Ripley's Believe It or Not by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! for July 03, 2011
Transcript:
Stink Bug Carolyn Stapleton of Goldenrod, PA, USA, covered her Volkswagen Beetle with thousands of discarded cigarette butts as a decorative way to make a statement about litter! Some species of sea cucumbers defend themselves with a chemical attack that kills all creatures nearby! Thomas Jefferson- (1743-1826), author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States- designed his own gravestone, and excluded any mention of his presidential roll from his epitaph!
sherpafree over 13 years ago
Jefferson: sole author of the Constutition of Virginia;
CO-AUTHOR of the Constutition of the United States.
stanflouride Premium Member over 13 years ago
Clearly the relationship between Sally Hemmings and Jefferson was much more than owner/chattel. They were lovers for 38 years but only when they lived in Paris could they live anything close to a normal life.The portraits of her show a beautiful, clear-eyed young woman.So what if Jefferson slept with her?However, his inability to deal with freeing his slaves, even upon his death, is far more troubling.I am a huge fan of Jefferson and recognize that his patriarchal racism was pretty much a reflection of the man’s times. But even though he called slavery an ‘abominable crime’ and ‘moral depravity’ he did almost nothing while in office in Virginia or the Federal government to end it. In fact was the source of many despicable pro-slavery laws.
tuslog64 over 13 years ago
How does the sea cucumber keep from exterminating itself?