Saturday, July 31, 2010

Number 35 – They couldn't stand up to Napoleon

Four words - Battle Of The Nile – Napoleon was defeated by the British.
Three words – Battle of Trafalgar – Napoleon again defeated by the British, causing him to give up plans to invade Britain.
Another three words – Battle Of Waterloo – Napoleon defeated for a third time by the British. In fact, Napoleon never defeated the British, ever.

Number 34 – They invented the gibbet

Where does Mr Grasse get his information? Wikipedia? You really should try and do a bit more research Mr Grasse.
The gibbet – as you quite rightly state – was used AFTER the criminal was dead, as a warning to others who might have wanted to commit similar crimes, so what is so sacred about a murderers body once he has been executed? Why should they have been allowed to enjoy a Christian burial?
One other point I feel I should make is that there is a variation called a gibbet iron, which is on display at Atwater Kent museum in, where else? Philadelphia US.

Number 33 – They give awards to cover their tracks

Historians can't quite understand Cecil Rhodes, on the one hand his ideas were racist (he virtually pioneered Apartheid) but on the other hand he had an unusual (for the time) interest in African cultures and language and seems to have had a respect for the African people that was very unusual.
All that being said, the Rhodes Scholarships continue to bring the most outstanding students from many countries to study at Oxford, and I doubt that any of these students would agree with most of Mr Grasses comments, they are, after all, very well educated.