Things You Probably Didn't Know

[IceWizard]

About The Statue of Liberty







On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty,
France's gift of friendship to the American people, in New York Harbor. To mark the
anniversary of one of America's most recognizable landmarks, here are some fun facts
you didn't know about the Statue of Liberty...



The Statue Was Originally Designed To Stand In Egypt

The Statue of Liberty was the idea of sculptor Frederic Bartholdi. He was inspired to
create Lady Liberty after seeing the colossal statues in Luxor and intended for her to
stand in Egypt. Bartholdi envisioned a colossal monument featuring a robe-clad
woman representing Egypt to stand at Port Said, the city at the northern terminus
of the canal in Egypt. Early models of the statue were called
“Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia.” Egypt rejected the plan as too costly. Bartholdi
eventually repurposed his concept into “Liberty Enlightening the World”—the official
name for the statue that has been overlooking New York Harbor since 1886.



The Statue Was Modeled After An Actual Person

It may come as a surprise to most people that Lady Liberty was modeled on a real
person. Mental Floss points out that she was actually modeled on the mother of
Frederic Bartholdi, the designer of the statue. Not to be neglected, Bartholdi’s wife
posed for the arms and torso. The designer told French Senator Jules Bozerian
that the statue was based on his mother, Charlotte, back in 1876. He invited the
Senator into his box at the opera, where there was a pocket-sized version of the
statue waiting for him. It was here that he revealed the inspiration behind the statue.








Thomas Edison Had Plans To Make The Statue Talk

When Thomas Edison introduced the phonograph to the public in 1878, he told the
newspapers that he was designing a “monster disc” for the interior of the
Statue of Liberty that would allow the statue to deliver speeches that could be heard
up to the northern part of Manhattan and across the bay.



She Wasn’t Always Green

The green hue of the Statue of Liberty is what makes her so instantly recognizable
around the world. Interestingly, the statue wasn’t always green. Originally, she was
actually a reddish color, similar to the color of a penny . So how did she get so green? 
Over the years, the copper coating has formed a green veneer from its exposure to
the air. The torch flame is the one exception because it is coated with gold leaf.



The Statue Almost Didn’t Make It To America

It really is hard to imagine New York without Lady Liberty, which is one of its most
iconic landmarks. That may have been the reality if the statue never made it to America,
which was once a very real possibility. The statue was packed into 214 crates and
shipped to the United States as a precious gift from France in 1885. The voyage took
a full week longer than expected because of a storm that nearly caused the ship to sink.

[IceWizard]

About James Brown







On May 3, 1933, James Brown was born in a small wooden-frame shack
in Barnwell, South Carolina. To celebrate the anniversary of his birthday,
here are some things you didn't know about the legendary entertainer
best known as ¨The Godfather of Soul.¨



He Is The Most Sampled Artist Of All Time

Having been sampled more than 5,200 times, James Brown is the most sampled
artist of all time. Just the beat of “Funky Drummer” has been copied some 1,584
times by, among many others, Madonna, Britney Spears, George Michael,
Public Enemy, Run DMC, Ice Tee, Jay-Z, and  Kanye West. 



Brown Fined Band Members Who Played a Bad Note

In March 1970, Brown fired his band for complaining about his system of fining
anyone who played a wrong note. In their place he pulled in a young Cincinnati
act named The Pacesetters, led by brother Catfish and Bootsy Collins, aged 27
and 19 respectively, and renamed them The JB’s. The first recording Brown made
with The JBs as his band was “Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine.” 
It is regarded as one of the greatest and most important soul records ever made.



A Movie Restarted Brown’s Career

Disco appeared in the 1970s, sending Brown’s career into a nosedive.  He was
rediscovered after he met John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd in Studio 54 in 1979
and they asked him to play Reverend Cleophus James in 1980 movie
The Blues Brothers. By the mid-1980s his music was everywhere all over again,
and he was earning millions from the myriad hit records that sampled his work.
“There’d be no hip hop without James Brown,” clarified Chuck Dee of Public Enemy.



He Impersonated Little Richard

Early in his career, James Brown had the same manager as Little Richard, and
on more than one occasion, the future Godfather of Soul impersonated his friend
onstage when the rock and roll pioneer couldn't make a date. Brown reportedly
did a great Little Richard impersonation, but he never managed to fool the audience. 



