Missing from the History Books

Education, Entertainment, General, History, Nebraska 2 Minutes

Plenty of historic events have taken place in Nebraska over the years, but not all of them have made it into common knowledge. Some are so obscure or unusual that they aren’t even found in most history books. These six things are so crazy that it’s almost hard to believe they happened right here at home.


1. A Nebraskan “won the war” for the US.

Andrew Jackson Higgins

Andrew Jackson Higgins, born in Columbus in 1886, would grow up to manufacture boats that the US Navy found instrumental in winning WWII (though his company was not based in Nebraska). In fact, more than 96 percent of US Navy boats were “Higgins boats” at the end of the war. Then-General Dwight Eisenhower referred to Higgins as the man who won the war for us.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Higgins

2. Early Nebraska maps featured six “ghost counties” that never existed.

Just after Nebraska became a state, mapmaking company Colton printed maps containing six counties in western Nebraska that were entirely nonexistent. The mistake came about because the mapmaker referenced an early legislative bill which showed an alternate version of the county lines. By the time the county lines were finalized, the maps were already printed. Other mapmakers copied the incorrect map, and the error was not corrected on new maps for more than a decade.

3. Nebraska was hit by a Japanese balloon bomb in WWII…and no one said a word.

Japan sent out balloon bombs during WWII, then tracked where they ended up so they could perfect the technique for hitting their targets from such a far distance. One such bomb exploded over the Dundee area of Omaha in 1945. In the interest of thwarting the Japanese efforts to chart the bomb’s trajectory, the incident was kept completely out of the news until after the war ended. Today, a historical marker stands on the site where the bomb exploded.

4. A tiny Nebraska town voted itself out of existence.

Seneca, NE

The Thomas County town of Seneca, which was incorporated in 1888, dissolved in 2014 after a year of disputes and acrimony. The incident which began the disputes was regarding an ordinance that barred residents from keeping horses within town limits. Over the course of several months, bickering and bitterness led to the village board voting to dissolve Seneca. The motion won by a single vote. Seneca officially became an unincorporated community in mid-2014.

5. The first self-propelled vehicle west of the Mississippi was debuted in Nebraska.

In the mid-1880s, an entrepreneur named Joseph Renshaw Brown saw the opportunity to introduce steam-powered vehicles to the prairie. His contraption caused a lot of excitement in Nebraska City where its journey began. After its payload was attached and the vehicle started to chug toward Kearney, it unceremoniously died seven miles into the trip. Although it didn’t achieve its mission, the vehicle still made history.

6. A “volcano” once existed in Nebraska…before it was washed away.

In northeastern Nebraska, a mysterious hill right on the banks of the Missouri River used to release heat and steam of such power that people assumed it was a volcano. In reality, it was a chemical reaction within the hill causing these events. In 1878, a flood washed the “volcano” away forever.

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182 thoughts on “Missing from the History Books”

      2. This is dated the 12th…

        “East Palestine residents confused over reimbursement payment eligibility — Norfolk Southern told 3News that they are providing reimbursement for expenses to any East Palestine resident who evacuated regardless of the evacuation zone.”

        EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Update: Feb. 12, 11:20 a.m.

        Norfolk Southern released the following statement to 3News on Sunday regarding the confusion that East Palestine residents have over reimbursement payment eligibility. “We are providing reimbursements for expenses to any East Palestine resident who evacuated regardless of whether or not they were in the evacuation zone. Any EP resident can come to the Family Assistance Center and be reimbursed for expenses. The inconvenience payments are being provided to residents within the mandatory evacuation zone who did not have the choice to leave their homes, and are being provided in addition to reimbursements for expenses.”

        Original story: It’s been two days since officials gave the all clear for residents to return to their homes in East Palestine following the fiery train derailment last week. “We could just smell the chemical smell coming inside our house,” said resident Reegan Parker. As the effects still linger, some in the community told 3News they are left helpless. “My mattress, my couches, they just smell like the chemicals,” Parker said. “My clothes, we’re in the midst of washing everything now trying to get the chemical smell out now.”

