The term chauvinism originally referred to Nicolas Chauvin, a French soldier of the Napoleonic era whose devotion to Napoleon was considered excessive and unreasonable.
He later appeared in a number of plays and literary works, including Baroness Orczy’s Scarlet Pimpernel (1905), always representing an exaggerated patriotism.
The term has since taken on a more general meaning of smug superiority.
A Hobson’s choice is a situation that forces a person to accept whatever is offered or go without. The phrase was inspired by sixteenth-century entrepreneur Thomas Hobson, who hired out horses in strict rotation at Cambridge University. There was no choosing by the customer, it was strictly Hobson’s choice.
The Taj Mahal was built between 1632 and 1650 in Agra, India, by Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife. The marble structure is considered a superb representation of the Mogul style.
Acute appendicitis overcame the former Erich Weiss known as Harry Houdini on October 31, 1926, Halloween. He was 52 years old.
At least three leaders have died while having sex: Attila the Hun (c. 406-453), French president Felix Faure (1841-1899), and Pope Leo VIII (d. 965). Catherine the Great did not.
Astaire’s feet, insured for $650,000, were at the top of this list. Grable’s legs were insured for only $250,000, Durante’s nose for $140,000.
It took the New York World’s Fair and imminent war in Europe to bring British royalty across the Atlantic. On June 7, 1939, King George VI and the future Queen Elizabeth II crossed the border from Canada to Niagara Falls, then traveled to Washington, D.C., for lunch with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Later they went…