Not What They're Famous For, But.... · 8:40am May 26th, 2023
Johnathan "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman
Most famous for planting apple trees, he was also a business man & wealthy. Back then, you could claim land by planting 50 trees, so he did & then sold it. He lived as a homeless wanderer because he preferred to. He considered himself a missionary.
Isaac Newton
Most famous as a physicist, he published FAR more papers on alchemy. He was also a teacher, a drug addict (laudanum (opium dissolved in alcohol) legal back then) & was made Master Of The Royal Mint & put in charge of reconciling English & Scottish currency.
He also invented the Doggy Door & the excuse "The dog ate my homework". (Well, he was late submitting a manuscript for publication & blamed his dog for destroying it.)
Benjamin Franklin
Founding Father, he most famously proved lightning was electrical in nature, is the only person to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, & the Constitution.
He was also Post Master General under the Continental Congress, helped finance the Revolutionary War by counterfeiting British currency, & was an ambassador to Britain in 1757. His failures helped spark the Revolution.
Some folks allege he was also a British spie.
Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein
Although prolific, popular, & influential Sci-fi writers, they all also wrote significant NONFICTION. In fact, Asimov & Clarke wrote far more nonfiction than fiction.
Despite being Jewish, Asimov's Guide To The Bible is well researched & well written. I've never read it but I've read some of the essays in it. It has stuff like "How big was Goliath", "Where was the Garden of Eden", "How tall was the Tower of Babel" etc. It is based on the King James version of the Bible &.....his translators tended to go for poetical rather than strictly accurate. This arguably caused some problems.
