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Space Needle Facts: everything you ever needed to know about the Needle

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Space Needle Facts # 1

Architect: John Graham & Co

The Seattle Space Needle Is an Observation Tower

The most basic of Space Needle facts relates to the what, where and why of its creation. The Seattle Space Needle is an observation tower which was built in the city of Seattle, Washington, in 1962. The tower was built in honor of the 1962 World's Fair. When it opened for the fair, the tower drew almost 20,000 visitors per day who ascended the tower via the elevators. It hosted in excess of 2.3 million visitors over the duration of the fair. Nowadays, it receives more than a million visitors annually, and is the most popular tourist attraction in the Northwest USA. The Space Needle was named as a historic landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Board in 1999.

There's more to the tower than just an observation deck. For many years the "halo" of the Space Needle was home to two restaurants, the Eye of the Needle and the Emerald Suite. However, these were closed in 2000 to make way for the revolving SkyCity restaurant. At 500 ft. (152 m) above ground, the restaurant rotates 360 ° in 47 minutes. From the top of the Space Needle, a visitor gets great views of the Seattle skyline, along with the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Elliot Bay and the surrounding islands.

The Space Needle Is 605 ft High

One of the most noticeable and most famous Space Needle facts concerns its impressive height. The tower is 605 ft tall, (184 m) and at the time it was built, it was the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River. It's not just impressively tall − the tower weighs in at 9550 tons, and is 138 ft (42 m) wide. The rotating restaurant is located at 500 ft (152 m), and the observation deck is at 520 ft (158 m). At the very top of the tower's needle is an aircraft warning beacon. To balance this enormous structure, the Space Needle needed a huge foundation. Its concrete foundations go 30 ft (9 m) deep, but the base is only on a 120 by 120 ft (36 by 36 m) area of land, as this is the size of the plot originally purchased for the tower. There are a total of 848 steps in the tower, stretching all the way from the basement to the observation deck.

The Space Needle Was Designed By John Graham

This famous tower came about as a compromise between several different design ideas, and there are many intriguing Space Needle facts about how the current design was conceived. In the early 1960s, Edward Carlson was a Seattle businessman, and chairman of the World Fair, while John Graham was an architect. Carlson had an idea for a giant balloon tethered to the ground, which the eventual sloping base of the tower resembles. Graham, on the other hand, had a concept of a flying saucer on the tower, reflected in the halo which houses the Space Needle's restaurant and observation deck. Graham also suggested that the restaurant should revolve. It was actually another architect, Victor Steinbrueck, who contributed the idea of the tower's hourglass shape.

The Space Needle Was Named "The 400 Day Wonder"

The 120 ft by 120 ft (36 m by 36 m) plot on which the Space Needle was eventually built was purchased in 1961. This led to one of the most extraordinary Space Needle facts − the tower was constructed in just 400 days! It was consequently dubbed the 400 Day wonder, and opened at the 1962 World Fair on schedule.

The land for the tower was bought for $75,000, and construction was financed by the Pentagram Corporation. Construction crews worked around the clock to get the job done. While creating the foundations, 467 cement trucks achieved the largest continuous concrete pour in Western history, taking 12 hours to fill the 30 ft (9 m) deep foundation hole. After the foundation was complete, the main structure was bolted to it with 72 bolts, which were each also 30 ft long.

The Space Needle Is Built To Last

There are numerous Space Needle facts relating to the durability of this structure. The tower sways around 1 inch (2.5 cm) for every 10 mph (16 kph) of wind, but it is actually built to withstand up to 200 mph wind velocity, or 320 kph. This is double the standard set out in the building requirements which were in place in 1962. To further raise safety standards, the Space Needle elevators reduce their travelling speeds whenever there are high winds in the city.

