Category: history

Posted on

People Discuss What Was Normal in 2000, but Strange in 2020

Do you remember the good old days?

When we could go to concerts? To movies? To crowded restaurants? Heck, remember when we could hug our friends and family members without being worried about catching a virus?

Yes, things have changed. Especially when we look back to the turn of this century and compare it with 2020.

What was normal in 2000 but is strange in 2020?

Here’s what AskReddit users had to say.

1. Remember when?

“Using Yahoo to search for things.

Or repeatedly signing up for 15 free hours of AOL using a spoofed credit card number and a fake name.”

2. Here come the mixes!

“Buying a stack of blank CDs so you can make your own custom mixes.”

3. Make sure to print it off.

“Printing out your route from Mapquest before leaving the house.”

4. This is so cool!

“Getting excited about receiving an email.

When I got my first email address I had a friend sign me up for all this spam b/c I was sad I wasn’t getting any email.”

5. Be kind, rewind.

“Rewinding movies when you’re done watching them.

The day we got an automatic rewinder was glorious. Just visited my parents a few weeks ago and it’s still sitting next to the VCR.”

6. Tracking down the good stuff.

“Struggling to find a clean .mp3 file of that new hot song to burn onto your cd, meticulously kept in a binder with its peers.”

7. You know it!

“Saying dot com at the end of everything because it was cool to do so.

Woah dude, that’s so sweet. It’s the bomb dot com!”

8. Don’t see that anymore.

“I have a vivid memory from around 2000 of being at a fine dining restaurant with my family and my grandmother casually smoking a cigarette and ashing into a crystal ashtray and nobody batting an eye.

Today I think you’d get arrested for smoking in a restaurant, at the very least you’d get kicked out by the manager.”

9. The good old days.

“Waiting for the internet to connect. Yelling at someone in the house for being on the phone when you can’t connect.

I kept a folder of music lyrics that I ripped out of Dolly/Girlfriend magazines. Also loved reading the booklet inside the CD of all the lyrics.

Recording songs off the radio to make a personal mix tape. Always got annoyed at the DJ for talking over the end of the song.”

10. Sad, but true.

“2000: Your parents telling you not to believe everything you read on the internet.

2020: Your parents believing every post they see on Facebook.”

11. Pretty much gone now.

“Privacy.

Oh man- the movie Minority Report was creepy because Tom Cruise went into The Gap and it knew what he bought last time, or something like that.

IF ONLY that were the only thing being tracked.”

12. It’s all in there.

“Maybe not strange per se, but having an entire area specifically for storing entertainment like movies and music, or an “entertainment center”.

You used to have a HUGE cabinet for storing your VHS, DVD, games, and CDs along with placing your TV in it.

Now it’s just a TV mounted on the wall with MAYBE a shelf small enough to hold a game console.”

13. I’m lost…

“Giving manual directions to someone.

Turn left at the McDonalds, then take your 3rd right, and if you get to the crooked tree you’ve gone too far kind of thing…”

14. I’ll be right back.

“I remember 25 years ago getting on a plane and realized I forgot some important paperwork in the car. The flight attendant let me get off the plane and I ran through the terminal and out to the parking lot to my car to retrieve it.

Then quickly ran back in, zipped past the security screener, out onto the tarmac and climbed up the stairs to the plane. It was a rather small airport so it took less than 5 minutes.

But I doubt I’d be allowed to do that today.”

15. Imagine that…

“See this?

A camcorder, a video editing system, a PC, a telephone, a camera, the Thomas Guide, a PlayStation, your entire CD, LP, and cassette music collection?

Imagine if they all fit in a little device you can put in your pocket!”

16. See you never.

“Moving away from a school with kids and teachers you hated but you know you’ll never hear or see them again.

Thanks to social media, that was taken away.”

Now we want to hear from you.

What do you think seemed normal 20 years ago but is definitely not in 2020?

Talk to us in the comments. Please and thank you!

The post People Discuss What Was Normal in 2000, but Strange in 2020 appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

People Discuss What They Think Are the Best Moments in Film History

When discussing films, the possibilities about what are the best moments in the history of cinema are pretty much endless, depending on who you’re talking to.

