Weird Ways That History Was Carried Forward

Would you curse at a funeral?

Polly the parrot would.

When Andrew Jackson died in 1845, his pet parrot Polly was going to be present for the duration of the funeral. However, as the guests started arriving the parrot began spouting out a slew of cuss words.

Everyone was horrified and the parrot was removed from earshot immediately. Poor Polly, she was probably just having a hard time coping with the loss of his friend!

The United States has all sorts of odd history moments, and we’re here to tell you about a few of our favorites! From Soviet soda deals to lazy Olympians, Americans are great at creating weird history.

Read on to learn 3 more unusual stories from history.

1. A Teenager Designed Our Flag

We’ll kick off our list of odd history moments by talking about the American flag. It turns out our grand old flag was made by a high schooler named Robert Heft. In 1958, Heft’s teacher asked students to create a new flag in honor of the Hawai and Alaska joining the Union.

Robert spent 12.5 hours sewing the flag with 5 rows of 6 stars and 4 rows of 5 stars. However, his teacher didn’t like the design and gave him a B-, while also offering to raise the grade if Robert could get the design accepted nationally.

Taking matters into his own hands, Robert called and wrote both the president and congressman, requesting a review of his new design. Once the flag was accepted nationally, Roberts’ grade went up to an A!

2. Soviet Union Soda

Next on our list of odd history, you know it’s weird culture when a soda company owns a military. Back in the 1950s, it turns out that Pepsi had its very own military, and it was one of the biggest militaries in the world!

Making a deal with the Soviet Union, Pepsi was trading their soda for submarines and vodka. It makes you wonder what type of soda themed challenge coins were being handed out back then.

3. The Disastrous 1904 Olympics

The St. Louis marathon for the 1904 Olympics was a complete disaster! The first place winner did most of the marathon in a car, and the 2nd place runner nearly died from rat poisoning. As for the 4th place runner, he wore fancy shoes, dress pants, and even took a nap on the roadside for part of the marathon.

Learning From Odd History

There you have it, 3 moments in odd history. What’s 1 new thing you learned about American history from this article?

Was it news to you that a teenager designed the country’s flag? Or were you shocked to find out that not all Olympians are incredible athletes? It’s crazy to think about all of the weird ways history has impacted culture today.

If you’re ready to discover more strange and bizarre facts about life, then you’re in the right place. Go ahead and read another one of our weird articles.

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