The Space Needle is also designed to withstand earthquakes up to a magnitude of 9.1. This was the strength of the 1700 Cascadia earthquake, which is believed to have caused a great deal of damage in the Pacific Northwest region. In 2001, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in the area, and jolted the Space Needle, causing water to slosh from the bathroom toilets, but no more serious damage was incurred. The tower's unusually deep foundations help to protect the building. Finally, the tower is adorned with 24 lightning rods plus the Needle itself, which in total form 25 lightning rods to protect the Space Needle from lightning strike.

The Space Needle's Elevators Offer a Joy Ride

One of the more famous Space Needle facts relates to the thrilling ride to the top. The elevators in the tower move at 10 miles per hour, or 16 kph. The trip up the 605 ft (184 m) building takes just 41 seconds. That is, unless it is a particularly windy day, in which case the elevator speeds are slashed in half for safety reasons. The Space Needle's elevators were a part of the original design − indeed, the final elevator car was only delivered on the day before the 1962 World Fair. In 1993, the original elevators were replaced with newer, computerized models.

The Legacy Light Shines From the Space Needle

There are intriguing Space Needle facts relating to the night of New Year's Eve 1999. To celebrate the new Millennium, a powerful beam of light, known either as the Legacy Light or Skybeam, was shone from the tower for the first time. This light is powered by 85 million candela lamps. This idea had first been considered in 1962, but no such light beam was added to the original design. However, it is now an integral part of this famous landmark, and shines vertically from the needle on special occasions in Seattle and on national holidays. Although the light was originally intended to shine for around 75 nights a year, it has generally only been used for around a dozen occasions per year. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the light was lit for 11 consecutive days to honor the fallen.

Many Celebrations Take Place at the Space Needle

With its stunning views and its status as a historic landmark, not to mention its restaurant, the Space Needle hosts many personal celebrations and parties. But it is also a great place to go for more general celebrations, and there are many Space Needle facts to attest to this. Every New Year's Eve, the Space Needle plays host to a popular fireworks display at midnight, synchronized with music. After the University of Washington Huskies won the 1992 Rose Bowl, the team's logo was temporarily painted on the tower, and when Washington State won the Apple Cup, the whole tower was painted crimson.

The Space Needle is also known for celebrating its own landmark moments. As part of the tower's 50th anniversary, the Needle was painted "Galaxy Gold", the same color it had been when originally constructed in 1962. And in 2007, the guest Greg Novoa became the 45 millionth visitor to the Space Needle. He was rewarded with a free trip to Paris.

The Space Needle Requires Some Serious Maintenance

As the Space Needle gets older, certain changes and developments take place to keep the structure safe and popular. In the year 2000, renovations to the structure, which cost around the same as the original construction price, were completed! The observation deck was given an overhaul, and lighting was changed and added. The SkyCity restaurant was also constructed, as was the SpaceBase retail story and the Skybeam installation.

One of the more surprising Space Needle facts is that until 2008, the tower had not been professionally cleaned since its 1962 opening. In May 2008 this all changed, as a professional service was employed to clean the monument. This process included a pressure washing at the pressure of 20000 kilopascals, and a temperature of 194 °F (90 °C).

The Space Needle Is a Symbol of Seattle and the Northwest

One of the most undeniable Space Needle facts is that the structure has had an enormous effect on pop culture. The vast majority of film and television shows which aim to show that they are based in Seattle show a shot of the skyline with the Space Needle clearly prominent. Examples of films which use the Space Needle as a location include It Happened at The World's Fair and Sleepless in Seattle. In the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, the Space Needle is used for comic effect, when the villainous Doctor Evil takes over the tower and makes it his lair.

You Need Legal Consent to Parachute from the Space Needle

There are several Space Needle facts for adrenalin junkies. In total there have been six parachute jumps from the tower since its 1962 opening. Of these, only four were actually legal. These four were carried out for various promotions, but in the other cases it was considered a breach of the law, and the perpetrators were arrested.