He Never Topped The Billboard Hot 100

Though Soul Brother No. 1 lived up to his nickname on the R&B chart, where he
scored 17 No. 1 hits, none of his singles made it to the top of Billboard's pop chart.
The one that came closest was his 1964 hit "I Got You (I Feel Good),"
which peaked at No. 3.

[IceWizard]

About Arkansas







On June 15, 1836, Arkansas became the 25th state to join the Union.
To celebrate the anniversary of this historic event, here are a few cool facts we bet you
didn't know about the state officially nicknamed "The Natural State".



It Is Illegal To Mispronounce “Arkansas” While In Arkansas

It's illegal to pronounce "Arkansas" wrong. In 1947, in an effort to safeguard the heritage
of the state, Arkansas enacted legal code 1-4-105, which states, “The only true pronunciation
of the name of the state … is that received by the French from the native Indians and committed
to writing in the French word representing the sound. It should be pronounced in three (3) syllables,
with the final ‘s’ silent, the ‘a’ in each syllable with the Italian sound, and the accent on the first
and last syllables. The pronunciation with the accent on the second syllable with the sound
of ‘a’ in ‘man’ and the sounding of the terminal ‘s’ is an innovation to be discouraged.”



Arkansas Is The World Capital Of A Variety Of Things

Numerous cities in Arkansas take pride in being the world capital of a variety of different things.
Alma, Arkansas claims to be the capital of spinach, going so far as to erect a statue of
Popeye the Sailor. Hope, Arkansas, claims to produce the world's largest watermelons where
a mere 260 pounder doesn't even raise an eyebrow. Mount Ida is home to the world capital
of quartz crystals, Mountain View is home to folk music, and Pine Bluff is the world capital
of archery bow production.



Arkansas Produced Some Of The Biggest Diamonds On Earth

Crater of Diamonds State Park in Pike County, Arkansas, is the only remaining active
diamond mine in the United States, and one of just two in the country's history.
Today, Crater of Diamonds mostly serves as a tourist attraction where tourists can
prospect for their own gemstones. In fact, Arkansas is home to the three largest
diamonds ever discovered in America—diamonds that are among the largest ever
discovered on Earth. The Strawn-Wagner, discovered by Shirley Strawn in 1990 is
currently on permanent exhibit at the Crater of Diamonds tourist center and is
widely regarded as the world's first perfect diamond.



Arkansas Is Home To Two Particularly Bizarre Phenomena

Arkansas is home to two bizarre occurrences. The first is referred to as the Dover Lights,
an unexplained illumination that happens in an empty valley in the Ozark Mountains.
According to legend, the lights are generated by the restless spirits of Spanish soldiers
who died searching for treasure. The second odd occurrence is more terrestrial in
nature. The Fouke Monster, also known as the Southern Sasquatch or the
Beast of the Boggy Creek, was brought to global attention in 1971. The bothersome
cousin of Bigfoot, rumored to be seven feet tall, three feet wide, 300 pounds,
and covered in hair, has been accused of destroying Arkansan livestock and crops.



Arkansas Invented Cheese Dip

Cheese dip is considered to be an important part of Arkansas’s food culture.
Little Rock holds the World Cheese Dip Championship annually, which makes sense
since cheese dip was invented there by Blackie Donnelly at his
Mexico Chiquito Ark-Mex restaurant in 1935 in North Little Rock.
Cheese dip is served pretty much in every nook and cranny restaurant
of The Natural State.




Mexico Chiquitos in central Arkansas to stay

[IceWizard]

About Federal Express







On April 17, 1973, FedEx, called Federal Express at that time,
began operations by delivering its first 186 packages, and soon
became the premier carrier for the express shipping industry.
Here are some things you didn't know about Federal Express.




FedEx Originally Transported Bonds

FedEx didn’t start out as the courier company as it is today. The business plan
crafted by founder Fred Smith in 1971, was that FedEx would be a company
which would pick up checks from the 12 Federal Reserve banks in the United States,
fly them to a central hub and then deliver the checks to the federal reserve
member banks the next day. Later, the federal reserve directors changed
their mind - and the company was left with no client, two jets and $3.6 million
in debt. Forced to re-consider his business plan, Smith decided to instead to
create a service providing USA-wide delivery for time-sensitive documents
for businesses and consumers.