You could go in a million different directions: silent film, Japanese, French, gangsters, period pieces, 1960s, the list goes on and on!

What do you think is the most epic moment in the history of cinema?

Let’s see what AskReddit users had to say.

1. A great one!

“The graveyard scene in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

I’ve shown my kids a movie every Friday night since my oldest was 3 (11 now), and that’s our favorite. I can pull it up at any random time and everyone will stop what they are doing and silently watch it.

Eli Wallach as Tuco is the greatest anti-hero and one of the greatest performances in film history.”

2. Pretty amazing.

“Historically speaking, I think when everything is suddenly in color in “The Wizard of Oz,” after the first few scenes were in sepia.

That technology was revolutionary for the time.”

3. I remember it well. 

“The point where you’re introduced to the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park.

A turning point of CGI in movies along side the amazing score.

Still gives me goose bumps.”

4. A classic.

“12 Angry Men.

Juror 8 puts Juror 3’s coat on for him.

It means so much in context with the rest of the movie that just this small act of kindness can have that much of an impact on someone’s life.

It’s really beautiful.”

5. I love the smell of napalm…

“The Flight of the Valkyries scene from Apocalypse Now.

Kilgore’s air calvary taking Charlie’s point.”

6. Back in time!

“Back to the Future.

George punching Biff.

George kissing Lorraine and saving Marty from non-existence.

Marty successfully returning to 1985 just as Doc hooks up the lightning cable.

The Doc reveals he was wearing a bullet proof vest.

“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need….roads”

The DeLorean flies into the camera – the END.

The whole end of the movie is one air-punch moment after another.”

7. What a great movie.

“Shawshank Redemption.

Spoiler ahead.

The way it is hyped that Andy might have committed suicide, it’s raining, its thunderous, he doesn’t come out the next day.

And then, we find out that he actually escaped.”

8. Unforgettable.

“”Get away from her you b*tch!”

Ellen Ripley to the Queen Alien

Smashed it.”

9. Solid.

“Gladiator.

Russell Crowe revealing himself as Maximus to Commodus in the arena was pretty legit.”

10. Powerful.

“Oskar Schindler, at the end of the film, realizing that he could’ve saved more Jews.

And Itzhak Stern and others telling him “He who saves a single life, saves the world entire.”

11. Intense.

“The opening of Saving Private Ryan.

Probably the most effective part of that scene is at the very beginning — the camera holds on several faces aboard the landing craft, leading the audience to believe these would be the protagonists, the main cast members.

Then you see one of them get nailed right in the forehead by enemy fire as soon as the doors open. Now you don’t know who is going to live or die, except for maybe Tom Hanks.”

12. Indiana Jones to the rescue.

“The angels coming out of the Ark of the Covenant looking beautiful and sublime, but then turning into terrifying beings that burn the Nazis to death in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Because the Nazis are evil.”

13. Goosebumps.

“The Lion King (1994).

When Simba is making his way up Pride Rock after defeating Scar and the Hyenas.

Incredibly powerful moment, and I still get goosebumps every time I watch that scene.”

14. Creepy stuff.

“The “What’s in the Box” scene from Seven.

I still have not rewatched that movie as the reveal was so epic I knew I could never feel that way about it again.”

15. Epic!

“The car chase from The Blues Brothers.

It’s a hundred and six miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses.”

16. Good memories.

“For me it’s the Millennium Falcon blasting out of the fireball of the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi.

I was 10 and I wanted to jump and run around the theater screaming in triumph right along with Lando and Nien Numb.”

17. Never gets old.

“Roy Scheider in Jaws.

A half burned cigarette hanging on his lip while chumming the water to entice the shark, then says “We’re gonna need a bigger boat” just after the shark momentarily pops his head from the water.”

Okay, film buffs, now we want to hear from you!

What are some of your favorite moments in cinema history?

Talk to us in the comments! Thanks!

The post People Discuss What They Think Are the Best Moments in Film History appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

People Talk About What “Good Guys” From History Were Actually Bad

History is written by the winners.

And, depending on where you grew up, you learn from a young age who are the “good guys” in history and who are the “bad guys.”

But sometimes those stories and legends don’t really jive with reality.

Here’s what folks on AskReddit had to say about historical figures who are not nearly as squeaky-clean as their reputations would have you believe.

