Friday, October 9, 2009

Lincoln and Kennedy: Crazy Facts

This year is U.S. History for me and we recently got done talking about President Lincoln’s assassination. My teacher gave me this fact sheet that I found really interesting describing the correlation of the assassinations of Lincoln and Pres. Kennedy.

   

  • Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846. John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.
  • Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960.
  • The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters. Bother were particularly concerned with civil rights.
  • Both Presidents’ wives lost a child while living in the White House. Both Presidents were shot seated next to their wife. Both Presidents were shot on a Friday. Both were shot in the head.
  • Lincoln’s personal secretary, whose name was John (Nicolay), advised him not to go to the theater. Kennedy’s secretary, whose name was (Evelyn) Lincoln, advised him not to go to Dallas.
  • Both were assassinated by Southerners. Both were succeeded by Southerners. Both successors were named Johnson.
  • Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808. Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.
  • John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln was born in 1839. Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy was born in 1939.
  • Both assassins were known by their three names. Both names are comprised of fifteen letters.
  • Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse. Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater. Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.
  • Lincoln was shot in the Ford Theatre and Kennedy was shot while in a Ford Lincoln.

As you can see, there are a surprising amount of similarities between the two presidents and their deaths. It just goes to show that you will never know what you find in history.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Jelly Belly Factory

Our last stop while in California was heading over to the famous Jelly Belly factory, home of the world-famous gourmet jelly beans. I was looking forward to the candy just as much as the tour, to tell you the truth. While I was expecting a great tour, what I got still surprised me.

0805090909a

This tour told the story of how the Jelly Belly candy company came to be and how the legendary jelly beans were made. Along the way we got to see the beans being made, which was a very interesting process. Their history includes how President Reagan’s liking of Jelly Belly beans led to them becoming America’s unofficial candy.

0805090910aDue to trying to protect company secrets, or maybe to make the experience more worthwhile, we weren’t allowed to take pictures on the tour. Therefore, I don’t have any pictures of the tour.

0805091059b After the tour we were handed a good size bag of jelly beans, to satisfy any cravings we may have felt on the tour. My family also went to the adjacent store and picked up some “Belly Flops”, which are reject jelly beans that were packaged because of their size. They taste the same. We also got some bags of different flavors and some souvenirs to complete our experience. Visiting the factory is worth the effort if you ever get the chance.