Miscellaneous Trivia Related to History and Geography

What is it that makes Trivia so interesting? Over 100 million copies of Trivial Pursuit have been sold worldwide in 17 countries. That certainly says something about our interest in trivia.

Here's some trivia I pulled together for you to noodle around and stick in your pocket for a suitable time in the future.

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1. The unicorn has been Scotland’s national animal since the 15th century, chosen by King James I for its strength and purity in Celtic mythology. It appears on the Scottish royal coat of arms, often chained to symbolize the taming of wild power. This mythical creature reflects Scotland’s love for folklore.

2. Australia, an island continent, only has 27 million residents. If you include Oceana, which includes Papua New Guinea, there are 45 million people in this section of the world. The only continent with fewer people is Antarctica. 

3. Vicksburg’s Confederate commander, General John C. Pemberton, surrendered on July 4, 1863, coincidentally the same day as the Union victory at Gettysburg.

4. Three presidents have died on July 4. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on Independence Day in 1826. James Monroe died on that date five years later.

5. On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright Brothers’ first successful powered flight in the Flyer I lasted just 12 seconds and covered only 120 feet—shorter than the length of a modern football field

6. St. Louis County, Minnesota, has a total area of approximately 6,860 square miles, with 6,247 square miles of land and about 613 square miles of water. This Northern Minnesota county is larger than Connecticut (5,543 square miles), Delaware (1,949 square miles),  Rhode Island (1,034 square miles).  It's also twice as large as Puerto Rico and 100 times larger than the District of Columbia.

7. Contrary to popular belief, Napoleon Bonaparte wasn’t unusually short. He stood at 5 feet 2 inches in French units, which translates to about 5 feet 7 inches in modern measurements, average for his time. The myth likely stemmed from British propaganda cartoons exaggerating his stature and confusion between French and English measurement systems.

8. Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes, contains about 2,900 cubic miles of water, enough to cover North and South America in a foot of water. Its vast volume accounts for roughly 10% of the planet’s accessible surface freshwater, making it a critical global resource despite its remote location.

9. The Lake Superior region known as the “Graveyard of the Great Lakes” has seen over 550 shipwrecks, including the famous Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. Storms, unpredictable currents, and hidden shoals make the lake notoriously treacherous, with some areas like Whitefish Point claiming numerous vessels in mysterious circumstances.

10. U.S. President William McKinley was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, dying eight days later on September 14. Theodore Roosevelt, at age 42, became the youngest U.S. president, ushering in the Progressive Era with reforms like trust-busting and conservation policies. A lesser-known detail: Czolgosz’s execution by electric chair on October 29 prompted the Secret Service to formalize presidential protection, a role it hadn’t officially held before. This assassination shifted U.S. political dynamics and amplified America’s global presence

Australian Painter Tammy Andrews Shares Her Story

We have a friend from Australia who moved to Duluth for a year, a free spirit who is embracing as much of life as she can, learning to play music, make art and immerse herself in new experiences. When I learned about her artist friend Tammy Andrews back home Down Under, I reached out to see if I could share her work and her story here on my blog.

EN: What part of Australia do you live in? Is this where you grew up?

Tammy Andrews: Born in 1972, in a small wheat belt town of Western Australia which features huge shimmering salt lakes, big blue skies and a smattering of a mostly farming population.

I now live and work in Esperance on the south coast of Western Australia, a medium town of 15 000 which is renowned for its aqua blue beaches and stunning heathland saturated with a dazzling array of wildflowers.

EN: How did you come to make a career as an artist?

TA: During my school years it was recognised I had an aptitude for art and literature and was something I explored. Leaving high school at 16 my studies in art and design commenced, however I was distracted by love!

Married and with two children at the age of 23 I returned again to study, more determined than ever. I worked very hard at my practice for the next several years experimenting with techniques and mediums enjoying this freedom however primarily I was focused on honing down my skills.

Listening very carefully to those with experience and success taught me to understand the commercial side of art and the professional way to promote oneself and work. During my career of twenty years as a professional artist with oil painting as my medium of choice, I have exhibited my work in seven solo shows and numerous group exhibitions, taught painting to others on a weekly basis and have owned and operated two galleries.

EN: There’s something magical about watching creativity happen. How do you keep from getting stuck in a rut?

TA: Creativity is a natural part of my being and I cannot imagine living without it in some form. Fortunately I don’t seem to have much of a problem garnering ideas and moulding them into an outcome, whether that outcome be intentional or other.

My favourite way of working though is to gather the seeds of ideas or a comprehensive weave of stories which could develop over a year or so, researching historical content and hearsay and fashioning these bulbs into a body work which carries my own spin.

EN: You work in a variety of mediums, all of them well. Can you explain the Mondrain series, how this came about? The results are fascinating.