        Parker said she lives just outside the one-mile radius that was established as the evacuation zone, but she was told by workers at the Norfolk Southern Family Assistance Center that she is not eligible for any reimbursement, or the $1,000 inconvenience payments being handed out. “They basically just told me that because I wasn’t in the one-mile evacuation zone that the best that they could do for me was to have someone come into my house and clean,” Parker said.

        Cleveland lawyer Michael O’Shea said he is representing a number of East Palestine residents impacted. He said he is worried the inconvenience payments could void any chance for residents to file additional claims down the road. “We were worried that if someone got that check, took that check for that inconvenience fee, that they would be waiving any future right to make any claims which are totally impossible to determine at this time,” O’Shea said.

        Norfolk Southern did inform 3News that “acceptance of these reimbursements and/or inconvenience compensation is not a settlement of any future claim.” Parker said many of her neighbors are still grappling with the decision to return home, worried about what could be left behind. “A lot of people are scared to come home, a lot of people haven’t come back yet. We really just didn’t have the funds to stay away from home anymore,” Parker said.

        3News reached out to Norfolk Southern for comment on the payments and a spokesperson said: “Norfolk Southern continues to provide reimbursement for expenses incurred by residents affected by the evacuation, in addition to compensation for inconvenience during the evacuation, through our Family Assistance Center. As part of this program, I can confirm that residents who live within the one-mile radius of the derailment are eligible to receive a $1,000 inconvenience fee.”

        The EPA is offering voluntary residential air screening appointments offered through Norfolk Southern. As of Thursday night, the organization said it had screened indoor air at a total of 46 homes, with at least 400 more requests remaining. To speed up the screening process Norfolk Southern and the EPA are bringing in more teams and equipment.

        The Ohio EPA is investigating impacts to water and possible remediation, collecting water samples from nearby water streams and Sulphur Run, where a dam was installed to prevent further contamination.”

        Liked by 1 person

  9. “US won’t apologize for mistakenly accusing Hungary of anti-Semitic vandalism that actually happened in Sweden — The U.S. blamed Hungary for a case of anti-Semitic vandalism that actually occurred in Sweden but refuses to apologize or publicly correct the record”
    February 15, 2023
    editor: REMIX NEWS author: JOHN CODY

    (Linda Thomas-Greenfield, permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations, speaks during a Security Council meeting on the maintenance of peace and security in Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023, at the United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “A U.S. ambassador claimed Hungary was responsible for an instance of anti-Semitic vandalism of a Holocaust memorial, in front of an international audience at the United Nations, only to privately admit the incident actually happened in Sweden. Despite Hungary asking for a public apology and correction, the U.S. has refused to do so.

    U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the unfounded accusation during a high-level UN meeting on global efforts to combat anti-Semitism at the UN’s headquarters in New York. Thomas-Greenfield, who hosted the meeting, drew the attention of the entire audience to Hungary at the beginning of her speech by claiming that in Ukraine synagogues are being attacked by Russian rockets while in Hungary Holocaust memorials are being vandalized.

    https://rumble.com/v28w33g-usa-smears-hungary-claims-it-backs-putins-policies.html

    The only problem is that after a complaint from the Hungarian diplomats, the U.S. mission admitted behind closed doors that they had made a mistake: The incident had in fact taken place in Sweden, where the statue of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, known for having saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, had been vandalized.

    In the ambassador’s speech, Hungary was an example of how “anti-Semitism is spreading and growing around the world.” Thomas-Greenfield said this hatred was once again threatening the security of Jewish people and the sense of belonging they deserve. The UN ambassador noted at the meeting that “this hatred is being fueled not only by extremist groups, but also by mainstream political leaders, popular celebrities and people in positions of power.”

    The Hungarian Foreign Ministry said it was “quite outrageous that the U.S. ambassador made unfounded and false allegations about Hungary in front of the wide publicity of the UN.” Although the meeting was attended by the Hungarian delegation, they were not given the opportunity to speak by the U.S. host, and the Hungarian ambassador had to take personal action against the unfounded allegations after the meeting.

