Month: October 2019

Hoover Dam was the first man made structure to exceed the masonry mass of the Egyptian Great Pyramid at Giza.

Hoover Dam William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 10-26-19

Gendarme is term for French policemen. Originally, though the word referred to a knight in full armor i.e. a homme d’armes which is a man-at-arms and the plural of which is gens d’armes.

Gendarme William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 10-25-19

It’s well known that Ludwig von Beethoven composed is wondrous 9th Symphony when he was almost totally deaf. And probably many know that Thomas Edison was mostly deaf when he invented the phonograph. Just an irony to ponder next time you listen to a recording of the 9th Symphony.

And to trigger our few non-fans, we’d like to further the irony by pointing out that Rush Limbaugh, the world’s greatest radio personality, is also totally deaf.

Totally deaf William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 10-24-19

The first documented song in English was by Caedmon an untutored man who cared for the animals at Whitby Abby in the 7th century shortly after it had been founded by Saint Hilda. Caedmon had left a celebration that featured singing, feasting and harp playing because he lacked skill at music.

He went to sleep with his animals and dreamed a song that night about creation. He remembered every word and told his foreman, who was so impressed he took him to see Hilda. Hilda was so impressed she asked Caedmon to create another which he did the next morning which was also amazing for its profundity.

He was invited to become a monk and Hilda directed her scholars to teach him. Caedmon would turn what he was taught into verse during the night, and so began the history of English music.

Song in English William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 10-23-19

Olga of Kiev was the wife of Igor who ruled the city in 945 AD. Igor went to collect tribute from the Drevlians, a tribe of Slavs. The Drevlians thought he asked too much so they killed him, some say by tying his legs to a pair of birch trees bent to the ground then releasing the trees tearing him asunder.

So Olga becomes Kiev’s ruler and she holds a grudge. Being as how she is a widow, Prince Mal, the Drevlian ruler who killed her husband, proposes to her. She says sure. Come on over.

When Mal and his entourage arrive she has them buried alive.

She sends word to the Drevilians to send their best men to be with their prince. Unaware of where the prince was, the tribe’s leading members come. She has them burned to death in a bath house.

She then wars on the Drevlians finally reaching their capital, Iskorosten, where her husband was slain. She says she will end the siege if the residents give her three pigeons and three sparrows from each house. The Drevelians figure they are getting a good deal and agree.

She has her army attach a piece of sulphur bound with small pieces of cloth to each bird. At nightfall, she tells her troops to set the pieces aflame and release the birds.

The birds flew back to their nests and the city burned down.

Olga is considered a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church. She appears to have mellowed a bit after her hissy fit with the Drevlians and was actually a pretty good ruler.

Olga of Kiev William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 10-18-19

Robert was the most popular male name between 1924 and 1939.

Robert William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 10-21-19