You Should Check Your Attic for Space Needle Souvenirs

Pay close attention to these Space Needle facts and you could find something valuable! During the 1962 World's Fair there were over 200 copyrights on souvenir items at the Space Needle. Many of these commemorative items have now become sought-after collectables − a particular bestselling item at the fair was a needle-shaped golden charm containing a light. If you're a first-time visitor on the other hand, the Space Needle now has a shop with plenty of new souvenir items, from key chains to salt and pepper shakers.

On April Fool's Day 1989, the Space Needle "Collapsed"

In 1989, some completely false Space Needle Facts were shared by the Seattle comedy sketch show "Almost Live!" On April's Fools Day they aired a joke report claiming that the Space Needle had fallen over. Their prank backfired, however, when many local residents took them seriously. So many people called 911 that the Emergency Service lines were blocked, and the Space Needle itself received over 700 telephone calls. The channel's Programming Director apologized for the prank the next day.

The Space Needle Almost Hosted a Stork's Nest

In 1962, early plans for the Space Needle included the notion of building a stork's nest, with resident birds which would live at the top of the tower. How this idea made it even as far as it did is one of the more mysterious Space Needle facts, since storks actually only live in warmer climates and would soon have migrated away from the nest. Luckily, someone realized this major flaw in the plan, and the stork's nest was exiled from later drafts of the building plans.

CHEESE Believe the Space Needle Is Used for Contacting Aliens

CHEESE, otherwise known as The Committee Hoping for Extra-terrestrial Encounters to Save the Earth, have a theory about this landmark which might be the very strangest of Space Needle facts. They believe that the Space Needle was constructed to transmit signals to advanced life forms − i.e. aliens − in other solar systems. They also claim to have original plans from 1962 which prove this! The 1962 World's Fair certainly was space-themed, but many will think the rest of this theory a little unlikely.

The Space Needle Makes Snow "Fall Upwards"

A particularly fascinating optical illusion occurs for those using the Space Needle Elevators during a snow storm. Since the elevator cars travel at 10 mph, or 16 kph, they equal the speed at which a raindrop falls to earth. But, more excitingly, they are faster than the rate of a falling snowflake, which is just 3 mph (4.8 kph). So, while journeying up the tower in snowy weather, the snow appears to be falling upwards!

The Beatles Shunned the Space Needle

At a Seattle press conference in 1964, The Beatles were asked if they had visited the Space Needle. But the famous foursome weren't keen on learning any more Space Needle facts − none of them had gone inside. In response to questions about why this was, John Lennon admitted "I don't like heights" and George Harrison said "It looks better from the ground".

A Furry Wheedle Lives on the Needle

In his 1974 book, Wheedle on the Needle, children's author Stephen Cosgrove created a fictional creature called Wheedle. This cute, furry creature lived on top of the Space Needle, and made the light flash. The Wheedle is now a Seattle symbol too, and was even the mascot of the Seattle SuperSonics for a time.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis Used the Space Needle to Symbolize Unity

In his 2012 music video for the song Can't Hold Us, Seattle-born rapper Macklemore took his iconic Heist flag all around the world. After travelling across six continents, the music video ends with an image of the flag being flown at the top of the Space Needle.

The City of Fife Tried to Buy the Space Needle for $1 Million

In the late 1970s, the city of Fife, Washington State, reportedly tried to buy the Space Needle from Seattle. They made an offer of $1 million to move the monument to their own downtown area. Luckily, the offer was declined, and today we can talk about Space Needle facts, rather than facts about the tower in Fife. Rumors that if moved, the monument would be renamed the Fiffel Tower are unconfirmed.

Space Needle Facts - Facts about the Space Needle Summary

The Space Needle is an observation tower in the city of Seattle, Washington State. Standing at 605 ft, or 184 m, the tower was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, and is a dominant and famous part of the Seattle skyline. It was built in 1962 for the World's Fair, and construction was completed in a groundbreaking 400 days. The tower is resistant to earthquakes and hurricane force winds. Its elevators travel up the tower at 10 mph (16 km), and there is a rotating restaurant at 500 ft (152 m), which takes exactly 47 minutes to rotate a full 360 °. From the restaurant and observation deck, the tower boasts splendid views of the city of Seattle, and Olympic and Cascade Mountains, along with the bay and surrounding islands.

