BEYOND THE MYTH

Lincoln Was a Licensed Bartender? Check 10 Fun Facts About Abe!

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Abraham Lincoln, one of America’s most revered presidents, is a man whose sagacious leadership steered the country during its most tumultuous periods. But beyond the larger-than-life figure lies a man of intriguing depth. Join us to learn 10 curious facts about Honest Abe that you probably didn’t know!

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Abraham Lincoln holds the distinction of being the tallest president in American history, standing at a towering height of 6 feet 4 inches. His imposing stature often commanded attention, both in the political arena and among his peers. Despite his remarkable height, Lincoln's presence was characterized by a gentle demeanor and humble disposition.

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Lincoln wasn't just a formidable politician; he was also an accomplished wrestler. Allegedly, early in his career, he defeated a local bully in a wrestling match, becoming the town hero. In any case, his strength and skill in the ring earned him a reputation as a formidable opponent. Amassing 300 victories over 12 years, he was only defeated once, by fellow soldier Lorenzo Dow Thompson during the Black Hawk War of 1832.

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Contrary to popular belief, Lincoln's voice didn't match his towering stature. Instead of a deep, booming voice, he spoke in a surprisingly high-pitched tone. The somewhat unexpected tone of his voice, however, didn’t take away from his powerful speeches, and any perceived awkwardness was soon overshadowed by his wisdom and ideas.

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Before he entered politics, Lincoln co-owned a general store and drinking establishment called Berry and Lincoln in New Salem, Illinois. It was here that he obtained a license to sell liquor, making him a licensed bartender. However, the joint venture soon ran into debt, and Lincoln wasn’t able to fully recover economically until he became a Congressman.

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Lincoln's iconic stovepipe hat wasn't just a fashion statement; it served as a convenient storage space for his notes and documents. He would tuck memos or important notes inside his hat, utilizing its ample space to keep his thoughts organized while working or reading. This quirky habit - one of many, actually - illustrates Lincoln's pragmatic personality and wit.

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Despite his rugged appearance, Lincoln had a soft spot for poetry. As a teenager, he often wrote short stanzas and satirical verses on the flyleaves of books, and later in life, he worked on longer poems, some of which he published or sent in letters to close friends. One of his longer works, My Childhood-Home I See Again, dealt with his feelings of melancholy and yearning upon visiting his childhood home.

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Lincoln was far more than just a skilled politician, he often liked to tinker with things, making up solutions to various problems. Proof of this is that, in 1849, while serving in Congress, he was granted a patent for a device that could lift boats over shallow waters or other obstructions in a river. Though he never saw it in action, his invention demonstrated his innovative spirit.

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Lincoln adored cats and was often seen playing with his cats Tabby and Dixie in the White House. In fact, he was quite a cat person, and during the war, he rescued motherless kittens every time he could. His fondness for animals, in general, was well known, and he let his sons keep as many pets as they wished, resulting in quite a menagerie living within the White House premises, including rabbits, turkeys, horses, and two beloved goats called Nanny and Nanko.

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Lincoln's iconic facial hair wasn't always a part of his look. He allegedly grew it at the suggestion of Grace Bedell of Westfield, New York, an 11-year-old girl who wrote to him, claiming it would improve his appearance because "his face was so thin" and it would earn him more votes. While it is unknown whether she actually influenced his decision to grow a beard, he began to grow his distinctive beard soon afterward.

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Despite the immense pressures of leading a nation during a tumultuous time, Lincoln remained remarkably laid-back in his approach to fatherhood. He enjoyed spending time with his children, often engaging in playful activities and games with them. Julia Taft Bayne - a close friend of the Lincoln family - recalled in her memoirs that one time, both Lincoln’s sons barged into his office and asked him to pardon a doll accused of spying. Their father willingly played along, and then sighed to his secretary, "And I only wish they were all that easy."

History is written by winners? 10 failure stories that changed the world

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Truman Capote once said, "Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor." In the same line, Benjamin Franklin claimed: "He that can have patience can have what he will." Patience and perseverance are fundamental when it comes to conquering the anguish of things not going as planned. Numerous scientists, inventors, actors, musicians, and writers throughout history have had to fail many times before achieving their goals. Are you familiar with the stories of these 10 great men who had to make mistakes to finally have success? Surely, you’ll feel inspired to overcome your own failures after reading this article!

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Besides having very good ideas, Thomas Alva Edison also had a lot of patience. And patience is fundamental to overcoming any failure. Between 1878 and 1880, he worked on at least three hundred theories with the aim of developing an efficient incandescent lamp.

It took him two years of trial and error to find the right elements to achieve his goal. After at least a thousand failed attempts, he achieved what would be his most resounding and revolutionary invention. "I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work," he later said.

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The golden age of Hollywood was highly competitive and cutthroat. Before becoming a superstar, the talented Fred Astaire experienced rejection firsthand. In the 1930s, when he was still taking his first steps, he was handed a performance report after a casting call: "Can't act. Slightly bald. Also dances," it said. Astaire himself would say that the audition was disappointing for him.