    The Biden administration and Hungary have long been at odds, with the former having made a number of unfounded accusations against the country in the past. President Joe Biden himself said during his 2020 presidential campaign that Hungary and Poland were run by “totalitarian regimes.”

    The Hungarian Embassy has requested a public correction from the U.S. Embassy, but the Americans have so far refused to do so. In fact, according to a document obtained by Index.hu, U.S. diplomacy, for its part, considers the matter closed. The reference to anti-Semitism in Hungary in the transcript of the speech was simply crossed out.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. this is what’s wrong with a lot of the world today.
      we are not perfect. we all make mistakes. when you find out you’re wrong, you admit it. apologize. correct whatever you can.

      Liked by 1 person

          1. that I managed to get off…late in the afternoons, i went out there and “chunked” off pieces with the shovel…then went back at it the next day and chunked off a little more. told hubby it was stress relief. LOL

            Liked by 1 person

      1. i see pros and cons…without ever having to balance a budget, there will always be a deficit…and reckless spending and buying votes

        Like

          1. i think the “maga” crowd wants responsible spending and gov’t.
            you gotta find a place to start and just start, and not get overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem.

            Liked by 1 person

              2. “BEWARE of the trickery behind a “balanced budget” amendment!”
                BY PUBLIUS HULDAH · JULY 30, 2015

                By Publius Huldah

                Our federal Constitution is one of enumerated powers only. If you spend 20 minutes to read through the entire Constitution and highlight all the powers delegated to Congress and the President, you will get a complete list of the objects on which Congress is authorized to spend money. THAT is how our Framers controlled federal spending. If it’s on the list of delegated powers, Congress may lawfully spend money on it. But if it’s not on the list, Congress may not lawfully spend money on it.

                Few people know of the existence of this list of delegated powers – no one in Congress seems to be aware of it. Most of what Congress spends money on is not on the list.

                The solution is to downsize the federal government back to the powers on the list.

                All versions of a balanced budget amendment (BBA) fundamentally change the constitutional design – they create a new standard for spending: They change the constitutional standard for spending FROM whether the object is on the list TO a limit on total spending – where Congress may lawfully spend money on whatever they want.

                To add insult to injury, the limits on spending are fictitious because the limits can be waived whenever the government votes to waive them.

                So a BBA does nothing to reduce federal spending.

                Why the push for a BBA? Because a BBA transforms our federal government FROM one of limited and narrowly defined enumerated powers – the items on the list – TO one of general and unlimited powers. This is because a BBA permits Congress to spend money on WHATEVER they want.

                God gave you a brain. You have a moral obligation to use it. Look behind the curtain those agitating for an Art. V convention have put up.

                And learn what’s on the list.”

                http://www.publiushuldahblog.com/constitution/beware-of-the-trickery-behind-a-balanced-budget-amendment/

                Like

  14. so HER lawyers never asked for it? even thought they claim there is male dna on her dress? hmmmmm.

    FTA
    The judge noted that Carroll would not be entitled now to get a DNA sample from Trump, because the process of exchanging evidence, known as discovery, is completed.

    “Her counsel have had plenty of opportunities in both of the two related cases to move to compel Mr. Trump to submit a DNA sample,” Kaplan wrote. “Had they done so, they almost certainly would have gotten it. But Ms. Carroll’s counsel never moved to compel Mr. Trump to submit a DNA sample. They obviously decided to go to trial without it.”

    https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/15/judge-rejects-trump-offer-of-dna-sample-in-carroll-rape-defamation-case.html

    Liked by 1 person

  21. A teacher gave her fifth-grade class an assignment. Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day, the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories. One little girl began: “My father’s a farmer and we have a lot of egg-laying hens. One time we were taking our eggs to market in a basket on the front seat of the pick-up when we hit a big bump in the road and all the eggs went flying and broke and made a mess.”

    “What’s the moral of the story?” asked the teacher.
    “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”
    “Very good,” said the teacher.

