A Lie Becomes Famous The Ducks Phrase Origin Story
In 1860 a Northern Illinois hunting party traveled to Minnesota and one man named Abe Truax, famed for bending truth, claimed to have shot 200 ducks in one day. A cross eyed passenger challenged him with numbers, prompting the quip and its spread as a proverb about duck hunting. The tale links the phrase and a bar writing device to show how reputation and invention traveled.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Illinois
Minnesota
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
St. Paul
Frontier Village
Dubuque
Iowa
Truax
Abe
Lake Pepin
Burlington
Querist
Mississippi
Impurities in Ice Prompt Health Concerns and Bans
Health authorities warn that freezing does not purify water and ice from certain localities may carry bacteria and sewage. Syracuse bars sale of ice from Onondaga Lake after James Gardner report confirms contamination and 10 percent sewage content in the sourced water. A patented brachionigraph offers writing aid for those with hand paralysis or cramps.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Rye Beach
N. H
Billings
Onondaga Lake
City Board of Health of
Syracuse
New York
James ‘I’. Gardner
State Board of Health
Gardner
City Board of Health
Look Out for Your Wells and Water Safety Advice
A 19th century agricultural expert warns that most sickness stems from contaminated well water. He cites typhoid and diphtheria cases linked to barnyard drainage seeping into wells. Advice includes placing wells above barns, directing drainage away, and cementing slop areas with glazed piping to prevent contamination.
Meal seed goblets crack as railroad men concede
In 1862 six railroad conductors played a watermelon seed drawing game in a second story room near the National Hotel. Each goblet cracked after a few minutes, ending when the final goblet also broke. Some players later lived in Atlanta and vouched for the tale, with a joke about the glass factory starting to run.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
National Hotel
Atlanta
dAllanta Constitution
The Chances a Woman Has to Marry
A New York Observer note presents a table estimating a woman’s marriage chances across ages. It lists percentages by age ranges from 15 to 60 plus, culminating in tiny odds after 60, illustrating a probabilistic view of marriage prospects over a lifetime.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Observer
Salaries of New York Teachers Revealed in Journal
The New York Journal reports princely salaries for teachers considering living costs. Male assistants earn from 2016 to 1080 dollars, female assistants from 1116 to 633, 1086 to 603 in mixed grammar, 1056 to 613 in female grammar, and 900 to 504 in primary departments. Principals reach up to 3500 or 1000 dollars, with new male assistants at 720 and females at 400 in year one.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
New York Journal
White Malleable Iron Ore in Arkansas Region
A writer on Arkansas products notes the white malleable iron ore as the most remarkable mineral in the region. Skepticism surrounds its existence and malleability. It is found in the Howard County corner near the Montgomery Polk Pike frontier. The Erie Canal opened in 1825, and the Middlesex Canal had operated over twenty years by then.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Arkansas
Howard County
Montgomery, Polk, and Pike
Curious Timepieces and an Ancient Marietta Clock
A visit to the Patent Office reveals numerous clock designs including glass dial pendants with watch movements inside. An early relic in Marietta, Wis., dated 1640, weighs fifty pounds, uses wooden, lead, and iron parts, and still keeps time though hoarse from age, depicting William Penn and five wooden musicians on its dial.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Patent Office
Washington
Marietta
Wis
William Penn
Stomach Bitters touted as safe tonic and energizer
An advertisement extols Hostetter s Stomach Bitters as a safe regulator that cures nervousness headaches biliousness and poor appetite by infusing energy and aiding digestion. It condemns mineral poisons like strychnia and max vomica and asserts fever and ague kidney trouble and rheumatism yield to the remedy. The piece also recounts the electric launch Volta voyage detailing its galvanized steel hull accumulators and 14 mph speed with a quiet voyage and a seagull caught at Dover.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hostetter