In a 1933 notebook from RKO Pictures, film producer David O. Selznick described the audition as "appalling". Nevertheless, these awful remarks weren’t enough reason for the actor to be discouraged or for the studio to close its doors completely: Fred Astaire ended up starring in ten films for RKO.

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The famous Dutch painter died young, believing he was a failure. Vincent looked at his paintings with enormous frustration as he found it much harder to sell them than to paint them. He was tormented by the thought of what people might say about his works.

He was a gloomy, melancholic, and lonely artist who was unable to manage his mood swings. At the end of his life, he developed a depression that eventually led him to suicide. While he was alive, Vincent Van Gogh sold only a handful of his works, even though today he is one of the most famous artists in the world and his paintings are worth millions.

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Walt Disney, the man who created an empire out of pure creativity, didn't have it easy. Along the way, he failed, and failed badly. Walt was a mediocre student and had several jobs before becoming the dream maker we all know today. As a boy, he helped his father deliver newspapers in Kansas, enlisted in the army, wrote newspaper ads, and had several animation studios that went bankrupt.

Determined not to give up, he created Mortimer, which at his wife's suggestion would be renamed Mickey Mouse. Many of his competitors assumed that sound-animated films would be just a fad, but when Walt launched the short Willie on the Steamboat in 1928, it received excellent reviews. From then on, both Walt and Mickey continued to grow nonstop.

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All members of the Nobel family were great inventors, revolutionizing the arms industry in 19th-century Europe. Alfred, in particular, dedicated his life to finding a way to use and control nitroglycerin. However, in 1864, when success seemed to be the family trademark, a terrible explosion destroyed their factory. Five workers and Alfred's younger brother died.

Nobel decided to start again from scratch. After several attempts, he discovered that mixing the explosive with diatomaceous earth created a paste-like composition that kept nitroglycerin’s composition intact. This made it transportable, manageable, and safe. The unprecedented discovery was patented in 1867 under the name Dynamite. Dynamite eventually made Alfred Nobel one of the richest men of his time.

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Carrie, the King of Horror's first novel, received dozens of rejections from different publishers. Stephen King almost gave up, but his wife rescued the first pages of the story and convinced him to continue working. The author started collecting the rejection letters, and he later admitted he also received suggestions and advice that were key to perfecting his writing.

Finally, in 1974, the American publishing company Doubleday agreed to publish Carrie, which quickly became a bestseller. To date, Stephen King has published over 200 short stories and around 65 novels, many of them with record sales and multiple film and television adaptations.

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A series of bad business decisions bankrupted Charles Goodyear’s manufacturing company. After this setback, the self-taught inventor focused his energies on finding a way to create synthetic rubber that would be resistant to sudden temperature changes.

He had many attempts but couldn’t find the right formula. One day, by accident, he spilled a mixture of sulfur, rubber, and lead on a hot stove. Surprisingly, the material didn’t melt. Goodyear named this phenomenon vulcanization after the Roman god Vulcan. Although the invention didn’t make him rich and he ultimately died covered in debt, the vulcanization technology discovered by Charles Goodyear in the 1840s is still used today.

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The technology industry knows a lot about failure. They know about trial, error, observation, and constant improvement in pursuit of evolution. If there is one thing Bill Gates has experienced firsthand, it is embracing failure as a natural step on the path towards progress.

Among his forgettable list of disappointments is his first company, Traf-O-Data, an ambitious project that never prospered. But that didn't stop Gates as he began to forge what would become the future of the personal computer. Microsoft was not exempt from failures either, Windows Vista being one of the best examples. However, none of these setbacks ever stopped Bill Gates, who is, to this day, one of the richest and most successful men in the world.

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A doctor who is not comfortable with touching his patients? It seems like the perfect formula for failure! In the early 19th century, it was very common for doctors to bring their ears close to their patients’ chests to hear their breathing or heartbeat. But for the prudish French physician René Laënnec, physical touch was virtually impossible.

Laënnec recalled seeing two children playing with a hollowed-out tree trunk, listening to sounds. He knew he had found a way around his struggles. He looked for a wooden cylinder, hoping to achieve the same sound effect. He succeeded: he could hear the heartbeat at a long enough distance. This experimental object worked so well that it became the genesis of the stethoscope, a fundamental tool for physicians to this day.

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According to his first music teachers, little Ludwig was a mediocre musician and a lousy violinist who had no talent for creating harmonies and melodies. To prove them all wrong, Beethoven's father forced his son to practice complex pieces of music in order to produce a "child prodigy" who could be considered "the new Mozart".

Eventually, the pressure paid off. In 1782, at the age of 12, Beethoven published his first piano composition. At the age of 40, at the height of his musical splendor, he became completely deaf. Despite his difficulties, Ludwig van Beethoven went on to publish 138 works during his career and is considered one of the most brilliant composers and pianists in history.