The Founder Gambled His Last $5,000

In 1974, three years after the company’s birth, FedEx was teetering on the
verge of bankruptcy. The company was losing $1 million each month, and
was down to only $5,000 in their account. Smith decided to take drastic action.
He flew to Las Vegas and he spent the weekend playing blackjack with the
company funds. Smith returned to the company headquarters in Little Rock
on Monday and told astonished executives that he had managed to turn
the $5,000 into $27,000. Soon afterwards,
the company captured $11 million in funding.



The FedEx Logo Contains a Hidden Design

Look closely between the letters "E" and "X", and you will see an arrow in
the white space between the two letters.  The hidden arrow in the design
of the logo provides a subliminal message of getting from point A to point B..
The message was accidentally created in 1994 as the logo designer noticed
that putting a capital "E" and a lowercase "X" together created the suggestion
of an arrow. The clever use of the negative space between the last two
letters has won the logo several awards and makes it one of the most
effective logos ever created.



FedEx Invented Tracking Numbers

In the late 1970’s FedEx created the tracking number – a set of numbers designed
to the track the journey of a package. The system was originally intended for
internal quality control but was later released to the general public. Today,
tracking numbers are used throughout the courier industry and millions of
tracking numbers are entered everyday into fedex.com. 



It's a Really Busy Company

FedEx owns the most extensive fleet of air cargo planes in the world, with more
than 670 in use to deliver packages. The company handles more than 19 million
packages daily. It keeps up with the packages, too, with around 125 million
requests by clients who want to track their deliveries' progress.

[IceWizard]

About Katharine Hepburn








On May 12, 1907, Katharine Hepburn was born in Hartford, Connecticut. 
To honor the birthday of one of the most celebrated actresses of the
20th century, here are a few things you probably didn't know about
Katharine Hepburn.




She Found Her Brother Dead When She Was 13 Years Old

Hepburn lived a privileged childhood, but it was not without tragedy. 
When she was just 13 years old, she found her 15-year-old brother
Tom hanging from the rafters after strangling himself to death. The
family asserted that it wasn’t suicide but instead a magic trick gone
awry since Tom had tried a mock-hanging trick once before. 
Regardless, the incident cast a dark shadow over the rest of Hepburn's life.



She Held The Record For Most Oscar Nominations...
Until Meryl Streep Came Along

With her Best Actress nomination for the film On Golden Pond in 1981,
Katherine Hepburn set a record for the most nominations ever earned
by an actor: 12. This record stood until 2002, when Meryl Streep was
nominated for her 13th for a supporting role in Adaptation
(since then, Streep’s nomination count has risen to a whopping 21).
When it comes to actual wins, however, Hepburn comes out on top:
Streep has three wins, while Hepburn has won four.



Hepburn Once Dumped Water on Ginger Rogers

On the set of Stage Door, Ginger Rogers was flaunting a new mink coat
when Katherine Hepburn approached Ginger Rogers and poured water
on it, explaining that if the coat was, real mink, it wouldn't shrink. It
was assumed that the behavior was brought on by her jealousy of Rogers,
since Hepburn’s boyfriend Howard Hughes had reportedly shown an
interest in her.  Asked about the incident in an interview,
Ginger Rogers said,
“Don’t ask me, I haven’t the foggiest notion why she did it.”



She Had A Decades Long Affair With Spencer Tracy

Katherine Hepburn's life and career were dominated by her love affair with
Spencer Tracy. The couple lived together for 27 years despite the fact that
Spencer Tracy was still married to his wife Louise Treadwell. Tracy left the
family home in 1933, and he and Louise openly discussed their separation
with the media, maintaining that they were still friends and had not taken
divorce action. Tracy was unhappily married and the father of two when
they met, and he remained married until the end of his life. Over the
course of his relationship with Hepburn, the two lovers starred in nine
films together including Pat and Mike in 1952 and Adam’s Rib in 1949. 
Just a few weeks after filming their final film together
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,
Spencer Tracy passed away after suffering a heart attack at age 67.







She Chose To Buy Out Her Contract For "The Lake"
Rather Than Finish Out The Run

Katherine Hepburn made her successful Broadway debut in Art and Mrs. Bottle
in 1930, and appeared in The Warrior’s Husband in 1932. Her third play however,
The Lake was a major flop. Not long into its Broadway run, a 26-year-old Hepburn
was so miserable—and treated so poorly by director Jed Harris—that she bought
out her contract and simply walked away.