British Channel
Dover
Calais
Michannel
Dr. Pierce
Golden
Pierce
Moxie hailed as cure all while paper rails gain interest
A periodical review notes Moxie nervous remedy touted as a cure for overwork and nerves with broad sales after thirteen months on the market. It also reports on the invention of paper rails in St Petersburg claimed cheaper and lighter than steel with durable potential, and outlines experimental paper water and gas pipes shown in Vienna.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Petersburg
Vienna
Boards Endorse Red Star Cough Cure for Colds
Boards of Health back Red Star Cough Cure as a speedy remedy for coughs and colds. Scientists declare it entirely vegetable and free from opiates. Price set at twenty five cents per bottle.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Boards of Health
Indorse
Cake and Theology Misquoted Etiquette Lesson
A Detroit mother teaches her baby to say please during tea as guests arrive. The child repeats a prayer fragment and, prompted by the line If I should die, blurts Now divine tum cake in place of the expected polite request. The anecdote appears in the Detroit Free Press.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit
Detroit Free Press
Women and hats draw blunt remarks from Byron and readers
A fragmentary piece notes Byron's line about sweat and women, critiques complaints that only women suffer, and endorses Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescription as a remedy. It also jokes about oversized hats on small girls, questioning whether the hat or child is larger.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lord Byron
Dr Sage Catarrh Remedy Promises Cure For Bad Breath
An old notice touts Dr Sage's Catarrh Remedy claiming to cure bad breath and catarrh, noting the distress it causes to speakers and social contacts. It urges readers to take measures to enlarge their business, naming tailors.
He Loved Her and a Favorite Request for a Ledger
A couple discuss a personal favor with Mabel asking George to subscribe to the Chicago Ledger. He readily agrees, promising to arrange the subscription and noting a May 11 story that interests them both. The sample copies address is Chicago Ledger, 271 Franklin Street, Chicago, IL.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
George
Mabel
Chicago Ledger
Ledger
Franklin Street
Chicago
Posterity vs Ancestry and the Iron Tonic Claim
A Victorian era ad argues that modern blood is improving and credits Dr Harter’s Iron Tonic with better physiques and minds. It touts Fer ro-dosphorated Elixir of Calisaya by Hazard Hazard Co as a preventive for fever acne and debility, claiming immediate relief and certain cure. Piso’s Remedy for Catarrh is advertised at 50 cents.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Calisaya
Hazard, Hazard & Co
New York
Lins
Dy Harter
Chichester Chemical
Madixon Square
Philada
Chichesters
Ely's Dream Balm Reverses Catarrh All Over Again
A historic claim extols Ely's Dream Balm as the only remedy meeting ease of application and wide reach to remote sores and ulcers. It asserts rapid relief from distressing catarrh symptoms, noting physicians and patients report radical, permanent cures and no adverse reactions after use.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ely
Balu
Also Mentioned on This Page
St. Jacobs
K. Butler
Cambridge University
England
Harrison Avenue
Boston
Front Street
Harrison
Norte Repernery Medical Association
Buffalo
Sage
Hood
C. J. Hood & Co
Lowell
Mass
Almiar
Besaon
Pension Lawa
U.S
Plnzceral Hy & Powell
Indianapolis
Ind
Ecorate
Braver & Sweetland
Vox
Milwaukee
Crealura
Haruem Trt
Casale 8T
Autaltishos
ADE
Yacen
Washington, D. C
Benjamin
Exchange
Glenn Falls
Pensions
W. mcCouBirk & of
ELY Brothers
Owego
Brewster's
Holly, Mich
C. Manury
Lincoln, Neb
R. W. Tansill & CO
Price & Longley
Witex Wormaty Ap
Wizard Oil
U. S
Hamlin
Price
Wizard Oil Company
Avitta
W. Va
N.S. J. Srrmer
WSR Oy
Wells
Jersey City
N. J
ORD & Thomas
Civen
Newark
Columbus
Reesne
Warry Featherbone Company
Three Oaks
Michigan
Charlestown
J. A. Sherman
Broadway
New
CNN
Sower
FIS
Hoaton
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