Your Ancestors Knew These Facts

Sometimes there are everyday items that today we don’t understand why it happens. Yet, our ancestors generally, even if uneducated knew the reason and why.

Here are some examples of some interesting facts known by your ancestors:

Three items: Juicy Fruit gum, an early version of Cracker Jack, and the Ferris Wheel all made their debuts at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

The first Hershey’s chocolate bars with almonds were produced in 1908 because they were cheap to make. The nuts took the place of some of the more expensive milk chocolate, which meant Hershey’s could keep the price of the candy at a nickel.

Mark Twain was born in 1835, a year in which Halley’s comet was visible from Earth. In 1909, he said, “I came in with Halley’s comet…and I expect to go out with it.” When he died on April 21, 1910, the comet was again visible in the night sky.

A very popular hobby in the 1800s was collecting ferns – real and dried ones. Fern collecting was such a hot fad in the Victorian era that it even had a name: pteridomania. For ladies it was especially popular among women, perhaps because it offered them a socially acceptable excuse to be outdoors unsupervised.

Another 1800s hobby was seaweed to the list of plants Victorians were obsessed with. After collecting the specimens, scrapbookers would paste the multicolored strands Presidentonto sheets of construction paper. The designs were more aesthetic than educational, with the seaweed sometimes arranged to spell out words or form images.

The modern popped collar of the 1980s originated as a way to keep tennis players’ necks from getting sunburned.

President Theodore Roosevelt always stated he had problems controlling what his daughter, Alice, did or said. She in fact was known to have in her purse a pet snake which she would pull out show at any time.

There was a good deal of rationing products and food in the United States during World War 2, including shoes. Each person was allowed three pairs of shoes.

The first NYC Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924 featured live lions, camels, and elephants from the Central Park Zoo.

See some interesting events. Include some in your family history.

Photos: Collecting ferns; Macy’s 1924 parade; seaweed displays; and Alice Roosevelt.

Related FamilyTree.com Blogs:

World Events and Your Ancestors

What Your Ancestors Had

Shocking Items about your Ancestors