[IceWizard]

About Studio 54







The brainchild of Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager,
Studio 54 opened its doors for the first time in 1977 and
immediately became the epicenter of nightlife in New York City.
Here are a few things you didn't know about Studio 54...



It Was A Party Even Out In The Street

People were desperate to get in from the first night it opened.
Oddly, one of the first people ever in the club was Donald Trump.
According to the Daily Beast, he and his friends had no problem
getting in because they showed up unfashionably early and were
basically first in line.  The crowds outside grew, but by midnight,
it turned into a Sodom and Gomorrah, especially when a doctor in
the crowd passed out Quaalude.  Soon after, a “sex orgy” began
with people exposing themselves and becoming more than
amorous with complete strangers.







People Tried Absolutely Everything To Get In

Getting into Studio 54 could be impossible.
No one understood why some people got into the nightclub while
others remained outside, but Steve Rubell, the owner, said they
searched for a perfect mix of people. According to Rolling Stone,
thousands of dollars changed hands to get inside, while others
offered their bodies in trade. When sex and money didn't work,
violence and attempts to sneak in commonly occurred.
One night a rejected hopeful came back and brandished a gun.
The doormen regularly had to be escorted home at the
end of the night for their safety.



Drugs Were Absolutely Everywhere

To dodge strict rules about serving alcohol, the club didn't actually
have a permanent liquor license for a long time. Instead, they would
just apply for a temporary one every day. Amazingly, this worked for
a while, until it didn't. People came to the nightclub for drugs anyway,
not alcohol. Hung from the roof of Studio 54, dangling over the
dance floor, was a giant crescent moon with a face,
a cocaine spoon moving to and from its nose.
People openly took drugs, and Steve Rubell allegedly kept a
stash of cocaine and pills in his padded coat and passed it out.







Private Parties Were Completely Over The Top

If a regular night at Studio 54 was crazy, it was the special parties that
were totally insane. One of the most famous photos ever taken at the
club was of Mick Jagger's then-wife Bianca, riding a white horse led by
a glitter-covered naked man. She said the horseback ride was a birthday
surprise from the club owners. Rolling Stone reported that when
Dolly Parton came to town for a concert, the owners decided the best way
to make a country singer feel comfortable was to turn the club into a farm. 
The club was filled with donkeys, mules and horses running loose inside,
along with chickens in a pen.







They Partied All The Way to Prison

In 1978, co-owner Steve Rubell openly bragged about how well things were
going, saying "only the Mafia made more money." Comparing yourself to
organized crime is not the best idea if you have something to hide,
which they did. It got the attention of the IRS, and the club was raided.
It turned out the owners neglected to report millions, almost 80 percent
of their profits, something the federal government frowns upon.
They kept books on their cocaine sales listed as “party favors,”
but the IRS were not fooled. After a guilty verdict for obstruction of
justice and tax evasion and sentencing of more than three years in prison,
they held one last huge party the night before reporting to jail with
Liza Minelli and Diana Ross appearing as performers.

[IceWizard]

About Bruce Springsteen







On June 4, 1984, Bruce Springsteen released the record
"Born In The U.S.A." which would soon become his biggest-selling
album of all time.  Here are some things you might not know about
the singer and songwriter nicknamed “The Boss.”



There Really is an E Street

Belmar, New Jersey, is the location of E Street and is the same name as Springsteen's band.
According to Springsteen lore, the band took its name from the street because original
keyboard player David Sancious' mother lived there and allowed the band to rehearse in
her house. E Street has been a photo-op over the years for Springsteen fans from around
the world. An eight-foot-high replica of Bruce Springsteen's legendary Fender Esquire guitar
is on display at the corner of 10th Avenue and E Street in Belmar.



He Wrote "Fire" For Elvis Presley

In May of 1977, Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt attended an Elvis Presley concert in
Philadelphia. Springsteen reportedly wrote "Fire" a few days later and sent the demo to Elvis
that summer, hoping The King would record it. Unfortunately, Elvis died that August, so
Springsteen gave the song to Robert Gordon. Gordon's version of the song was covered by
The Pointer Sisters, who made it a hit in 1979.



