Juettner (January 1876 – January 4, 1955), also known as Edward Mueller or Mister 880, was an Austrian-American immigrant known for counterfeiting United States $1 bills and eluding the United States Secret Service for a decade, from 1938 to 1948.
When he was caught, he was 72. He openly admitted his actions, adding that he had never given more than one bill to anyone, so no person had lost more than one dollar.
He was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and fined one dollar.
Later, he sold the rights to his story, which was made into the 1950 film Mister 880. He made more money from the movie than he did from counterfeiting.
(From the wiki-article, here.)
I wonder if he paid the fine from his stack of counterfeit bills?
Juettner (January 1876 – January 4, 1955), also known as Edward Mueller or Mister 880, was an Austrian-American immigrant known for counterfeiting United States $1 bills and eluding the United States Secret Service for a decade, from 1938 to 1948.
When he was caught, he was 72. He openly admitted his actions, adding that he had never given more than one bill to anyone, so no person had lost more than one dollar.
He was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and fined one dollar.
Later, he sold the rights to his story, which was made into the 1950 film Mister 880. He made more money from the movie than he did from counterfeiting.
(From the wiki-article, here.)
I wonder if he paid the fine from his stack of counterfeit bills?
I used an excerpt in Days of Sun and Shadow. I don't want Quebec (too big to fit in the backyard) but if y'all want to hand over Patches O'Houlinhan, I have some nice pasture.
Louanne Learning
Active Member
Member
New Member
Role Play Moderator
Winner: 4th Contest August
Winner: June Flash Fiction
A soldier with the heart of a poet is an interesting character.
Napoleon Bonaparte was once defeated by a horde of eager bunnies, who were presumably looking for some cabbage. (Here are more details, from Just History Posts. Yes, I know that's probably not the best source, but I need to start work in a minute, so I don't have time to look up something more reputable).
Basically, Napoleon had just finished defeating the Fourth Coalition, and to celebrate, he and his friends wanted to go bunny hunting. But the person responsible for sourcing the bunnies gathered thousands and thousands of tame ones (who associated humans with food) instead of wild ones (who would flee in fear).
The result? Thousands of bunnies swarmed all over Napoleon's party, being cute and fluffy and looking for food. Kind of puts the Monty Python "Killer Rabbit" into perspective, doesn't it?
So, not wishing to be seen as a bloodthirsty monster who would slay thousands of fuzzy pets, Napoleon got into his coach and drove away. Yes: after defeating Britain, Saxony, Sicily and Russia, Napoleon was bested ... by bunnies.
Basically, Napoleon had just finished defeating the Fourth Coalition, and to celebrate, he and his friends wanted to go bunny hunting. But the person responsible for sourcing the bunnies gathered thousands and thousands of tame ones (who associated humans with food) instead of wild ones (who would flee in fear).
The result? Thousands of bunnies swarmed all over Napoleon's party, being cute and fluffy and looking for food. Kind of puts the Monty Python "Killer Rabbit" into perspective, doesn't it?
So, not wishing to be seen as a bloodthirsty monster who would slay thousands of fuzzy pets, Napoleon got into his coach and drove away. Yes: after defeating Britain, Saxony, Sicily and Russia, Napoleon was bested ... by bunnies.
Between the two World Wars, Australia suffered its most devastating conflict, when large parts of the country were overrun by a swift and highly mobile enemy force. Even the Royal Australian Artillery were helpless, being heavily outnumbered and were forced to retreat.
It is believed that this was the first time products from ACME Corp were used in Australian military history.
en.wikipedia.org
It is believed that this was the first time products from ACME Corp were used in Australian military history.
Emu War - Wikipedia
There used to be emus on the back route between Glenrock and Douglas in Wyoming. Long gone, alas.
Between the two World Wars, Australia suffered its most devastating conflict, when large parts of the country were overrun by a swift and highly mobile enemy force. Even the Royal Australian Artillery were helpless, being heavily outnumbered and were forced to retreat.
It is believed that this was the first time products from ACME Corp were used in Australian military history.
Emu War - Wikipedia
Don't mess with emus.
In fact, don't mess with any wildlife in Australia. Cassowaries are especially terrifying. They're fast; their legs are designed for running, jumping, and kicking; and they can kick hard enough to break bones and easily disembowel a person. Even worse, their inner toe claw can be up to 5 inches long - like a dagger. The good news? Cassowaries are shy, and won't attack unproved. But they will if they feel threatened, or cornered, or protecting their young.
Still, when it comes to deadly Australian animals, you can't go past the repeated rabbit plagues we have. Wild rabbits can kill us quickly like a cassowary, but the buggers multiply so fast and eat so much ... *shakes head*
The first passenger car designed from the outset as a V8... wasn't American. It was actually a Rolls Royce.
Rolls-Royce V-8 (1905) - Wikipedia
Rolls-Royce V-8 (1905) - Wikipedia
Yes, but although the Rolls-Royce V-8 was the first, it wasn't successful enough to last. Rolls-Royce learned from their mistake and designed V6 cars that made their name.
Here's something stranger than history: Marie Antoinette never said "Let them eat cake". That's just something that her political opponents made up, to make her sound elitist. *nods*
The phrase can actually be traced back to Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions in 1765, 24 years before the French Revolution, when Antoinette was nine years old and had never been to France. The phrase was not attributed to Antoinette until about 50 years after her death.
