Tuesday, March 23, 2021

A Veteran Spat Out A Bullet That Was Stuck For over 50 Years In His Brain.

On March 24th, 1921, a 78-year-old American Civil War veteran, named Willis Meadows, coughed up a bullet that a bullet had been stuck in his head for 58 years. Willis had been shot in the eye during the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863 and was in pretty good health. In 1921 he went to an extreme coughing fit and couldn't breathe. All of the sudden, a bullet flew out of his mouth onto the coffee table.

In 1950, the man who shot Willis, Peter Knapp, saw Willis' story in a local newspaper. That is when Peter realized he was the one who had fired that bullet way back when. Within a few months, Peter contacted Willis. Despite Willis' past as a confederate soldier and Peter's as a Union soldier, the two became friends.

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

The History and Legends of St. Patrick's Day.

St. Patrick's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a cultural and religious celebration, held on the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland.

St. Patrick didn’t always live in Ireland. In fact, he was born in Britain and didn’t arrive in Ireland until he was 16 years old, when he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave.  He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and started teaching others about the religion. He is said to have converted many to Christians.

Even though you are likely to see a four-leaf clover on St. Patrick’s Day, Patrick allegedly used a three-leaf clover, or shamrock, as part of his teachings. He used the shamrock to represent the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

Ireland is an island that is green with leafy trees and grassy hills. Due to that fact, the nation is sometimes called the Emerald Isle. 

The color that people originally associated with St. Patrick was blue! Green wasn't really associated with St. Patrick’s Day festivities until  the 18th century, when the shamrock became a national symbol. 

Even the mythical fairies called leprechauns didn't use to wear green. They were actually first described as wearing red.

The reason you’re supposed to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day or risk getting pinched is a tradition tied to folklore that says wearing green makes you invisible to leprechaun. The people that the leprechaun can see they like to pinch. Some people also think that wearing the color will bring good luck, and others wear it to honor their Irish ancestry.

The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in the United States of America. It was held on March 17th, 1601 in a Spanish colony in what is now St. Augustine, Florida. It was organized by the Spanish Colony's Irish vicar Ricardo Artur. 

Corned Beef and cabbage was an American innovation. Ham and cabbage was eaten in Ireland, but corned beef offered a cheaper substitute for impoverished immigrants. Irish-Americans in the late 19th century and early 20th, purchased leftover corned beef from ships returning from the tea trade in China.