1. Wow.

“Alexander Graham Bell pushed for the eugenics of deaf and hard of hearing people and was a major obstacle to fund schools for the deaf, which thankfully did persist despite this guy.”

2. Mr. Ford.

“Henry Ford was so anti-Semitic that Hitler considered him a hero.”

3. Cromwell.

“There’s a statue of Oliver Cromwell in London.

Loads of movies about him and how he was a brave revolutionary.

Nah. He was an evil sociopath who committed genocide on Irish Catholics and turned the UK into a Puritan dictatorship.”

4. Haven’t heard this before.

“Bob Marley.

And there’s a very good story to back this up that also explains how he grew to be no.1 reggae singer of Jamaica.

He had a posse of friends that would intimidate radio networks of Jamaica into playing his music, as well as destroying the alpha discs of other newer artists (idk wtf they’re called but the copy the radio networks were given in order to play on the air.)

He might have been trying to promote feel-good music and peace and all that but he was a thug when it came to getting that music out.”

5. AA.

“Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The guy did great things, and created a program of recovery that has saved millions of lives since it’s inception 85 years ago.

He was also an arrogant *sshole that cheated on his wife even in sobriety.”

6. Imagine that.

“In some aspects to the 60’s and 70’s when the Beatles were icons, (I’m talking about John Lennon) people who use his image and face for “peace” sometimes forget important details.

  • He abused women
  • He was a cheater
  • He abused his children (made one go completely deaf in one ear)
  • Total hypocrite on the “no possessions” when he lived one of the most lavish lifestyles of his time
  • Compulsive liar
  • Had a *exual appetite for his own mother
  • Almost killed a few people (look up Bob Wooler, he was almost punched to death by John. There were others but their stories have either been disputed or unclaimed.)

So whenever I see a bunch of people sing imagine I just shake my head in shame cause so many people don’t even know how bad he was but act like he was a saint.”

7. Not great.

“Sir John A MacDonald.

First prime minister of Canada.

Did a lot for the country in its infancy but treated indigenous people like garbage.”

8. A royal family.

“Joseph P. Kennedy, dad of John, Bobby, and Teddy, had one of his daughters lobotomized.

She was likely autistic but was considered an “embarrassment to the family”.”

9. Napoleon.

“Napoleon.

I’m French and I don’t get why people like him so freaking much here. He re established slavery and tried to conquer a huge part of Europe, leaving literal bloodbaths behind him.

Gosh, even the painting of his coronation reeks of narcissism, he’s putting the crown on his own head for f*ck sake.”

10. An American legend.

“Teddy Roosevelt.

Interesting quote of his, “I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are the dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are””

11. The King.

“Elvis Presley.

He never wrote a song in his life, but his record label made any song writers hand over half of their writing fees, before Elvis would record their songs. He’s credited as a co-writer on the majority of his songs.

That’s why Dolly Parton refused to let him record I Will Always Love You.

She wouldn’t sign away any of the songwriting credit or future profits from her work. She’s a savvy business woman.”

12. Edison.

“Thomas Edison.

Biggest monopolist ever and took credit for other people’s work. He didn’t invent the lightbulb but bought the rights and advanced it. He monopolized the film-projector + most films at the time and it took a very long lawsuit to get that fixed.

He took many creations from his employees and put his name on it. This wasn’t illegal because of the contracts employees signed at the time but it’s not exactly a sign of good will.

I don’t hate the guy but his character is often completely exaggerated.”

13. A real showman.

“Not necessarily a “good guy”, but got lots of positive attention from the release of The Greatest Showman.

Apparently PT Barnum was a terrible person in real life.”

14. A great director, but…

“Hitchcock was SO f*cked up.

He was famous for pulling “pranks” like chaining a dude up over a long night and giving him a bottle of whiskey laced with serious laxatives, so he sh*t himself, painfully, in chains, for twelve hours or so.

He made the actress from Psycho, Janet Leigh, stand in the shower for almost a week; she only takes baths now. The degree to which he abused Tippi Hedrin during that scene from The Birds is… wow.

He literally threw birds at her for five days, eight hours a day, so that they were pissed off and actually attacked her, even after her doctor told him she couldn’t take any more. She still has scars. Not to mention the s*xual assaults and the threats to “ruin her career” if she didn’t comply.

