Waltheof Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Antecedents ? forebears--progenitors... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Womersle Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 :this is actualy praising somewhere has anyone been to the national coal mining museum ?? its not far and free you get to go down a propper mine shaft and see how coals been mined over the years ,sounds boring and i thought it was guna be crap but it was actualy quite an interesting day AND FREE !!!!!! :banana: My Great Uncle was one of the miners killed in the Wharncliffe Silkstone pit disaster. He is on the blown up size photograph in the entrance area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosier Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Waltheof, when Americans say their country has no history, I think many are speaking of buildings. Here in the US, they tear them down nearly as quickly as they build them. In Indianapolis, for instance, they are completing a new arena for football as the 'old' one was built in the mid '80s (as in 1980's) and was so hopelessly outdated there was no way it could be renovated. It will be torn down later this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallamton Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I think Americans say their country has no history because it doesn't. Not only that but the history they do have seems so pointless it's not exactly interesting. I'd much prefer to read up on Ancient Greece or Rome or the Crusades rather than the Boston Tea Party. I also hate the Americans that cherish history that isn't even theres. Like when I was in NY and I met a lot of "irish" people who were only Irish because their great-great-uncle's sister was Irish. It's embarrassing. Back on topic - I'd say stone henge was disapointing as its mysteriousness means that you can't really enjoy it's history. -Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyHoosier Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I think Americans say their country has no history because it doesn't. Not only that but the history they do have seems so pointless it's not exactly interesting. I'd much prefer to read up on Ancient Greece or Rome or the Crusades rather than the Boston Tea Party. I also hate the Americans that cherish history that isn't even theres. Like when I was in NY and I met a lot of "irish" people who were only Irish because their great-great-uncle's sister was Irish. It's embarrassing. Back on topic - I'd say stone henge was disapointing as its mysteriousness means that you can't really enjoy it's history. -Michael Oh, please. Yes, America has less history than England. But what does American history "seems so pointless" mean? It's not supposed to have a point; it just IS. History is what happened --it's fact, not fiction created for your enjoyment. And, as for ancient Rome being more interesting than the Boston Tea Party, I'm sure a professor of 18th Century American history would beg to differ. That's clearly a matter of personal preference. And finally, why should it bother you if an American takes pride in his ancestry? What's the harm in it, and why should anyone be embarrassed of their roots? I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this attitude coming from someone who found Stone Henge disappointing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 What amuses me is that some americans say Oh your country is so full of history--we don't have any Yet North America has been proggressively settled since the 16th century, or longer if you take the Norse explorations c.1000 AD into consideration I think the problem is a simple misunderstanding. They are talking about United States history, 200+ years. You are talking about the history of North America. Two different things. Sierra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Lousy tourist attractions: Santa's Village in Scotts Valley, California, just outside Santa Cruz. My parents took us here as kids, and it was wonderful. When my children were small, I insisted on bringing them, it was awful. Old, run down, and dirty. It closed shortly afterward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallamton Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Oh, please. Yes, America has less history than England. But what does American history "seems so pointless" mean? It's not supposed to have a point; it just IS. History is what happened --it's fact, not fiction created for your enjoyment. And, as for ancient Rome being more interesting than the Boston Tea Party, I'm sure a professor of 18th Century American history would beg to differ. That's clearly a matter of personal preference. And finally, why should it bother you if an American takes pride in his ancestry? What's the harm in it, and why should anyone be embarrassed of their roots? I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this attitude coming from someone who found Stone Henge disappointing! Yes history is something that just happened and it is fact. I couldn't agree more. But I doubt many people would want to hear about what I did yesterday just because it happened in the past. American history as most people see it is something that is a few hundred years old. As time goes, that's virtually nothing and I'd much rather learn about something thousands of years old. I think most people would rather know about history that changed the future in more ways than one can imagine. Ancient Greece or Rome are era's that have done this. We wouldn't have things like Mathematics or Christianity. I also think there's taking pride in ancestory and then there is labelling yourself as something that you're not just so you can pigeon-hole yourself into a popular category. For example, I hate to see Americans call themselves Irish if they have the smallest little amount of Irish blood in them. If we worked on that basis, we could pretty much say most people are a mix of irish/scottish/welsh/english/french/swede/italian etc. etc. since no-ones ancestory is that defined anymore. I guess I like to know the history of things because it shows me how we've developed and how far we've come. Stone henge doesn't show this as we don't even know it's original use, or if there was even one? I think it's amazing that after so many years the structure is still there and it was obviously crafted for a reason, but it's history is so vague you can't really show a massive interest in it when compared with other things that have a lot more historical value. -Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallamton Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 And just to clear another point up, not all history is fact as it can't often be proven. Not only that but I think the charm of history that attracts a lot of people to study it is often the parts that we don't know or that are somewhat flawed. Do we really think there was a Minotaur in Crete? Or 300 Spartans battled millions of Persians? Or Hercules and the Gods Existed? Of course not, but that doesn't mean it isn't interesting and still part of our history. I think this charm is often lost if we already know what/where/how something happened like we do in modern history. That's why you have 1000's of people studying degrees in Classical Civilisations and only a handful studying an equivilent in North American history. -Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacq Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 old Mother Shipton's Well at Knaresborough is truly dull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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