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Architect: John Graham & Co The most basic of Space Needle facts relates to the what, where and why of its creation. The Seattle Space Needle is an observation tower which was built in the city of Seattle, Washington, in 1962. The tower was built in honor of the 1962 World's Fair.

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- Houses a rotating restaurant at its top, "Sky City", that rotates, providing a view of the city.
- At it's peak, the Space Needle is 605 feet tall
- Technically, rather than a tourist attraction and restaurant, it is an observation tower.
- I chose this location because i enjoy the design of the building, and would like to visit the top to see the unique view.

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Located inside the headquarters of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the Mütter Museum has a wide range of wondrous and curious medical displays.

These include the skeleton of the tallest known man ever to have lived in North America and the fused bones of Harry Eastlack, who died of Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, an extremely rare disorder in which the soft connective tissue of the body ossifies, painfully freezing the body in an immobile state. These and many other exhibitions are displayed in some of the same Victorian cabinets that the museum began with in 1858.

Among the extensive collection is a set of brain slides curated not because of its defects, but because of its extraordinary brilliance. They look like strands of kelp, or shards of bark. But in fact, these slides contain slivers from the brain of the twentieth century's most famous scientist: Albert Einstein.

Einstein probably wouldn't have been pleased. He wanted to be cremated, and for the most part he got his wish. (His ashes were scattered in a secret spot on the Delaware River.) However, the pathologist on duty the night Einstein died in Princeton, New Jersey, wanted to keep the great physicist's brain away from the flames, so that others might one day study it for clues to his genius.

The pathologist, Thomas Harvey, ended up embroiled in drama with Einstein's family and executor, not to mention the hospital, but was eventually allowed to keep the brain as long as he used it only for scientific study (no tourist attractions allowed). At first, scientists who analyzed small sections of the gray matter saw nothing unusual, but by the 1980s, some began to find intriguing features in areas involved in visual, mathematical, and spatial processing. It turns out that Einstein's Sylvian fissure (a prominent groove) was shorter than average, while his parietal lobes were slightly wider, and his left inferior parietal lobe richer in glial cells (which nourish neurons). Neuroscientists have theorized that this architecture may have allowed Einstein to think with the kind of "associative play" of images that he claimed was key to his discoveries.

However, the typology of Einstein's brain can never completely account for his brilliance, in part because we don't know what came first: was Einstein a genius because his brain looked this way, or did it look this way because he was a genius? It's hard to know, especially without a lot of other Einstein-quality brains available. Meanwhile, this brain-a victim of 1950s-era preservation techniques and Harvey's many journeys around the country-is no longer in great shape for study.

The Mütter's forty-six microscope slides of the brain came from a Philadelphia neuropathologist named Lucy Rorke-Adams, who donated them to the museum in 2011. She received them from a colleague in the '70s, who got them from Harvey himself. An octogenarian herself, Rorke-Adams said she wanted to find a safe place for the slides before she passed on. She chose well, and the slides are now one of the museum's most prized possessions.

Easy to miss, but worth poring over, is the collection of 2,000 objects removed from people's throats, housed in attractive wooden pullout display drawers. These are from the Chevalier Jackson Foreign Body Collection, amassed by Chevalier Jackson, who is considered to be the greatest laryngologist of all time.

Also of particular interest are the conjoined twin skeletons, delicately displayed in various jaunty positions; the plaster death cast of celebrated "Siamese Twins" Chang and Eng Bunker, who died within hours of each other; the "Soap Lady," an exhumed corpse from the 1800s unusual for the waxy substance that formed around it during decomposition; and enough horrifyingly-detailed wax models and preserved human fetuses to last more than a lifetime.

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Located inside the headquarters of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the Mütter Museum has a wide range of wondrous and curious medical displays. These include the skeleton of the tallest known man ever to have lived in North America and the fused bones of Harry Eastlack, who died of Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, an extremely rare disorder in which the soft connective tissue of the body ossifies, painfully freezing the body in an immobile state.

