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Time Capsule Tales

@timecaptales

Dec 13

In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest by a would-be assassin

The failed attempt is the most famous of Roosevelt's encounters with death but it’s far from the only one

Teddy looked death in the eyes multiple times & told it to come knocking another time (thread🧵)

1. Born on Oct. 27, 1858, Roosevelt suffered from constant ailments like colds, coughs, & fevers. The worst of all was his asthma.

“I was a sickly, delicate boy, suffered much from chronic asthma, and frequently had to be taken away on trips to find a place where I could breathe,” Roosevelt recalled in his autobiography.

His asthma attacks were so bad that his father often bundled him into the family’s carriage and took him for rides in hopes that the fresh air would help.

But Roosevelt’s ill health had an unexpected benefit. Bereft of physical strength, the young boy turned to intellectual pursuits. He devoured books, developed a love for nature, and even used his collection of animal specimens to start the “Roosevelt Museum of Natural History.”

2. Roosevelt’s father challenged him to develop his brain & his brawn.

“Theodore, you have the mind, but you have not the body, and without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should,” he counseled his son during Roosevelt’s teenage years. “You must make your body.”

Roosevelt wholeheartedly followed his father’s advice. He began a strenuous exercise regimen, helped by the installation of a new gymnasium in his family’s home, and started to grow stronger.

Though Roosevelt had started to strengthen his body, death still lingered nearby.

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Time Capsule Tales

@timecaptales

Dec 9

Thread of chilling photos from Sean 'Diddy' Combs' secretive 'White Parties' that we are learning more & more about

1. Jay-Z, Diddy & Kelly Osborne in 2003

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Time Capsule Tales

@timecaptales

Dec 6

Thread of unbelievable facts that will mess with your perception of time (🧵)

1. John Tyler, the 10th U.S. president, was born in 1790 & has a living grandson.

John had a son, Lyon, at age 63 in 1853

Lyon had a son, Harrison, at age 75 in 1928

Harrison Tyler is now 96

2. George Washington died in 1799; the first dinosaur fossil was discovered in 1824. This means that George Washington never knew that dinosaurs existed.

I bet George would've been a BIG T-Rex fan

3. Charles Darwin was born in 1809

Steve Irwin was born in 1962

Harriet the tortoise, who died in 2006, was owned by both Charles & Steve at different times

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Time Capsule Tales

@timecaptales

Dec 5

It’s easy to forget in the early 1930s, Hitler - though still seen as radical - was not considered a threat to world peace

It’s even easier to forget that Hitler had more than a few supporters in the United States

This is what Nazi support looked like in the USA

(thread🧵)

1. German-American Bund

A large portion of Nazi ideology revolved around the purity of the German “race,” and Hitler shrewdly realized early on that this could be exploited in the German migrant populations of his potential foes. A mere four months after his rise to power in 1933, an American organization known as “Friends of New Germany” was assembled from several smaller organizations around the US.

Originally made up of both German nationals & US citizens of German descent, it was restructured in 1936 into the German American Bund (“Bund” meaning “Alliance”), which admitted only German-Americans.

Since a quarter of the US population at the time had some German ancestry, membership was high. The Bund’s leader, Fritz Kuhn, was even dubbed the American Fuhrer.

While taking care to ensure its perception as an American organization remained solid (expressions of American patriotism were plentiful in Bund gatherings, which often took place on American holidays or on presidents’ birthdays) the fact remains that American citizens gave the Nazi salute, shouted “Heil Hitler,” and otherwise behaved much as an attendee at any German Nazi Party gathering would have.

2. Nazi Summer Camps

After its 1936 restructuring, the Bund began making a concerted effort to advance Nazi ideology in the hopes that the US could be made sympathetic to, or even a stronghold for, Hitler & his armies. Among its most alarming projects: summer camps for American youths.

While not supported by or directly related to the infamous Hitler Youth program, the similarities were nevertheless glaring. Parents and children alike saluted the Fuhrer & wore the same armbands their German counterparts did. By the time they were shut down shortly after the start of the war, 16 of these camps existed all across the country, from New York to Los Angeles.

Anti-Semitic sentiment was at an all-time high in the US at this time, and programs like these were intended to indoctrinate America to racist, fascistic ideologies. Children from eight to 18 were taught to speak German and participated in military-style drills. Nazi ideology & German heritage were essentially presented as part of the same package, and many German-Americans were receptive to the message.

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Time Capsule Tales

@timecaptales

Dec 3

The Nazis didn't just seize power - they were voted in

It's hard to imagine, but there was a time when Hitler was a name on a ballot in a democratic election

He was openly fascist & anti-semitic, but people still chose to vote for him

Here's how it all happened (thread 🧵)

1. The War Guilt Clause

The fuse that sparked World War II was lit as soon as World War I ended. When peace was signed with the Treaty of Versailles, the Germans were forced to sign the “War Guilt Clause.” They had to put in writing that the war had been their fault alone.

Major restrictions were put on Germany as a result. They were forced to concede major parts of their territory. They were held responsible for all damages in the war and forced to pay 132 billion goldmarks in reparations, an expense that took up 10 percent of their annual national income.

From the very start, right-wing groups like the Nazis campaigned to tear up the Treaty of Versailles. They called it a “dictated peace” that oppressed the nation. At first, most Germans were so tired of war that they didn’t fight it. But, as the consequence of the treaty played out, that started to change.

2. Hyperinflation

The inflation in Germany was unbelievable. In 1914, before the war started, US$1 was worth 4.2 German marks. By 1923, the year the Ruhr was taken, US$1 was worth 4.2 trillion marks.

People across the country were starving. Money became completely worthless, and every penny a German had in savings was worth no more than kindling. People started to insist on being paid with food because nothing else had value.

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Time Capsule Tales

@timecaptales

Nov 26

Thread of Vladimir Putin in strange situations

1. Putin getting jiggy with it in the background while George W. Bush dances in the foreground. This video was taken during the a meeting between the two presidents in 2008. They decided to dance together.