He sent her daughter, Melanie Griffith, a really lifelike doll of her mother, dead in a coffin. She was eight.

Dude was f*cked. Behind the B*stards does a great couple episodes about him, those are just the ones I remember off the top of my head from 2+ hours of it.”

Okay, history buffs, now it’s your turn.

In the comments, tell us who you think is regarded as a “good guy” in history but was actually pretty terrible.

We can’t wait to hear from you!

The post People Talk About What “Good Guys” From History Were Actually Bad appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

This is Why We Bob for Apples on Halloween

If you think that tying children’s hands behind their backs and shoving their faces into cold water in an attempt to latch on to a probably mealy piece of fruit is sort of a strange tradition, well…you’re not wrong.

You’re also not alone, as this Halloween party game has pretty much moved aside to make room for costumes, trick-or-treating, candy, and other spooky-type traditions as opposed to borderline-torturing party guests.

Image Credit: iStock

Where did it come from to begin with, and why? Well, buckle up, and get ready – because it’s a little bit romantic.

Historically, apples have long (like since the beginning of Biblical time) been associated with fertility – they’re actually known aphrodisiacs. Joan Morgan, a British apple expert and fruit historian (that’s a thing, I guess), told Salt that “apples, apple peels, and even pips have long been used to peer into the romantic future.”

The idea came across to America when Europeans carried apple seeds on the boats to bring along good fortune.

Image Credit: Pexels

The idea of bobbing for apples is also a very old tradition, one that started as a sort of courting ritual for young lovers. In one version, if the young lady bit into the apple that held the name of her special someone on the first try, it was like fate giving them the go-ahead.

If it took her two tries, they probably weren’t destined for forever, and three? Pack it in, bucko.

Other games included the first person to bite into an apple being the next to marry, and girls placing the apples they bit under their pillows in exchange for seeing her true love in a dream.

As far as apples and Halloween, the two have also long gone hand-in-hand. Another apple/Halloween game is called Snap Apple, and to play, an apple is pierced with a stick on one side and a candle on the other. The apple moves and spins around the room as people try to take bites out of it, which honestly, sounds hard and also sort of dangerous?

Image Credit: iStock

The game is so well-known and popular in places like England and Ireland that October 31 – smack in the middle of harvest season – is known as “Snap-Apple Night.”

Many of our Halloween traditions come from Celtic lore and history – pagan and otherwise –  so it’s no surprise that in America, our All Hallow’s Eve had historically included some kind of interaction with apples.

Now, though, you know why!

And I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’m ever going to look at apples quite the same, now that I know romance is involved.

The post This is Why We Bob for Apples on Halloween appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

A New Study Busts the Myth That Vikings Weren’t Genetically Diverse

Most people have an idea that Vikings were all giants with blond hair, blue eyes, and a thirst for raiding and pillaging foreign lands before returning how to bask in the icy, Nordic cold.

And while the latter may still turn out to be true, a new study is pretty much proving the homogenous physical description in our minds incorrect.

The study, published in Nature, indicates the Viking Empire arched over genetically distinct groups that emerged from different Scandinavian regions – some of which contained Southern European and Asian genes.

Image Credit: Oxford Archaeology

It took the study authors six years to sequence the genomes of 442 Viking-age skeletons that dated from 2400 BCE to 1600 CE. When they were done, they had data that revealed how different factions within the Viking world had trickled throughout Northern Europe.

Author Martin Sikora delved deeper into their research in a statement.

“We found that Vikings weren’t just Scandinavians in their genetic ancestry, as we analyzed genetic influences in their DNA from Southern Europe and Asia, which has never been contemplated before.

Many Vikings have high levels of non-Scandinavian ancestry, both within and outside Scandinavia, which suggest ongoing gene flow across Europe.”

Norwegian Vikings mainly traveled to Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, and Greenland, while Swedish Vikings preferred the Baltic countries.

Image Credit: iStock

Danish Vikings headed off to England.

The genetic consequences of those specific raiding tendencies can be seen today, with around 6% of British people bearing Viking genes.

