So glad our Ms Curly found some decent clothing. " If the impossible happens, then it must be possible. As unimaginable as it seems.” To wit: USA in 2026...
-"They were called the 49ers since most arrived in 1849.” Later, that would become the name of the city's NFL team.
- "It will be the local merchants who actually get wealthy. They will charge outrageously high prices for everything." The same thing would happen roughly 50 years later when gold was discovered in what is now Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada.
-Merchant Levi Strauss would create the most enduring business from the 1849 rush when he began selling his durable pants ("jeans") to miners.
-Lastly, although the discovery took place on Sutter's Mill, gold was not discovered by the owner, John Sutter, as has sometimes been depicted, but by his employee, James Marshall. Ironically, Sutter got ruined by the rush as his land depreciated with unauthorized mining activity.
“Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that "the longitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day-and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives and the increasing fortunes of nations hung on a resolution. One man, John Harrison, in complete opposition to the scientific community, dared to imagine a mechanical solution-a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had ever been able to do on land.“
Who knew?
Just a couple of hundred years later we can use AI to create an image of dogs playing poker on a ship with exact coordinates!
I enjoyed Longitude, too 3MM. There were really interesting facts inside that small, nondescript cover. A friend recommended it - otherwise I would never have picked it out on my own. Fascinating.
Hi Sharon! I heard it mentioned on Mike Rowe’s podcast. He interviews a man who kayaked across both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It was a great listen.
It sounds like an interesting read. Yes, things are advancing so fast now, I wonder if humans can adapt, or will the old sci-fi tropes of our demise by robots/AI come true.
I think my dad had a Studebaker or two. I have banked at Wells Fargo and owned Levi's, too. AND all four of my kids graduated from UNC Charlotte, whose mascot is--you guessed it--a '49er! I guess I'm a Son of the Gold Rush.
For sure. I grew in neighborhood where the streets were named after car brands. I lived on Studebaker. Obviously, I wore Levi’s in the 70s. Once had our mortgage sold to Wells & Fargo. And my daughter went to UNC Chapel Hill. What a coinkadink.
So glad our Ms Curly found some decent clothing. " If the impossible happens, then it must be possible. As unimaginable as it seems.” To wit: USA in 2026...
Exactly. Reality is often stranger than fiction.
Especially in 2026…. just saying.
I enjoy so uch your imagination coupled with historic facts.
Thanks, Jill. History is full of great stories waiting to be mined. 😉
-"They were called the 49ers since most arrived in 1849.” Later, that would become the name of the city's NFL team.
- "It will be the local merchants who actually get wealthy. They will charge outrageously high prices for everything." The same thing would happen roughly 50 years later when gold was discovered in what is now Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada.
-Merchant Levi Strauss would create the most enduring business from the 1849 rush when he began selling his durable pants ("jeans") to miners.
-Lastly, although the discovery took place on Sutter's Mill, gold was not discovered by the owner, John Sutter, as has sometimes been depicted, but by his employee, James Marshall. Ironically, Sutter got ruined by the rush as his land depreciated with unauthorized mining activity.
Indeed, despite what the Dan Fogelberg song (Sutter's Mill) says, Sutter didn't find the gold. Marshall did. Or did he? We will see.
I learned a lot while researching this story. History is fascinating. As long as you aren't expected to memorize dates. 😂
Love the serial posting of this story Mark.
I just started a book called Longitude.
“Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that "the longitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day-and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives and the increasing fortunes of nations hung on a resolution. One man, John Harrison, in complete opposition to the scientific community, dared to imagine a mechanical solution-a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had ever been able to do on land.“
Who knew?
Just a couple of hundred years later we can use AI to create an image of dogs playing poker on a ship with exact coordinates!
I enjoyed Longitude, too 3MM. There were really interesting facts inside that small, nondescript cover. A friend recommended it - otherwise I would never have picked it out on my own. Fascinating.
Hi Sharon! I heard it mentioned on Mike Rowe’s podcast. He interviews a man who kayaked across both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It was a great listen.
It sounds like an interesting read. Yes, things are advancing so fast now, I wonder if humans can adapt, or will the old sci-fi tropes of our demise by robots/AI come true.
Thanks, 3.
I’ll leave that speculation to someone else!
😂
I think my dad had a Studebaker or two. I have banked at Wells Fargo and owned Levi's, too. AND all four of my kids graduated from UNC Charlotte, whose mascot is--you guessed it--a '49er! I guess I'm a Son of the Gold Rush.
For sure. I grew in neighborhood where the streets were named after car brands. I lived on Studebaker. Obviously, I wore Levi’s in the 70s. Once had our mortgage sold to Wells & Fargo. And my daughter went to UNC Chapel Hill. What a coinkadink.