illinois

WTF Fun Fact 12907 – The Controversy Over Santa Anna’s Leg

Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón – known as General Santa Anna – was a Mexican politician and military general who fought for the independence of Mexico in the mid 1800s. And while much is known about him, less is known about the ongoing “fight” between Illinois and Texas for custody of Santa Anna’s leg.

When did Santa Anna lose his leg?

Santa Anna was a controversial figure who gave up Mexican territory to the U.S. but continued to be a hero to his troops nevertheless.

In the little-known Pastry War (1838-1839) against the French, he lost his left leg.

French troops shot Santa Anna in the leg at the Battle of Veracruz (1838). They used a French grapeshot (a bag of smaller caliber rounds bound together rather than a single piece of ammunition), which damaged the leg so badly that doctors had to amputate it. Later, Santa Anna used the moment not only to hold a full military funeral for the leg but to use it as propaganda to gain back power after retiring a few years earlier.

The leg funeral took place in Mexico city. However, protestors later dug up the limb and dragged it through the streets.

But this is not the leg at the heart of the controversy.

The battle for a wooden leg

Santa Anna had a wooden prosthetic made to replace his leg. Today, it’s in Illinois of all places.

According to the Chicago Tribune:

“In 1847, the United States and Mexico fought what Americans call the Mexican War and Mexicans call the Invasion of Mexico. During that conflict, his forces were surprised by a gallant Illinois infantry unit. He fled on horseback, leaving the prosthesis behind.
Our troops took the abandoned appendage into custody and transported it to Illinois, prudently assuring it would never again be put to warlike purposes. It has resided here since, and is currently among the holdings of the Illinois State Military Museum in Springfield.”

Over the last few decades, Texas has tried to claim ownership of the wooden leg. Illinois will not relinquish it.

In an editorial in 2016 (cited below), the Tribune’s board wrote: “A museum at the San Jacinto Battlefield, where he was captured and forced to give up his claim to Texas, has petitioned the White House to get the leg moved there, where it would keep company with his knee buckle and tent stake. Students at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio think they should get the leg so they can give it to Mexico.”

The answer to Texas’ request has been a resounding “no” from Illinois. “At San Jacinto, Santa Anna still had the legs he was born with. Texans didn’t inflict the injury that necessitated the replacement, and Texans didn’t capture it or preserve it for 169 years. As we all know, possession is nine parts of the law,” noted the editorial board. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Santa Anna’s leg? Come and take it.” — Chicago Tribune (editorial board)

WTF Fun Fact 12702 – A North American Hydrangea

There are nearly 75 species of hydrangea (depending on who you ask) and most hydrangeas are native to Asia. In fact, we once thought all hydrangeas were Asian natives until 1910.

As the story goes, Harriet Kirkpatrick, a wealthy woman from Illinois, was out on horseback one day when she discovered a wild hydrangea along a wooded trail. Known to indigenous Americans, no one else had been aware of it. It’s the variety we know refer to as the “Annabelle” hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), also called a “smooth” hydrangea.

As far as we know, Kirkpatrick is responsible for the propagation of the flower since she came back later, dug it up, planted it on her property, and began to share it with her friends.

According to Fairfax Master Gardener Ray Novitske, Kirkpatrick was an artist:

“Kirkpatrick’s ceramics were known for utilitarian and ceremonial presentation pottery
(mostly ceramic pigs) throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Pottery manufacturing at this time was usually located where the clay and the railroads met, and geologists reported that some of the finest clay for pottery was found in and around Anna. This became a natural
place for pottery. Today the Kirkpatrick’s Anna Pottery pieces have found their way to museums and collectors. With its successful business, the family was wealthy so it could participate in leisure activities such as horseback riding.”

The rest of the Annabelle hydrangea’s story, including its name, comes fifty years later when it was “brought to the attention of J.C. McDaniel, famous plantsman and professor of horticulture. He loved it and set the wheels in motion for it to become a commercial success. Two years later, after some nursery propagation and further investigation, it was introduced to the world. McDaniel first wanted to register the hydrangea as “Ballerina”…but a name was selected to honor the belles of Anna who discovered it.” – WTF fun facts

Source: “Story of the Annabelle Hydrangea” — Fairfax Gardening

WTF Fun Fact 12420 – A Penny for Your Thoughts

Long before Kickstarter or GoFundMe were a thing – and even before the Internet – a student named Mike Hayes managed to crowdfund part of his college education. It was 1987, and Mike Hayes’ parents had already put his siblings through college and didn’t have much left to offer him. He had $2,500 in his savings account, but his tuition at the University of Illinois was $28,000.

Hayes would call his plan “the only idea I’ve ever had.” That idea involved asking 2.8 million people to give him just one penny to reach his $28,000 goal.

But how do you get the word out to so many people without the Internet? Well, the newspapers, of course!

Hayes got in touch with journalist Bob Green who wrote for the Chicago Tribune and whose articles were syndicated in nearly 200 newspapers worldwide. Interested to see what would happen, Green wrote the story, which was published September 6, 1987.

“I don’t really feel like I’m begging,” Hayes was quoted as saying in the piece. “I honestly believe … that no one will feel that it’s a hardship to send a penny to me.”

The article included a PO Box and instructions to “QUIT READING!” and “Go put the penny in the envelope.”

It seemed unlikely since sending a penny would actually cost people $.23 due to the cost of postage. And yet the idea did “go viral.” He received pennies, nickels, and even some larger donations from around the world.

In the end, Hayes received 2.9 million pennies along with 90,000 letters. It was enough to pay his college tuition bill. He was known on campus as “Penny Man.” – WTF Fun Facts

Source: “The Kid Who Crowdfunded His College Education — In 1987” — NPR News