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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 20 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Specialized History
| Richard Nixon thought that his tapes would be of historical interest. They were, but not in the way he imagined. Who revealed the existence of the tapes to Watergate investigators? | Famous Miscalculations
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Alexander Butterfield. Nixon had never looked more evil.
| The arrest of John Scopes for violation of the Butler Act was supposed to be a big moment for anti-evolution forces. It backfired: the backlash was extraordinary. Where was the trial? | Famous Miscalculations
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Tennessee. The three other states had tried similar measures.
| When Bob (and Charlie) Ford shot Jesse James they thought that they would capitalize on their fame. It didn't work out that way. Charlie committed suicide; Bob was killed in a fight. Who was 'the man who killed the man who killed Jesse James'? | Famous Miscalculations
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Edward Kelly. His full name was Edward Capehart O'Kelley. 'The dirty little coward who shot poor Mr. Howard, laid Jesse James in his grave'.
| One of history's most well-known blunders involves the 'Charge of the Light Brigade'. In what war did it occur? | Famous Miscalculations
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Crimean War. 'Not though the soldiers knew someone had blundered'.
| Andrew Volstead, an American Congressman, sponsored a bill that sorely miscalculated the mood and temperament of the American people. What was it? | Famous Miscalculations
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Prohibition. It was called 'The Volstead Act'.
| John Wilkes Booth wasn't content to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, he had to add a dramatic flourish by leaping from the balcony onto the stage at Ford's theatre. It was a bad mistake. Why? | Famous Miscalculations
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It resulted in an injury to him. A touch of bravado, but the broken leg undoubtedly hindered what might otherwise have been a successful flight and escape down country roads. Ultimately, he was captured.
Failure to pay income taxes. He was tried for income tax evasion.
| One of the sea's great mysteries involves a ship that was apparently deserted voluntarily by its crew. The crew had, however, failed to attach the lifeboat line to the main ship, so the ship apparently drifted away. What was the name of the ship? | Famous Miscalculations
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Mary Celeste. The likely explanation is that the ship was abandoned because of fear of an imminent explosion - that never happened.
| David Berkowitz, the infamous 'Son of Sam' killer, was caught as a result of a minor oversight. What was it? | Famous Miscalculations
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Parking ticket. He got a parking ticket - that led police to investigate, pursue and capture their man.
| Amelia Earhart's ill-fated final trip may have been doomed when she decided to make one of her stops at a tiny island in the vast Pacific Ocean. She never found it. What was the name of the island? | Famous Miscalculations
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Howland. Bad planning. Like trying to find a needle in an (ocean) haystack.
| The Lieber Code is a generalized code of conduct for civilized war in which one of the articles authorized Union forces to seize and remove artifacts from the enemy and that ownership of those artifacts shall be determined by the peace treaty that concludes the war. Which U.S. president signed this order into law? | Looted! Homesick Artifacts
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Abraham Lincoln. The code covered many areas of acceptable war practices, and was generally progressive in nature concerning practices of torture, use of poison, and keeping POWs. Yet its stances on personal property during warfare leaned toward "to the victor go the spoils". The article was likely intended to allow rightful capture of Southern treasures during the Civil War, but war commanders soon learned that the practice was not helpful to the war effort and soon abandoned stealing Confederate treasures.
| Conquistadors were famous seekers of Incan gold, but since then South and Central America has seen a certain type of artifact become the most popular and profitable to looters as it is difficult to move. What type of artifact is that? | Looted! Homesick Artifacts
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Crafted stoneworks. Artist-crafted stoneworks from Mesoamerican and South American cultures had become all the fashion for private collectors and museums. With much of Europe and Africa excavated, South America and Asia soon became the new grounds to stake a claim, and looters were willing to take advantage. Stoneworks increasingly represented these cultures and since they were difficult to smuggle, they grew increasingly profitable to those who could move them.
