nPostednon April 3, 2015
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nThisnis one of those confusing “holidays.” Every website I consultednclaimed that this must surely be celebrating the medium-to-heavynweight cloth called tweed…but that another possible reasonnfor the holiday is that it is the birthday of the most notorious U.S.npolitician of all time, “Boss” Tweed.
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nButnwho would want to celebrate a crooked politician?
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| “Boss” Tweed helped give Democrats and all politicians a bad name! |
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nBossnTweed was born William Magear Tweed, in New York City, on this datenin 1823. He ripped off from taxpayers something between 25 millionnand 200 million dollars (pretty big range!) through money-laundering,nprofit sharing, and other sorts of political corruption. He wasnelected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1852 and to the NewnYork State Senate in 1867, but most of his power-grubbing came fromnhim serving on committees, boards, and commissions. He controlled tona shockingly great extent who ran for office and who won, and henhanded out jobs to loyal voters.
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nAaannndddd…hendied in jail. Even though Tweed’s corruptive touch reached even thencourts, he was convicted of some of his wrong-doings in 1877, and hendied a year later at age 55.
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Andnnow for the nicer tweed…
Andnnow for the nicer tweed…n
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nOfncourse we like the cloth better than a crooked politician!
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nThisnrough woolen fabric is linked to Scotland, Ireland, and the Britishnpeople in general. It’s thick enough to withstand a harsh climate,nand it is often worn for outdoor activities such as shooting andnhunting.
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nScholarsnthink that the name tweed came from the Scottish word for twilln(which is a kind of weaving characterized by a diagonal pattern); thenScottish word for twill is tweel. A London merchantnmisread the name (documents were generally in cursive writing) andnthought it must be a brand name named after the Scottish river Tweed.
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nAndnfrom that one misunderstanding arose a name we use to this day!
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nHerenare a few samples of tweed:
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| Glen plaid |
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| Houndstooth |
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| Herringbone |
nAndnthese photos show that tweed:
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1)nlooks very British, like Sherlock Holmes and Downton Abbey…
1)nlooks very British, like Sherlock Holmes and Downton Abbey…
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| Two of my favorite British-fictional-characters who wear tweed are Matthew Crawley, above, and Sherlock Holmes, below. |
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n2)ncan make you look smart-as-in-intelligent AND smart-as-in-fashionnforward…
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nAlsonon this date:
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nFindna Rainbow, Share a Rainbow Day
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nWorldnParty Day
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nAnniversarynof the start of the Pony Express
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nConservationistnJohn Burroughs’s birthday
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nApriln holidays
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nMayn holidays
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nMayn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in May
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