The study also revealed that Vikings likely traveled in family units as they pillaged foreign lands – one of the earliest raise involved 41 men from Sweden traveling to Estonia in the mid-8th century.

Image Credit: iStock

They all perished, and genetic analysis revealed the group included 4 brothers and a bunch of other closely related men.

They also found Vikings with no Scandinavian ancestry at all, so theories arise that certain Northern European cultures were likely assimilated into the Viking world without ever mixing genetically with their overlords.

Image Credit: iStock

So, researcher Eske Willerslev says we need to come to grips with the idea that the Vikings did not all look alike – and they wouldn’t have all passed Hitler’s muster, either.

“Our research debunks the modern image of Vikings with blonde hair as many had brown hair and were influenced by genetic influx from the outside of Scandinavia.”

There you have it, folks – history is not always what we believe, and if you ask me, that’s one of the best things about it.

The post A New Study Busts the Myth That Vikings Weren’t Genetically Diverse appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Even Before Discovering Fire, Our Ancestors Might Have Had a Way to Cook Food

The awesome thing about science and archaeology is that just when we think we know everything about our human (and human-ish) ancestors, we uncover something new.

Kind of like a never ending Easter egg hunt, and who doesn’t love that?

For a long time, we’ve sort of defined human evolution by our ability to create and use fire to our advantage. It was the evolutionary leap that led us to be able to safely eat protein, which enhanced our brain size and development, and eventually set us apart from other mammals.

Image Credit: iStock

A recent discovery, though, suggest that people may have used hot springs to their advantage long before man lassoed fire.

Archaeologists from MIT and University of Alcalá reported their findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and claim that they’ve found evidence of hot springs near sites where ancient humans settled more than 1.8 million years ago – which was a long time before we learned to control fire.

The site was a rift valley in northern Tanzania, Olduvai Gorge. The area appears to have been rich in hydrothermal vents that were capable of heating the water to over 176 degrees F (80 degrees C), which would have been warm enough to cook meat.

The vents were very close to sites where archaeologists have found stone tools and animal bones, which lends credence to the idea that the early human ancestors settled there on purpose.

Image Credit: iStock

Lead author Ainara Sistiaga, said in a statement that “if there was a wildebeest that fell into the water and was cooked, why wouldn’t you eat it?”

Around the same time, a big environmental change occurred in East Africa, one that say the lane shift from wet and lush to a dryer, grassier terrain.

In addition, lipids produced by a specific group of bacteria – typically seen living in the hot springs of Yellowstone – showed up in the soil, hinting again that hot springs were in the area, says MIT professor Roger Summons.

“They won’t even grow unless the temperature is above 176 degrees F (80 degrees C).

Some of the samples Ainara brought back from this sandy layer in Olduvai Gorge had these same assemblages of bacterial lipids that we are unambiguously indicative of high-temperature water.”

Image Credit: iStock

Of course, they don’t know for sure how these extinct people might have interacted with these hot springs, but since we know they lived nearby, we can imagine that they knew the springs were useful in one way or another. They could have used the water to stew or boil protein, fruits, and vegetables.

Imagine something is possible and it just might be, and these discoveries seem to point to the idea that human beings have always been looking for ways to push the evolutionary envelope.

The post Even Before Discovering Fire, Our Ancestors Might Have Had a Way to Cook Food appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Check out the Roving Horseback Libraries of the 1930s

If you think librarians are heroes now, wait until you hear about the women who saddled up horses in the early morning and set out to deliver books to Kentucky’s isolated mountain communities.

Talk about commitment to making sure everyone had reading material, right?

The “book women” of The Pack Horse Library were part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s Work’s Progress Administration (WPA) initiative.

It was created to help America wriggle free of the grasp of the Great Depression – by 1933, unemployment had risen to 40% in Appalachia, and the roving horseback libraries were hoping to boost employment and literacy in one fell swoop.

The WPA paid the salaries of the book carriers, almost all of whom were women, but didn’t provide funds for much else.

Counties had to use existing libraries or ask local schools to help cover the cost of reading materials – donations also played a major role, as a 1940 notice in the Mountain Eagle proves.

People donated old magazines and newspapers, which were then cut and pasted into scrapbooks with particular themes like recipes, or maybe crafts.

