Useless Facts Archive - Page 12 of 74

Scotland

The unicorn is the national animal Scotland.

The first recorded reference to a Unicorn dates back to the 5th Century. The ancient Greeks believed them to be real, fiercely wild and independent and Celtic mythology envisions the legendary creature with purity, innocence, and mystical powers.

In medieval times, the Unicorn was used by Scotland’s royal line on coats of arms and coins to represent them and in royal heraldry are always shown with a gold crown, attached to gold chains wrapped around them, and tethered to the ground.

No one knows for sure, but some say Unicorns, natural enemies of lions that have long been symbols used by English royals, reflect the long-standing rivalry between Scotland and England!

However it arose, elusive and impossible to capture, the imagery of the Unicorn suits a nation that has always been impossible to stifle and difficult to conquer.

The Unicorn

The unicorn is the official national animal of which country?

A President, Not a Lord, But Still an Executioner

Grover Cleveland is the only U.S. President to have served as an executioner. Elected Erie County Sheriff in 1870, on September 6, 1872, Cleveland pulled the lever releasing the trap door under Patrick Morrissey, a man convicted of murdering his mother. Once again, on February 14, 1873, Cleveland’s position required him to carry out the execution of John Gaffney, a man convicted of fatally shooting a man and sentenced to die by hanging.

Grover Cleveland held the Sheriff’s job for only one term, ultimately returning to his legal career, but during his Presidential campaign, his opponents referred to the man previously known as “Big Steve,” as the “Buffalo Hangman.”

Lord and Executioner

Who was the executioner, whose position required him to take the lives of convicted murderers Patrick Morrissey and John Gaffney, both sentenced to death.

To Go Where No One Has Gone Before

The first kiss between an African American and a White American occurred long before the invention of the television, but the first such kiss on American network television is often credited to the Star Trek episode, “Plato’s Stepchildren,” which first aired on November 22, 1968.

At that time in the United States, there was strong sentiment against interracial couples, whether dating or marrying. In fact, it was only a year before, in 1967, the United States Supreme Court ruled laws forbidding interracial marriage (anti-miscegenation) were unconstitutional.

Even so, many Americans, still harbored the belief interracial sexual unions, formalized or not, were unnatural and unhealthy. Not surprisingly, even a short kiss on a popular television show, between a White male actor and a Black female actress, was considered a significant moment in American race relations.