I get a free download on my nook e-reader each Friday. Last Friday I got Stupid History: Tales of Stupidity,Strangeness, and Mythconceptions Throughout the Ages by Leland Gregory. I just started reading this because I was finishing another book. Here are some of the funny things I have read so far. After learning about Christopher Columbus sailing the ocean blue in 1492, we were taught that Ferdinand Magellan sailed around the world in a single trip (or circumnavigated the globe, if you will). Well, He didn't, Magellan, a Portuguese captain in the service of Spain, set out on August 10, 1519 from Seville with five ships and a crew of 250 men. His three-year journey was plagued with terrible weather, maps that weren't up to date, starvation, and a violent mutiny. Only one of Magellan's ships, the Victoria, arrived back at Seville, with only eighteen of the fifty crew members alive. One who did not make it back was Ferdinand Magellan himself. He was killed in the Philippines! How about this: Clement Clarke Moore's famous poem is not called "Twas the Night Before Christmas," but is actually titled " A Visit from Saint Nicholas." The sugarplums mentioned in the poem (and seen in Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite) have nothing to do with plums. They are actually hard candies. I love this....Taking a Whack at the Truth....."Lizzie Borden took an ax And gave her mother forty whacks, When she saw what she had done She gave her father forty-one" She was suspected of hacking her parents to death in 1892 and after that poem...don't we all believe it? BUT a jury acquitted Lizzie Borden after only sixty-six minutes of deliberation and all charges were dropped! I have been reading many more interesting things like inventions credited to Ben Franklin that shouldn't have been and also things credited to Abraham Lincoln that were wrong and silly things like Horseshoe crabs are not crabs, they are survivors of a species that became extinct 175 million years ago. Their closest modern relatives are scorpions and spiders. So I am off to read more amazing myths and might have to blog more later. Prepare to be bored or maybe something else will come up.
Very interesting! I'm getting quite close to purchasing an e-reader. My plan is to go to Best Buy on Monday, and compare the Kindle and the Nook. I'm pretty sure I'll come home with one. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteInteresting and I'm glad to see that your reading and I'm glad to hear that you get a free book on your nook every Friday. How much do books cost otherwise if you wish to buy them? I guess different books cost different amounts. I have been thinking of getting one. Do they come with books on them and if so, how many and do you get to choose them, and which kind of nook is the one you have? I hardly every use my lap top and I'd much rather have a nook or Kindle or whatever because I love to read. I would love your input. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteInteresting things. I never knew about Lizzie Borden.
ReplyDeleteI would like to get a Nook. It might make reading a bit easier.
I did get a Nook, and am loving it! Judy, there are several free books on the Nook (Barnes and Noble) site, The Nook comes with a couple of books on it,(nothing exciting for me) you can download books (borrow) them from the library, and buy whatever you wish--yes prices vary. I got mine at Best Buy where they have them on display, as well as the Kindle, and can answer most questions. The only book I've purchased is "The Help" I recommend it highly. Hugs!
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