| There are often disagreements between two groups over curbing looting, whether it be in the past or the present: archaeologists and private collectors. Archaeologists often support stricter laws that limit foreign trading of artifacts, while private collectors and, oftentimes, museum curators, support looser restrictions due to what they deem the fluidity of the trading market. In 2009, the United States signed an agreement with what nation that enforces tougher restrictions on importing their national relics leading private collectors to decry the move on political grounds? | Looted! Homesick Artifacts
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China. The agreement with the Chinese was heralded by archaeologists, who generally support keeping artifacts in their home nations, and sent troubling signs to collectors and museums who often have trouble verifying the authenticity of where their artifacts came from. This is due to the fact that artifacts were long ago looted from their original sites and have been privately bought and sold before international law came into effect. Legality is often a common theme concerning these battles, and there are always difficulties in determining who "rightfully" owns any particular artifact.
| Art repatriation is the practice of returning the cultural artifacts and artworks to the former nations from which they were previously taken. The nation of Egypt is no stranger to this practice, and has attempted to recover many of its looted artifacts from museums across Europe. On the British Museum's 250th anniversary, Egypt formally requested what prestigious artifact be returned home? | Looted! Homesick Artifacts
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Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta Stone came in three languages: hieroglyphics, Ancient Greek, and Demotic. It was scribed in ancient Memphis, so is an important Egyptian artifact, one that has led to our modern understanding of hieroglyphics.
| In 2003, the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq drew looting from individuals of Coalition forces as well as from Iraqi natives. However, archaeologists argued, such sporadic looting was possible because Iraqi museums, libraries, and other cultural centers were largely ignored while what building was secured within hours because it contained "important geological maps"? | Looted! Homesick Artifacts
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Iraqi Ministry of Oil. The safety of the oil ministry building was certainly vital to securing economic interests in the area, but to ignore cultural interests led many to believe that the war was waged for more specific reasons than for security concerns.
| Nazi Germany was not immune to the phenomenon of looting. Allied forces looted treasures after their militaries advanced into Germany, though the majority of lootings were considered war reparations by Soviet troops. The Soviets formed special teams known as "trophy brigades" charged with tracking down treasures stolen from their country as well as to loot German museums. A highly-disputed collection was relocated from Germany to the Pushkin Museum in Moscow which was named after a Homeric Trojan king. Which group of treasures was it? | Looted! Homesick Artifacts
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Priam's treasure. Priam's treasure is controversial in the sense that it may not even be legitimately German, yet that isn't stopping German historians from attempting to reclaim the treasure from the Russians. It is perhaps a bit ironic that the treasure originally comes from (or claims to come from) Anatolia.
| Nazi Germany was infamous for mass lootings of artwork and other objects of cultural significance. Pictures depict Allied generals inspecting large caches of art stored away by the Germans taken from the museums, homes and churches of their enemies. The Axis powers fortunately took good care of the items, likely believing them to have value, cultural or otherwise. Where did they stash the items? | Looted! Homesick Artifacts
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German salt mines. The salt mines offered protection from Allied bombers, and the conditions were ideal for paintings and other artworks that required specific conditions in which to be kept. The issue of looting came up at the Nuremburg Trial. In all, over 20,000 pieces of art were found.
| Perhaps the most famous example of archaeology gone bad are the Elgin Marbles, named after the Earl of Elgin, who finished his excavation in Greece in 1812. The artifacts in question aren't the small round playthings many might think by hearing their name, but consist of several marble statues and slabs taken from the Parthenon, the Acropolis, and other Greek sites. The legality of the removal is highly contentious as the British Museum claims Elgin obtained permission to take them. How? | Looted! Homesick Artifacts
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He was given a firman by the Ottoman sultan, who was then ruling over Greece.. No, Greece wasn't bankrupt at the time, but it was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. Elgin claimed he had a firman (an official Ottoman decree) to enter and take the objects, though years later the government of Greece has asked for their home treasures to be sent back. Legal issues are tricky as the international law aspects aren't completely clear on the matter. The British Museum refuses to send the marbles back, even to the dismay of many Britons.
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