He Originally Wrote Hungry Heart For The Ramones

When Springsteen met Joey Ramone in Asbury Park, New Jersey, Ramone asked him to write a
song for The Ramones. Springsteen composed "Hungry Heart" that night, but decided to keep
it for himself on the advice of his producer and manager, Jon Landau. Previously, upbeat and
catchy Springsteen songs such as "Blinded by the Light", "Because the Night", and "Fire" had
been given away and become hits for others, and Landau preferred the trend not continue.
The title is drawn from a line in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's famous poem
"Ulysses": "For always roaming with a hungry heart".



He Invaded Graceland

At the peak of his career, Elvis Presley had grown to be a favorite among many fans. Many
people had tried to hop over the wall into his Graceland home to meet him, but very few
are as famous as Bruce Springsteen. Bruce tried to make his way into the compound in
1976 to meet his hero,
but was met with security who informed him that Elvis was not in town.



There's a Springsteen Muppet

"Sesame Street" has performed several parodies of Bruce Springsteen songs including the
songs "Barn in the U.S.A." and "Born to Add." The tunes have been performed by a Muppet
named Bruce Stringbean who is backed by the S Street Band.

[IceWizard]

About YouTube






The first ever YouTube video was uploaded by co-founder Jawed Karim
on April 23, 2005 -- exactly 16 years ago, today. A year later, Karim and
fellow co-founders sold the platform to Google for a whopping $1.65 billion.
Here are some things you probably didn't know about Youtube.




The Founders of YouTube Were PayPal Employees

In 2005, Steve Chen, Jawed Karim and Chad Hurley began YouTube. They first met
while working at the then-Internet start-up, PayPal. The partners received initial
funding for YouTube from bonuses when eBay bought out PayPal. You could say
that if there was no PayPal, there would be no YouTube.




YouTube was Started as a Dating Site

YouTube initially started out as a dating site named "Tune In Hook Up" — inspired by
the then-popular Hot or Not. But fate had other intentions for the company when two
different events took place. The first event was when Jawed Karim was unable to find
video footage of Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction”, and the second event was
when Hurley and Chen were not able to share a dinner party video because of e-mail
attachment restrictions. Luckily Dropbox did not exist at the time,
otherwise YouTube may never have been created.



The First Video Was At The Zoo

On April 23, 2005, co-founder Jawed Karim uploaded the first video to YouTube, which
featured a visit to the zoo. Karim went to the San Diego Zoo and was filmed standing
in front of the elephant enclosure. The 18-second video, titled "Me at the zoo" has since
garnered over 162 million views. To this day, it is the only video on Karim's channel. 



Rickrolls And Pranks On April Fools Day

The company plays pranks on YouTubers every April 1, which started with a Rickroll in 2007.
The prank is named for singer Rick Astley and his song, "Never Gonna Give You Up," which
is the video that briefly replaced every video on the site.  In 2009, YouTube surprised its
users when it turned the website upside down. Since starting the April Fool’s Day tradition,
every year YouTube comes up with something unique to keep the trend alive




The Most Viewed YouTube Videos Of All Time Is...

On June 17, 2016, Korean education brand Pinkfong released their video "Baby Shark Dance",
and the rest is history. On February 11, 2021, the video became the most-viewed YouTube
video of all time, surpassing the former record holder "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi.
"Baby Shark Dance" currently has 10.4 billion lifetime views on YouTube.

[IceWizard]

About Bob Marley







On May 11, 1981, Reggae star Bob Marley died at the age of 36,
leaving a musical legacy that remains popular still today. 
Get your reggae on with these facts you probably didn’t know
about Bob Marley.




He Worked for Chrysler and DuPont

A little-known, surprising fact about Marley is that he actually lived in the
United States for a short time in the mid 1960s. He had initially followed his
mother to Delaware after she remarried, living close to her in the town of
Wilmington. While there, he surprisingly worked on the Chrysler assembly
line and also as a lab assistant at DuPont. But his heart wasn't in either job
and when his visa ran out, he moved back to Jamaica to continue with music
with the Wailers. Wilmington holds a People's Festival
every summer in Marley's honor.



The "Is This Love" Video Features a Very Young Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell was just seven years old when she appeared in Marley’s video
“Is This Love.” The video was shot in London at the Keskidee Community Centre
in 1978, and shows Marley singing and playing with kids, including a young
Naomi Campbell. The supermodel said of the experience, "I was just seven, and
didn't know what it would involve. I didn't realize Bob Marley would be standing
right next to me, tucking me under a blanket. He was the most handsome man,
with beautiful bone structure; mellow, too, and soft-spoken, with a strong
Jamaican accent, the kind I already knew from home."