TA: Although oil painting is my signature style I do work in a variety of mediums, most recently the Mondrain series which feature ink, printmaking and mixed media and is quietly recognising the seascape of the Archipelago and the foreign beings who infiltrated shores only previously inhabited by indigenous folk. The works are continuing on from a larger body of work called Sea Follies which follows the true stories and plight of whalers, sealers and Esperances’ very own pirate Black Jack Anderson who arrived on a whaling boat from Massachusetts in the early 1800’s. Fascinating stuff!

EN: Who are some artists who you’ve followed? Who have been your biggest influences?

"Mondrain" -- 30x30 cm

TA: I’m a lover of lush painterly artists. Some who have really influenced me are Gustav Klimt , Chaim Soutine, Australians Margret Preston ,Hugh Ramsay and my lady of the moment is Lucy Culliton. My teachers also had a role in shaping my dedication as I was able to witness their own serious working careers and some have become special friends in my life.

EN: If you could be in any period of history, as an artist, when and where would you be?

TA: If I had to choose a period in history to be an artist it would most likely be right now as I feel you can as an artist live and work wherever you feel most nurtured and content with access to so many avenues of social media and networks to propel your work. Perhaps my driven nature would allow me in any age to be a successful female artist and I feel fortunate to be respected and supported professionally in my endeavours but I can’t be sure this would have always been the case. Having said that – oh to be a fly on the wall – somewhere decadent and ratbaggy!

"Mondrain Treasure Island" -- 30x23 cm

EN: What are you working on now for your next show?

TA: My first half of 2018 involves commission work for clients.

Following this I am thrilled to have a place with accomplished artist Connor Waltons’ Intensive Figure Study Workshop in June which will be taken in Ireland.

I am very much looking forward to slowing my natural intuition down and breathing in something new and different and seeing where this takes me.

EN: Can you list the best places to see your art in person?

TA: You can view my current artwork for sale in person at Gallery Baxter and Maree, 87A Dempster Street Esperance. Western Australia.

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For more, or to commission the artist to produce work for your home or gallery, visit
http://www.tammyandrews.com.au

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Get into it.

Incentives Matter

"Flight" by John Heino

Yesterday I was in that "poetry mood" and began selecting poems to read from various authors -- Rilke, Hesse, Stephen Spender, W.H.Auden -- and I got the notion to find a poem from Elizabeth Barrett Browning that I used to enjoy. On the way to the poem I got distracted by her fascinating biography which I stumbled upon while leisurely traipsing through the Poetry Foundation site, when suddenly this sentence sidetracked me:

Having begun to compose verses at the age of four, two years later she received from her father for "some lines on virtue penned with great care" a ten-shilling note enclosed in a letter addressed to "the Poet-Laureate of Hope End."

Hope End was the estate they lived on at the time. This experience incentivized her to produce more poetry, and gosh-darn-it she became pretty good at it, becoming a major literary figure in her time. So it brought to mind the role incentives played when I was in school (my father gave me a dime for every A in grade school) and in my other pursuits.

It also brought to mind this story, which only took a minute to find on Google, the story of how ship captains were incentivized to to right when delivering prisoners to Australia. Here's a short synopsis, though you can find a more detailed account by following the link below.

As is well known, for three centuries the sun never set on the British Empire, proof that "he who rules the seas rules the world." In the late 18th century the Brits, rather than overcrowding their prisons, began sending their criminals to a remote island, thereby populating Australia. Unfortunately, a lot of this human cargo died en route. Sometimes the ship's captains would withhold food so they could sell the unused grub for personal gain. Sometimes the overcrowding and poor conditions resulted in diseases that killed many of the men. On one occasion 37% of the prisoners died en route.

These kinds of things did not go unnoticed by the press. But how could the governing bodies produce better results? Lectures? Fines? Shaming?

Instead, a change in incentives was undertaken. According to Russell Roberts, in his essay titled Incentives Matter, "a different approach was tried. The government decided to pay the captains a bonus for each convict that walked off the boat in Australia alive."

Russell goes on to state, "I don't think the captains got any more compassionate. They were just as greedy and mean-spirited as before. But under the new regulations, they had an incentive to act as if they were compassionate. The change in incentives aligned the self-interest of the captains with the self-interest of the convicts. Convicts were suddenly more valuable alive than dead. The captains responded to the incentives."

Roberts applies the lesson to economics, but it applies equally well for all of us in various ways. Whether it's meeting deadlines, forming good habits in our children or accomplishing projects in the workplace, good leadership involves finding incentives that work. If we're not seeing the results we want, we may do well to re-examine the incentives.

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As for that poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, I did ultimately find it. Enjoy.

“Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”

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Meantime, life goes on all around you. Open your eyes.