Deconstructing George

The following facts about our first president were published today by The Writer’s Almanac:

1. His favorite foods were mashed sweet potatoes with coconut, string beans with mushrooms, cream of peanut soup, salt cod, and pineapples.

2. He lost all of his teeth except for one by cracking Brazilian nuts between his jaws.

3. He got dentures made out of a hippopotamus tusk, designed especially to fit over his one remaining real tooth. But the hippo dentures were constantly rubbing against that real tooth so that he was constantly in pain.

4. He used opium to alleviate the pain.

5. He snored very loudly.

6. He put powder on his own hair, which was naturally a reddish brown, instead of wearing a powdered wig like other fashionable people.

7. He was not good at spelling and he had a speech impediment.

8. His inaugural address was the shortest inaugural address in U.S. history: It was only 133 words long and took him just 90 seconds to deliver.

I have several reactions:

Shame on them.
If you can’t say something good about somebody, don't say anything at all.
I always thought his false teeth were made of wood.
Mitt Romney he wasn’t.

Do you have a reaction that you would care to share?

Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye...

Back on November 5, 2009, we played a little game I invented -- if someone else invented it, I don’t want to know -- and since this seems to be a slow week (one tires of watching the Winter Olympics), I thought we might play it again.

Here’s how it works: I write down the first letters of the words of a well-known song, and you guess the song. By “well-known” I mean songs written before 1950. They might be nursery rhymes or folk ditties or hymns or Christmas carols or patriotic songs. But no pop music. I don’t think any of the following songs ever made it to Your Hit Parade. Oops, one did.

1. MBLOTO, MBLOTS, MBLOTO, OBBMBTM
2. OGMAHWTBR, WTDATAP, WSIHADWATSANCAD (H, HOTR...)
3. MCTOT, SLOL, OTIS, LWMFD, LOTPP, FEMS, LFR (Brits get a pass)
4. MEHSTGOTCOTL, HITOTVWTGOWAS, HHLTFLOHTSS, HTIMO (GGH, GGH, GGH, HTIMO)
5. SN, HN, AIC, AIB, RYVMAC, HISTAM, SIHP, SIHP
6. IDOAWC, JLTOIUTK, WTTGACLTHSBITS (think “Bing Crosby”)
7. RRRYB, GDTS, MMMM, LIBAD (you’ve been singing it your whole life)
8. DTHWBOH, FLLLL, LLLL, TTSTBJ, FLLLL, LLLL (and this one)
9. HBTY, HBTY, HBD_, HBTY (and this one, too)
10. OCS, MATW, WTCOJGOB, CTRMLATF, FIBSHBG
11. SLSC, CFTCMH, SLSC, CFTCMH
12. TACITVBTW, NLSITD, NPISDTMC, ATLBCITV (for Jeannelle)
13. A, GA, A, JTP (this one’s in French)
14. AF, LT, V, VIB (this one’s in Latin)
15. OBFSS, FAWOG, FPMMATFP, A, A, GSHGOT, ACTGWBFSTSS
17. OMR, DOMR, HMKSBDSN, HJKR, HKORA
18. MHALL, LL, LL, MHALL, IFWWAS
19. DDMOH, IHTBAR, DDVTS, IRWAS, G, HIE, G, HIE (especially for Brits)
20. IDOJWTLBH, BLAVOTSA (helpful hint: think “Stephen Foster”)

OK, I mean okay! I think that’s enough to keep you occupied for a while. I’ll provide the answers later.

By the way, today is this fellow’s birthday:


Somebody really ought to finish that portrait.

Me crossing the Wabash at Vincennes, Indiana

I’m just kidding.

According to Wikipedia, this painting depicts Washington cruzando el rio Delaware. No, really, this time I'm not kidding. Wikipedia actually says it in several languages:

English: Washington Crossing the Delaware
Български: Джордж Вашингтон прекосява р. Делауеър.
Español: Washington cruzando el rio Delaware.
Deutsch: 1776: Washington überquert mit seinen Truppen den Delaware River
Slovenščina: Washington prečka Delaware

The German title includes the date, not of the painting, but of the crossing, and also the fact that Washington was not just Truppen den Delaware River but that he was überquert mit seinen Truppen it. The phrase “the devil is in the details” suddenly and inexplicably comes to mind.

I don’t know why the German title includes the date, but another interesting date is 1851. That’s the year Emanuel Leutze (1816-1868) created this famous work of art. The original hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

I wonder whether Джордж Вашингтон became the father of his country before or after прекосява р. Делауеър.

The way I see it, an international perspective is good and a little culture never hurt anybody.

[Editor’s note: On June 4, Anonymous left the following comment:

As an expat in Germany for the last three years, I can help a bit on the German. ‘Truppen’ is not crossing, but troops. ‘überqueren’ is crossing. Therefore, the German literally reads:

“Washington is crossing with his troops the Delaware River”

Maybe that helps a bit. The German is not saying something else about his crossing, rather that those in the boat are his troops.

Thanks for the correction. Point taken. So much for my feeble attempt to be humorous. I should have said, “...the fact that Washington did not just überquert den Delaware River, but that he überquert mit seinen Truppen it.” Much funnier.

I would just add that “Washington is crossing with his troops the Delaware River” sounds a lot like “Throw Mama from the train a kiss” to me. Doesn’t roll trippingly off the tongue. Placement of those darned prepositional phrases will get you every time. --RWP]