The Debunker: Did George Washington Chop Down a Cherry Tree? It’s the most morally edifying story from American history involving a hatchet. (Distant second place: Lizzie Borden.) A six-year-old George Washington, “immoderately fond” of his new present, uses it to chop down a “beautif...
Gas is cheaper than CocaCola and takes a shitload more investment to make. Dave Cearley on December 25 2014 said: The wild care is whether Putin will allow all those private debts to default, hurting the west almost as much as Russia. Cindi O'Connell on December 25 2014 said: The...
The Debunker: What Did Ralph Waldo Emerson Recommend You Invent? The poet, essayist, and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson was a true American original. But his Transcendentalist writings have turned out to be less influential on the American mind than his famous adage "Build a better mousetrap,...
In European culture, Santa was a tall and gaunt man whereas Clement Moore had depicted him as an elf in “A Visit from St Nicholas.” But the Santa we know and love today was gifted to us by Haddon Sundblom. In the words of Mark Pendergrast’s For God, Country, and Coca-Cola, Coca...