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Soon, the dogs you see sniffing out contraband at airports may not be searching for drugs or smuggled Spanish ham. They might be looking for stolen treasures.

K-9 Artifact Finders, a new collaboration between New Hampshire-based cultural heritage law firm Red Arch and the University of Pennsylvania, is training dogs to root out stolen antiquities looted from archaeological sites and museums. The dogs would be stopping them at borders before the items can be sold elsewhere on the black market.

The illegal antiquities trade nets more than $3 billion per year around the world, and trafficking hits countries dealing with ongoing conflict, like Syria and Iraq today, particularly hard. By one estimate, around half a million artifacts were stolen from museums and archaeological sites throughout Iraq between 2003 and 2005 alone. (Famously, the craft-supply chain Hobby Lobby was fined $3 million in 2017 for buying thousands of ancient artifacts looted from Iraq.) In Syria, the Islamic State has been known to loot and sell ancient artifacts including statues, jewelry, and art to fund its operations.

But the problem spans across the world. Between 2007 and 2016, U.S. Customs and Border Control discovered more than 7800 cultural artifacts in the U.S. looted from 30 different countries.

K-9 Artifact Finders is the brainchild of Rick St. Hilaire, the executive director of Red Arch. His non-profit firm researches cultural heritage property law and preservation policy, including studying archaeological site looting and antiquities trafficking. Back in 2015, St. Hilaire was reading an article about a working dog trained to sniff out electronics that was able to find USB drives, SD cards, and other data storage devices. He wondered, if dogs could be trained to identify the scents of inorganic materials that make up electronics, could they be trained to sniff out ancient pottery?

To find out, St. Hilaire tells Mental Floss, he contacted the Penn Vet Working Dog Center, a research and training center for detection dogs. In December 2017, Red Arch, the Working Dog Center, and the Penn Museum (which is providing the artifacts to train the dogs) launched K-9 Artifact Finders, and in late January 2018, the five dogs selected for the project began their training, starting with learning the distinct smell of ancient pottery.

"Our theory is, it is a porous material that's going to have a lot more odor than, say, a metal," says Cindy Otto, the executive director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center and the project's principal investigator.

As you might imagine, museum curators may not be keen on exposing fragile ancient materials to four Labrador retrievers and a German shepherd, and the Working Dog Center didn't want to take any risks with the Penn Museum's priceless artifacts. So instead of letting the dogs have free rein to sniff the materials themselves, the project is using cotton balls. The researchers seal the artifacts (broken shards of Syrian pottery) in airtight bags with a cotton ball for 72 hours, then ask the dogs to find the cotton balls in the lab. They're being trained to disregard the smell of the cotton ball itself, the smell of the bag it was stored in, and ideally, the smell of modern-day pottery, eventually being able to zero in on the smell that distinguishes ancient pottery specifically.

"The dogs are responding well," Otto tells Mental Floss, explaining that the training program is at the stage of "exposing them to the odor and having them recognize it."

The dogs involved in the project were chosen for their calm-but-curious demeanors and sensitive noses (one also works as a drug-detection dog when she's not training on pottery). They had to be motivated enough to want to hunt down the cotton balls, but not aggressive or easily distracted.

Right now, the dogs train three days a week, and will continue to work on their pottery-detection skills for the first stage of the project, which the researchers expect will last for the next nine months. Depending on how the first phase of the training goes, the researchers hope to be able to then take the dogs out into the field to see if they can find the odor of ancient pottery in real-life situations, like in suitcases, rather than in a laboratory setting. Eventually, they also hope to train the dogs on other types of objects, and perhaps even pinpoint the chemical signatures that make artifacts smell distinct.

Pottery-sniffing dogs won't be showing up at airport customs or on shipping docks soon, but one day, they could be as common as drug-sniffing canines. If dogs can detect low blood sugar or find a tiny USB drive hidden in a house, surely they can figure out if you're smuggling a sculpture made thousands of years ago in your suitcase.