One of these scrapbooks is on display today at the FDR Presidential Library & Museum in Hyde Park, NY.

That one contains recipes and an introduction that reads: “Cook books are popular. Anything to do with canning or preserving is welcomed.”

Libraries repaired books, and old Christmas cards were also donated to be used as bookmarks, to keep people from dog-earing the pages.

The women delivering these books and scrapbooks rode between 100 and 120 miles a week, almost always on their own horses or mules, along designated routes.

Like “real” postmen, they worked regardless of the weather, and in more remote locations, they ended up walking to their final destinations.

Most of them were locals, which was important, as mountain folks tended to only trust their own.

By 1939, 274 librarians were delivering books on horseback in 29 counties, and in total the WPA employed nearly 1000 “book women.”

By 1943, as the war effort erased unemployment concerns, the WPA dissolved and funding ended for the program, though a decade later, mobile book services resumed in the area.

This time they went with the “bookmobile,” though, instead of librarians astride horses.

The book women, and the librarians in the area who followed in their footsteps, were more than a source of reading material – they helped their remote communities in other ways, too.

They read to the illiterate, fulfilled requests, and just helped people feel connected to their communities and the world at large.

One recipient said “Them books you brought us has saved our lives,” and an article in the Mountain Eagle said of the Letcher County library, “The library belong to our community and to our county, and is here to serve us …It is our duty to visit the library and to help in every way that we can, that we may keep it as an active factor in our community.”

Proof that books, and libraries, make a difference. They matter, and so do the people on the other end of the transaction, no matter where they live or how well they read.

Something to remember still today, if you ask me!

The post Check out the Roving Horseback Libraries of the 1930s appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

More Hamilton Jokes? We Can’t Say No to That!

I’m completely ‘Helpless’ when it comes to Hamilton jokes. I just can’t get over how they ‘Blow Us All Away.’ Sometimes, it seems like I’ll just never be ‘Satisfied’ when it comes to witty riffs on the ten dollar ‘Founding Father.’

Obviously, I have listened to the cast album on repeat. But how could anyone not? It’s the catchiest Pulitzer Prize winner out there.

Here are 15 Hamilton jokes that’ll have you laughing ‘Non-Stop.’

1. That surprise double cast

The youngest child is always full of surprises.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

2. Classic America

There’s some grade-A partisanship going on here. What better drama is there than political conflict?

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

3. The truth is in the cards

Maybe this is how Lin comes up with all of his musicals.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

4. The magic of theatre

When fake beards are too sticky and gray hairspray is too tacky – how do you show an audience that time has passed? You make their eyesight worse.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

5. Spot-on character interpretation

I need a virtual production of Hamilton with Nene Leakes as Alexander ASAP. I mean, she was amazing in Chicago.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

6. Age is irrelevant

You think aging a character is difficult? Try having an adult man attempt to convincingly play a nine-year-old.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

7. That good ol’ F-bomb

Not all seven dirty words are equal. Apparently, this one was just too much for the folks at Disney+.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

8. Why do we torture ourselves like this

I must be a masochist, because I do this exact same thing at least twice a week.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

9. The text of a lifetime

We can tell whose priorities are where.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

10.The Simpsons predicted this

Man, Burr really thought he had that election in the bag.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

11. Washington really pushed Hamilton’s buttons

Part of me wishes that this was in the script.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

12. Too relatable

This is exactly what happened to me at the beginning of quarantine.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

13. The fool-proof comeback

America in Hamilton is totally Gen-Z.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

14. If only Daveed Diggs could clone himself

There’s a reason this happened off-stage.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

15. No real friends

Friendship is rough in the late 18th century.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

Ugh, I just love over-simplified historical almost-fiction – especially in musical form. It almost makes a life in 1776 seem appealing – except for the rampant inequality, disease, and other things like that. You know, the basics.

What’s your favorite Hamilton joke? Share with us in the comments below!

The post More Hamilton Jokes? We Can’t Say No to That! appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

American Destinations That Make You Feel Like You’re in Europe

The pandemic is still in full swing in the United States. As a result, many countries, including those that are part of the European Union, have imposed travel bans or restrictions against US citizens.