    Another little girl raised her hand and said: “Our family are farmers too but we raise chickens for the meat market. We had a dozen eggs one time, but when they hatched we only got ten live chicks.”
    The moral to this story is, “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.”
    “That’s a fine story,” said the teacher.

    A little boy at the back of the class is waving his arm wildly.
    “Yes, do you have a story to share?” inquired the teacher.
    Yes ma’am, my daddy told me this story about my Aunt Maureen;

    “Aunt Maureen was a fighter pilot in Desert Storm and her plane got hit. She had to bail out over enemy territory and all she had was a bottle of whiskey, a machine gun and a machete. She drank the whiskey on the way down so it wouldn’t break and then she landed right in the middle of 100 enemy troops. She killed seventy of them with the machine gun until she ran out of ammunition. Then she killed twenty more with the machete till the blade broke. And then she killed the last ten with her bare hands.”

    “Good heavens,” said the horrified teacher,
    “What kind of moral did your daddy tell you from that horrible story?”
    “Stay the hell away from Aunt Maureen when she’s been drinking.”

    Liked by 1 person

  22. “East Palestine toxicology test relies on controversial consulting firm accused of serving corporate interest rather than public health. The company hired by Norfolk Southern has already persuaded 340 residents to sign agreements that reportedly waive their legal rights in the aftermath of Ohio’s train crash.”

    KanekoaTheGreat
    24 min ago

    EXCERPT: “The Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health (CTEH), a private contractor hired by Norfolk Southern to test water, soil, and air quality in East Palestine, Ohio, has a history of minimizing the effects of environmental disasters to satisfy its corporate employers, according to critics.

    While the Arkansas-based firm provides consulting services to various industries, it is known for performing toxicology monitoring for the oil and gas industry following health and safety incidents. After a million gallons of oil spilled on a Louisiana town in 2005, after a flood of toxic coal ash smothered central Tennessee in 2008, and after defective Chinese drywall began plaguing Florida homeowners, CTEH was on the scene — saying everything was fine.

    In each of these cases, the toxicology firm was alleged to be supplying the data its employers wanted while falsely assuring the public that they were safe from harm.”

    https://kanekoa.substack.com/p/east-palestine-toxicology-test-relies

    Liked by 1 person

  23. “Disqualified: when Covid tyranny devastated America, Nikki Haley was nowhere to be found–The next president cannot be part of the blob.”

    Jordan Schachtel
    7 min ago

    EXCERPT: “Nikki Haley announced today to her handful of fans that she is running for president of the United States.

    Haley swears that she is a legit contender, though her speech made it sound more like she is running for the board of Raytheon. Noticeably absent from her speech, in which she declared Russia and China as “enemies” of America, was any mention of our own government’s attacks on our fundamental freedoms.

    Even if Nikki Haley was running purely as a foreign policy candidate (in a nation where domestic issue far surpass foreign issues in importance), her international platform is best described someone in desperate need of a “firmware update.”

    For better or worse, the era of Covid hysteria gave Americans a lot of insight into the true nature of our political class. It separated those who seek to protect the rights of their constituents and those who seek power for the sake of obtaining power, and end up dominating their constituents. Though arguably a manufactured hysteria, the Covid era forced everyone to flip over their cards.

    Nikki Haley was not only nowhere to be found on the most impactful human rights issue of her time, but it’s worse than that. She quickly became part of the problem. Nowhere during a social media search could I find even a light critique of Covid tyranny or the mRNA Big Pharma mafia. Just a few months ago, Haley was a featured speaker at an event in New York requiring both proof of “vaccines” AND boosters.”

    https://dossier.substack.com/p/disqualified-when-covid-tyranny-devastated

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Dumpster diving … well today we fished out a pushing pole and an entire kit of fishing lures. Nope not using it on my fish. LOL

    Another Suitcase. Mom is like ‘that’s the fifth one you’ve found. Where are we supposed to go?’
    Used once and tossed.

    Oh and another table….like I don’t have enough. Hmmmmm need to clean out the basement at this rate.

    Oh and I keep finding xbox gaming controllers. I’m up to at least 9 of them now.

    Liked by 1 person

  40. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

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