Feet of Clay
The Founding Fathers, although esteemed for good reason, were as imperfect as the rest of us. Ten of the first 12 US presidents owned slaves, which, I should note, was common for the times. The exceptions were John Adams, the 2nd president, and his son John Quincy Adams, the 6th.
To his credit, the elder Adams noted that he "always employed free men both as Domesticks and Labourers, and never in my Life did I own a Slave." However, Washington and Jefferson both operated large plantations, and each owned about 600 slaves, give or take.
Surprisingly, the wife of Ulysses Grant owned four slaves given to her by her father, a Missouri plantation owner. Even Grant himself owned a slave — William Jones, also a gift from his father-in-law. In 1859, Grant freed Jones, who was the last slave owned by a US president.
To know history, warts and all, is a healthy thing.
Greasing the Skids
At daybreak on November 7, 1896, the Georgia Tech football team arrived by train in Auburn, Alabama, to play the Auburn Tigers — unaware that, overnight, Auburn fans had coated 400 yards of track near the depot with lard.
The train was unable to stop and literally skidded out of town, finally coming to rest five miles west of the city. The Tech players followed the tracks back to town, carrying their equipment, and lost the game 45-0.
Outraged, Tech officials vowed they would never again play Auburn. They relented when Auburn promised that all students involved in future shenanigans would be expelled.
Every year since, Auburn students have celebrated the prank with a pep rally at the train depot. In 2013, USA Today declared the incident the 2nd best prank in college sports history, surpassed only by Army cadets regularly stealing Billy the goat, the Naval Academy's mascot.
Stinknet
In the Southwestern US in the fall, the landscape erupts in bright, glorious yellow. Numerous wild plants in the region — sunflowers, dandelions, goldenrod, and others — produce fields of yellow blooms, creating dramatic displays in all directions.
But sometimes, nature serves up a curve, as in the case of Globe Chamomile, aka Stinknet. This invasive weed from South Africa popped up in California in 1981 and has been spreading east to bedevil Arizona ever since.
Stinknet is a multi-faceted curse. It smells awful, and it can cause a nasty skin rash. It crowds out native plants and depletes nutrients in the soil — then dies and becomes kindling for wildfires. And, it produces toxic smoke for good measure.
Its sole redeeming quality: being pretty.
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