Thankfully, if you’re dead-set on taking that vacation this year, there are at least 10 U.S destinations that will make you feel as if you’ve journeyed across the pond, without ever leaving American soil. And each of these U.S cities is rich with the history and culture of the settlers who founded them.

Let’s take a look!

1. Leavenworth, Washington

Image Credit: iStock

It’s no accident that Leavenworth, WA looks so charming and inviting.

In the 1960s, after thirty years of economic struggle, town leaders agreed to adopt a Bavarian theme and give the city a makeover in order to attract tourists.

They instituted a series of festivals, including the Autumn Leaf Festival, Maifest, and Christmas Lighting Festival.

Be sure to visit the Bavarian village for bratwurst & sauerkraut and enjoy a daily morning alp horn saerenade.

2. Frankenmuth, Michigan

Image Credit: iStock

Michigan’s “little Bavaria” is known for it’s world-famous chicken dinners but it’s that German pride that really makes Frankenmuth special.

Enjoy German-inspired architecture, craft-beer and wine, and don’t forget to visit Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, the world’s largest Christmas store, open 361 days a year.

3. Helen, Georgia

Image Credit: iStock

Here you’ll find a touch of Bavaria tucked in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

This charming little alpine village makes the perfect backdrop for a relaxing getaway.

Tour local vineyards, enjoy scenic water falls and hiking trails, or even scout out the perfect location for your upcoming nuptials.

4. St. Augustine, Florida

Image Credit: iStock

As the oldest city in the nation, St. Augustine has much to offer.

Gaze upon stately castles, enjoy historic reenactments, and even take a ghost tour.

Originally a busy port town for merchants, it’s also a great place for those who enjoy shopping or romantic water-side dinners.

5. Santa Barbara, California

Image Credit: iStock

With its stunning natural landscape and classic Spanish heritage, The American Riviera is hard to beat.

Its distinct architectural style comes from the early Spanish settlers who built Old Mission Santa Barbara, now the County Courthouse.

Soak in the sun and the culture with a walk down Santa Barbara’s Museum Mile or take yourself on the Red Tile Walking Tour.

6. Holland, Michigan

Image Credit: iStock

This quaint but colorful city is picture-perfect for a relaxing vacation.

Tour Windmill Island Gardens or make your way downtown for authentic Dutch architecture and cuisine.

Be sure to visit in the spring, during the Tulip Time Festival for the true Dutch experience, as millions of tulips burst into bloom.

7. Solvang, California

Image Credit: iStock

Visiting Solvang is like stepping into a storybook.

Enjoy this “little slice of Denmark” by strolling through the village, Danish pastry in hand.

Or maybe hop a ride on a historic, wooden, horse-drawn streetcar!

Be sure to take your picture with Danish icons, including the Little Mermaid Fountain, five windmills, the giant red clog Round Tower.

8. Calistoga, California

Image Credit: iStock

You’ll find this European-influenced city Nestled in California’s Napa Valley.

Home to wineries, geysers, and plenty of natural beauty, Calistoga is the perfect spot for endless outdoor adventures.

Take it all in during your hot-air balloon tour.

9. Vail, Colorado

Image Credit: iStock

Modeled after the ski districts of European Switzerland, Vail is the perfect spot for the adventurous vacationer.

Take advantage of the country’s largest free transportation system and visit the cobble-stoned, Bavarian-inspired village of Lionshead.

In the summer, come prepared to hike, bike, and enjoy the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens; be sure to bring your snowboard or skis if you’re visiting in the winter.

10. New Orleans, Louisiana

Image Credit: iStock

A pillar of community and resilience, this French-influenced city is a must-see.

While Mardi Gras always draws a crowd, there are so many other reasons to visit this city, including its whimsical architecture.

Enjoy mouthwatering beignets and Creole cuisine as you take in the romantic and jazzy vibe of French Quarter.

Now you know! You can enjoy the experience of visiting Europe, without the overseas flight. Visit each city’s websites to learn about the safety measures in place keeping both locals and tourists healthy and happy.

Even if you don’t feel safe traveling right now, it doesn’t mean you can’t start planning for the future.

I don’t know about you, but Santa Barbara is calling my name. Which city would you like to visit first? Let us know in the comments!

The post American Destinations That Make You Feel Like You’re in Europe appeared first on UberFacts.