The Wailers Were Originally 'The Teenagers'

In 1963, Marley and his friends Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer started a band called
The Teenagers. They later renamed themselves The Wailing Rudeboys, and then
The Wailing Wailers and finally The Wailers. The young men spent much of their
time listening to rhythm and blues on American radio stations, and used the word
“wailers” as a reference to their social and economic position in Trenchtown, a
deprived area where they were “born wailing.”



Marley Is a Top-Earning Dead Celebrity

Marley ranks number eight on the Forbes list of top-earning dead celebrities. In 2020,
his estate earned $13 million– more than the likes of Prince, Marliyn Monroe and
John Lennon. Bob Marley also saw his music streams soar last year—the reggae
legend accumulated more than a billion streams globally. House of Marley, his line
of speakers, turntables and headphones, and sales of T-shirts and lighters adorned
with his likeness also added more than $3 million to his coffers.



Marley Died From Cancer That Started in His Toe

Marley died at age 36 from a rare form of cancer called acral melanoma that began
under his toenail. Acral melanoma forms on the palms of the hands, soles of the
feet or under a nail and is not caused by sun exposure. Although he was advised
to have the toe removed, he refused, and the cancer spread quickly, reaching his
lungs, brain and other parts of his body. Marley was Rastafarian and cited his
religious beliefs as the reason he refused the amputation, and by the time he
sought medical treatment, it was too late.

[IceWizard]

About The Berlin Wall








On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech in West Berlin
in which he publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."
To mark the anniversary of Reagan's powerful Cold War speech,
here are some things you didn't know about the Berlin Wall.




The Berlin Wall Kept People From Leaving

Around the time of World War II's conclusion and the defeat of Germany in 1945,
two peace conferences in Potsdam and Yalta divided the conquered land into four
Allied-controlled areas. The Soviets grabbed the East (dubbed the German
Democratic Republic, or GDR), while the United States, the United Kingdom,
and France each seized a section of the West. Berlin, which served as the capital
for several years, was also divided into East and West. Between 1949 and 1961,
about 3 million East Germans defected to the West, with almost all of them
passing via Berlin. The GDR closed the border between the two sides on
August 13, 1961. Thus, unlike ancient Chinese barriers, the Berlin Wall was
not intended to dissuade invaders. It was constructed to stem the flow of
Germans fleeing to the West.



The Berlin Wall Was Really Two Walls

Those who are unfamiliar with the Berlin Wall may not realize that it was actually
two walls. More than 300 observation towers, 11,000 soldiers, electrified fencing,
floodlights, trip-wired machine guns, and barbed wire kept the walls secure.
The inner area between the walls became known as the "Death Strip," which
included even more ways to stop defectors by adding buried mines and
beds of nails. By placing raked sand on the ground between the walls,
the footprints of any potential defectors were easy to spot by the
armed tower guards.







Many Deaths of East Berliners Trying to Escape Occurred

The Wall was a lethal barrier in the three decades it stood. Border guards were
under strict instructions: “Don’t hesitate to use your weapon even when border
breaches happen with women and children,” one East German secret service file
from 1973 read. At least 138 people died trying to cross the border. While some
did make it safely across, it is unclear how many people exactly reached the
western part. According to some estimates, 5,000 East Germans crossed the
Wall into West Berlin. Men, women, and children snuck through checkpoints,
hid in vehicles, and tunneled under the concrete.




The Wall Fell By Mistake

Checkpoint Charlie was the crossing point between East and West Berlin.
At a 1989 press conference held by a member of the politburo in East Germany,
it was announced that there would be a lifting of restrictions on travel visas that
would start right away. However, he misspoke because East Germans would still
have to go through the process of visa applications, which was lengthy. Erroneous
reports that the border crossings had been opened led to thousands of people
showing up, and the head duty officer, overwhelmed, opened the crossing and
soon the others followed suit. 






Chunks Of The Berlin Wall Are For Sale

It was almost a year before the reunification of East, and West Germany became official.
In the meantime, wall peckers, called "mauerspechtes" in German, chipped away pieces
of the wall for memorials or souvenirs.
Fragments of the Berlin Wall are still for sale on eBay.