cool history find of the day

this is pretty darn cool and they found it (the engraving) TODAY!!!

Hidden Message Found in Lincoln Pocket Watch
By Neely Tucker
Washington Post Staff Writer

For nearly 150 years, Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch has been rumored to carry a secret message, supposedly written by an Irish immigrant and watchmaker named Jonathan Dillon. Dillon, working in a D.C. watch repair shop in 1861, told family members that he -- by incredible happenstance -- had been repairing Lincoln's watch when news came that Fort Sumter had been attacked in South Carolina. It was the opening salvo of what became the Civil War. Dillon told his children (and, half a century later, a reporter for the New York Times) that he opened the watch's inner workings and scrawled his name, the date and a message for the ages: "The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a President who at least will try." He then closed it up and sent it back to the White House. Lincoln never knew of the message. Dillon died in 1907. ......



pic:
Abraham Lincoln's English gold watch. (Richard Strauss - Museum of American History)

you can't help but smile

and aretha if you're reading this (and i know you ARE) - DONATE THAT LID. don't be giving us excuses. that hat BELONGS in a museum (it sure as shite doesn't belong on ANYONE'S head)
Smithsonian asks for Aretha's hat. Yes, *that* hat

Posted by Luciana Lopez, The Oregonian

The Smithsonian's putting together an exhibit on the historic Obama inauguration -- so of course they want Aretha Franklin's hat. The Swarovski-crystal-encrusted, big-bowed, hat-line-inspiring chapeau (to use Aretha's own word -- so chic!) has since acquired a sort of following of its own.

And as if Aretha needed help making a statement, the Smithsonian's now planning to give the hat an even wider audience. Will she? Won't she?

The full release:

The Inaugural ceremony of President Barack Obama on January 20 had the world talking -- about the official oath of office, the President's Inaugural address, the record breaking attendance, the adorable First Family, Aretha Franklin's gospel-infused rendition of the anthem "My Country 'Tis of Thee," and "the hat." The Smithsonian Institution has now asked Franklin if she will donate the now iconic Inaugural hat to the museum to become a part of an exhibit of President Obama's Inauguration, joining other items scheduled for display including First Lady Michelle Obama's Inaugural night gown. Commenting on the Smithsonian's request, Franklin says, "I am considering it. It would be hard to part with my chapeau since it was such a crowning moment in history. I would like to smile every time I look back at it and remember what a great moment it was in American and African-American history. Ten cheers for President Obama." The now-famous bow-tied, Swarovski jewel-studded, heather grey wool hat worn by the Queen of Soul seemingly took on a life of its own, becoming an overnight sensation worldwide in the media and cyberspace....................


big ol' bunch of hat pics
and
a flickr pool o' hats
image: Obamicon.me