Holy Crap. How come they never taught us that a cat named Baron Von Steuben wno was kicked out of prussia for being homosexual was key to winning the American Revolutionary War?

What kind of really sorry ass history teachers left this out and it took me watching The Discovery Channel today to find it out.

You know I guess he does look sorta gay. But actually it's only because of that silly haircut and goofy outfit.
However, we must remember that even the John Waynes of that day looked and dressed the same way, so we better cut him some slack.

Never heard of him but it sounds like a perfectly fabulous story. Will have to look him up. We'll show those sorry-ass history teachers we can find out stuff without 'em.

Here's a FB post from the other night, I did not watch it.

So I'm watching the History channel. The Secrets of the Founding Fathers. The Freemasons, etc. Talking about Franklin and all the skeltons (real) in his closet/basement. And how those fathers were instigators of the revolution. And they were talking about how Washington was telling everyone to plant hemp allover. And how all the clothes were made from homespun (hemp) and one of the founding fathers brought seeds from a stronger strain back from France. And how those fathers were most likely high when they wrote the constitution, but also how the constitution of the United states so much resembles the free mason constitution. Very interesting show.

RealLindaL wrote:Never heard of him but it sounds like a perfectly fabulous story.  Will have to look him up.  We'll show those sorry-ass history teachers we can find out stuff without 'em.

This is a story I've told to friends for about 30 years.
In the 9th Grade at Pensacola High,  my History teacher was Mr. Ezell.   I never heard Ezell's first name so that's who he is to me,  Mr. Ezell.
What follows is exactly what history class with Mr. Ezell was.

Mr. Ezell would say "read chapter 7, class".
That would be chapter 7 in the most boring book ever written.  
Once Mr. Ezell told us this,  we crossed our arms on the desks and put our heads down and slept until the bell rang.
If you peeked up at his desk,  you would see Mr. Ezell reading seed catalogs.
And this part I swear is the truth.  He came to class everyday wearing farmer's coveralls.
He was a Brewton farmer whose crops had dried up.  Somehow he got a Florida teaching certificate and that is a blemish on the whole system.

But anyways,  for the next 30 years,  I thought history was the same thing as "detention". In other words it was punishment for doing something wrong.  
Then finally discovered it wasn't that at all.  But by then I was way behind.

ppaca wrote:Here's a FB post from the other night, I did not watch it.

So I'm watching the History channel. The Secrets of the Founding Fathers. The Freemasons, etc. Talking about Franklin and all the skeltons (real) in his closet/basement. And how those fathers were instigators of the revolution. And they were talking about how Washington was telling everyone to plant hemp allover. And how all the clothes were made from homespun (hemp) and one of the founding fathers brought seeds from a stronger strain back from France. And how those fathers were most likely high when they wrote the constitution, but also how the constitution of the United states so much resembles the free mason constitution. Very interesting show.

Do you think those founding fathers were smoking weed? I'm betting Franklin did.

Bob wrote:

RealLindaL wrote:Never heard of him but it sounds like a perfectly fabulous story.  Will have to look him up.  We'll show those sorry-ass history teachers we can find out stuff without 'em.

This is a story I've told to friends for about 30 years.
In the 9th Grade at Pensacola High,  my History teacher was Mr. Ezell.   I never heard Ezell's first name so that's who he is to me,  Mr. Ezell.
What follows is exactly what history class with Mr. Ezell was.

Mr. Ezell would say "read chapter 7,  class".
That would be chapter 7 in the most boring book ever written.  
Once Mr. Ezell told us this,  we crossed our arms on the desks and put our heads down and slept until the bell rang.
If you peeked up at his desk,  you would see Mr. Ezell reading seed catalogs.
And this part I swear is the truth.  He came to class everyday wearing farmer's coveralls.
He was a Brewton farmer whose crops had dried up.  Somehow he got a Florida teaching certificate and that is a blemish on the whole system.

But anyways,  for the next 30 years,  I thought history was the same thing as "detention". In other words it was punishment for doing something wrong.  
Then finally discovered it wasn't that at all.  But by then I was way behind.

Stories like this you should be penning your own version of a Wobegon book, Bob.  Seriously.   Best thing I've read all week.  Also the funniest.  

I always hated history class for the same reason most people do:  I had uninspiring teachers who forced us to memorize dates and places instead of making history come alive (as in later life we've seen it can through the lens of such as Ken Burns).

Bob wrote:

ppaca wrote:Here's a FB post from the other night, I did not watch it.

So I'm watching the History channel. The Secrets of the Founding Fathers. The Freemasons, etc. Talking about Franklin and all the skeltons (real) in his closet/basement. And how those fathers were instigators of the revolution. And they were talking about how Washington was telling everyone to plant hemp allover. And how all the clothes were made from homespun (hemp) and one of the founding fathers brought seeds from a stronger strain back from France. And how those fathers were most likely high when they wrote the constitution, but also how the constitution of the United states so much resembles the free mason constitution. Very interesting show.

Do you think those founding fathers were smoking weed?  I'm betting Franklin did.

Hell yes Bob they smoked weed. They set a declaration that lasts eternity with no thought for sign of the times. WTF were they thinking? Probably wondering if in the future there would be suicide pigeon's or bees?

I think he looks a little like Kevin Spacey just saying.

Damn, now that you mention it his face does resemble Spaceys. Maybe it's because they're both gay.

ppaca wrote:

Bob wrote:

ppaca wrote:Here's a FB post from the other night, I did not watch it.

So I'm watching the History channel. The Secrets of the Founding Fathers. The Freemasons, etc. Talking about Franklin and all the skeltons (real) in his closet/basement. And how those fathers were instigators of the revolution. And they were talking about how Washington was telling everyone to plant hemp allover. And how all the clothes were made from homespun (hemp) and one of the founding fathers brought seeds from a stronger strain back from France. And how those fathers were most likely high when they wrote the constitution, but also how the constitution of the United states so much resembles the free mason constitution. Very interesting show.

Do you think those founding fathers were smoking weed?  I'm betting Franklin did.

Hell yes Bob they smoked weed. They set a declaration that lasts eternity with no thought for sign of the times. WTF were they thinking? Probably wondering if in the future there would be suicide pigeon's or bees?

The Declaration of Independence did just that, it broke our ties with England.

Please state specifically what the Declaration of Independence says which you claim is wrong for the future.

Hell yes Bob they smoked weed.

In name only......Illinois had hemp farms during the war and in the late sixties as pot grew in popularity folks would smoke hemp found along hedge groves growing wild......the only high a person would get is a headache. Sorry on this I go with Markle.......agricultural hemp has a very low THC factor, and the headache part.....absolutely true.....The founding fathers had about as much chance of being high on pot writing our declaration of Independence and our constitution as I am going to get drunk drinking non alcoholic beer.....it may smell like beer or pot.....but that is the end of it.

It was common on the hemp to roll some bits of hashish into a joint so you would get high and not notice that headache, but before long hash was strictly inhaled from a pipe because the damn headaches still came from the hemp.