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.
As the subject of the first children’s book of the same name, the character Goody Two-Shoes helped to usher in the children’s book industry. Goody Two-Shoes was a poor girl, who, when given a pair of shoes, became so happy that she told everyone she met about them. The tale was written by Oliver Goldsmith…
There has been only one female winner of the U.S. Medal of Honor. It was Mary Walker who served as a surgeon in the 52nd Ohio Regiment during the Civil War. She was awarded the medal in 1865 by President Andrew Johnson.
Born Malcolm Little, the black activist (1925-1965) took the name El-Hajj Malik El Shabazz when he joined the Black Muslims. He broke with the Black Muslims in 1964 and formed a rival group, the Organization of Afro-American Unity. The Autobiography of Malcolm X, first published in the year of his death, was ghostwritten by Alex…
The men who were found innocent of inciting riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention were: Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, John Froines, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Lee Weiner. They were known as the Chicago Seven.
Michel de Notredame, aka Nostradamus (1503-1566), seems to have predicted his own death. On July 1, 1566, his assistant rose to leave him for the evening, saying, “Tomorrow, master,” to which Nostradamus said, “Tomorrow at sunrise, I shall no longer be here.” The next morning he was found dead from an attack of dropsy.
Silent screen siren Clara Bow (1905-1965) picked up the nickname It Girl after starring as a flapper in It in 1927. Gary Cooper was briefly called by this moniker It Boy when he began dating Ms. Bow. He is said to have ended the relationship in order to get rid of the nickname.