Rousseau actually wrote that "a great princess ... upon being told that the peasants had no bread, said 'Qu'ils mangent de la brioche'." Brioche is a bread enriched with butter and eggs, and considered a luxury food. So yes, the quote reflects either this princess's frivolous disregard for the starving peasants or her poor understanding of their plight.
However, Rousseau does not name the "great princess", and he may have invented the anecdote altogether, as the Confessions is not considered entirely factual.
Anti-monarchists during the French Revolution never cited this anecdote, but it nevertheless acquired great symbolic importance in subsequent historical accounts when pro-revolutionary commentators employed the phrase to denounce the upper classes of the Ancien Régime as oblivious and greedy.
As one biographer of the Queen notes, it was a particularly powerful phrase because "the staple food of the French peasantry and the working class was bread, absorbing 50 percent of their income, as opposed to 5 percent on fuel; the whole topic of bread was therefore the result of obsessional national interest."
So why was this phrase attributed to Marie Antoinette specifically? It's very simple:
In the final years before the Revolution, Antoinette was very unpopular. During her marriage to Louis XVI, her critics often cited her perceived frivolousness and very real extravagance as factors that significantly worsened France's dire financial straits. Her Austrian birth and her sex also diminished her credibility further in a country where xenophobia and chauvinism were beginning to exert major influence in national politics.
While the causes of France's economic woes extended far beyond the royal family's spending, anti-monarchist polemics demonized Marie Antoinette as Madame Déficit, who had single-handedly ruined France's finances. These libellistes printed stories and articles vilifying her family and their courtiers with exaggerations, fictitious anecdotes, and outright lies. In the tempestuous political climate, it would have been a natural slander to put the famous words into the mouth of the widely scorned queen.
It should also be noted that Marie Antoinette was a generous patron of charity and moved by the plight of the poor when it was brought to her attention, thus making the statement out of character for her. For instance, in April-May 1775 there were serious bread shortages, causing widespread riots in northern, eastern and western France. These were known at the time as the Flour War (guerre des farines). Letters from Marie Antoinette to her family in Austria at this time reveal an attitude largely contrary to the spirit of Let them eat brioche:
It is quite certain that in seeing the people who treat us so well despite their own misfortune, we are more obliged than ever to work hard for their happiness. The King seems to understand this truth.
To sum up: it's not only unlikely that Marie Antoinette said "Let them eat cake", it also seems impossible.
The phrase can actually be traced back to Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions in 1765, 24 years before the French Revolution, when Antoinette was nine years old and had never been to France. The phrase was not attributed to Antoinette until about 50 years after her death.
Rousseau actually wrote that "a great princess ... upon being told that the peasants had no bread, said 'Qu'ils mangent de la brioche'." Brioche is a bread enriched with butter and eggs, and considered a luxury food. So yes, the quote reflects either this princess's frivolous disregard for the starving peasants or her poor understanding of their plight.
However, Rousseau does not name the "great princess", and he may have invented the anecdote altogether, as the Confessions is not considered entirely factual.
Anti-monarchists during the French Revolution never cited this anecdote, but it nevertheless acquired great symbolic importance in subsequent historical accounts when pro-revolutionary commentators employed the phrase to denounce the upper classes of the Ancien Régime as oblivious and greedy.
As one biographer of the Queen notes, it was a particularly powerful phrase because "the staple food of the French peasantry and the working class was bread, absorbing 50 percent of their income, as opposed to 5 percent on fuel; the whole topic of bread was therefore the result of obsessional national interest."
So why was this phrase attributed to Marie Antoinette specifically? It's very simple:
In the final years before the Revolution, Antoinette was very unpopular. During her marriage to Louis XVI, her critics often cited her perceived frivolousness and very real extravagance as factors that significantly worsened France's dire financial straits. Her Austrian birth and her sex also diminished her credibility further in a country where xenophobia and chauvinism were beginning to exert major influence in national politics.
While the causes of France's economic woes extended far beyond the royal family's spending, anti-monarchist polemics demonized Marie Antoinette as Madame Déficit, who had single-handedly ruined France's finances. These libellistes printed stories and articles vilifying her family and their courtiers with exaggerations, fictitious anecdotes, and outright lies. In the tempestuous political climate, it would have been a natural slander to put the famous words into the mouth of the widely scorned queen.
It should also be noted that Marie Antoinette was a generous patron of charity and moved by the plight of the poor when it was brought to her attention, thus making the statement out of character for her. For instance, in April-May 1775 there were serious bread shortages, causing widespread riots in northern, eastern and western France. These were known at the time as the Flour War (guerre des farines). Letters from Marie Antoinette to her family in Austria at this time reveal an attitude largely contrary to the spirit of Let them eat brioche:
It is quite certain that in seeing the people who treat us so well despite their own misfortune, we are more obliged than ever to work hard for their happiness. The King seems to understand this truth.
To sum up: it's not only unlikely that Marie Antoinette said "Let them eat cake", it also seems impossible.
Ships aren't the easiest thing to look after. Nearly all go to the breakers but not when they're uneconomic to tow long distance. One ship, on what turned out to be her last ocean voyage, sought refuge in the Falklands after taking storm damage and was written off. In 1937, after fifty years sitting in the harbour in use as a store, they towed her out and sank her. To most ships this meant a long, slow death to decay but not this one. After thirty more years sat rotting a small group of people stood up and did something about it before the decay destroyed all hope of salvage forever.
Similar threads