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11 Weird (But Awesome) Things at the Mütter Museum

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Soon, the dogs you see sniffing out contraband at airports may not be searching for drugs or smuggled Spanish ham. They might be looking for stolen treasures.

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Mutter Museum of Medical Oddities (Pensylvania)

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Mutter Museum of Medical Oddities (Pensylvania)

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- Contains quite a few, well, 'oddities', such as a book bound in human skin
- Houses the only known samples of Albert Einstein's brain
- Museum was founded in 1858
- I chose this location because it is interesting due to the fact that it makes me wonder why in the world things like these are being kept, and causes me all the more reason to see them.

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Facts & Information - Beautiful World Travel Guide

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Carlsbad Caverns Facts & Information - Beautiful World Travel Guide

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The Carlsbad Caverns are a series of natural limestone caves located in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, in the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico. The "Big Room" is the most impressive in terms of both formations and size, measuring an enormous 1220m (4000ft) in length and 68m (225ft) in height.

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You probably know that Carlsbad Caverns is a breathtakingly beautiful place. It's New Mexico's only national park and has been designated a World Heritage Site. But did you know these 18 facts about the most enchanting place in the Land of Enchantment?

(This photo shows a pictograph, not the ones in Carlsbad Caverns National Park.)

For more details on ranger-led tours, click here.

Have you visited Carlsbad Caverns? What was your experience like?

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18 Fascinating Things You Probably Didn't Know About Carlsbad Caverns In New Mexico

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You probably know that Carlsbad Caverns is a breathtakingly beautiful place. It's New Mexico's only national park and has been designated a World Heritage Site. But did you know these 18 facts about the most enchanting place in the Land of Enchantment? For more details on ranger-led tours, click here.

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Carlsbad Cavern National park (New Mexico)

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Carlsbad Cavern National park (New Mexico)

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- Created by the erosion of an ancient reef by sulfuric acid
- Was originally, in the 1800's, used as a guano mine
- Inhabited by bats, which appear nightly in a "dazzling ritual" (which of course produce the aforesaid guano in large amounts)
-I chose this location because i feel as though it would be quite pleasing to look at, both the cave formations and the nightly appearance of the bats.

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Jerry Gandolfo didn't flinch when a busload of eighth-grade girls began shrieking at the front desk. The owner of the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum simply assumed that John T. Martin, who calls himself a voodoo priest, was wearing his albino python around his neck as he took tickets. A few screams were par for the course.

Deeper in the museum it was uncomfortably warm, because the priest has a habit of turning down the air conditioning to accommodate his coldblooded companion. Not that Gandolfo minded: snakes are considered sacred voodoo spirits and this particular one, named Jolie Vert ( "Pretty Green," although it is pale yellow), also furnishes the little bags of snake scales that sell for $1 in the gift shop, alongside dried chicken feet and blank-faced dolls made of Spanish moss.

A former insurance company manager, Gandolfo, 58, is a caretaker, not voodoo witch doctor-in fact, he's a practicing Catholic. Yet his weary eyes brighten when he talks about the history behind his small museum, a dim enclave in the French Quarter half a block off Bourbon Street that holds a musty jumble of wooden masks, portraits of famous priestesses, or "voodoo queens," and here and there a human skull. Labels are few and far between, but the objects all relate to the centuries-old religion, which revolves around asking spirits and the dead to intercede in everyday affairs. "I try to explain and preserve the legacy of voodoo," Gandolfo says.

Gandolfo comes from an old Creole family: his grandparents spoke French, lived near the French Quarter and rarely ventured beyond Canal Street into the "American" part of New Orleans. Gandolfo grew up fully aware that some people swept red brick dust across their doorsteps each morning to ward off hexes and that love potions were still sold in local drugstores. True, his own family's lore touched on the shadowy religion: his French ancestors, the story went, were living in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) when slave revolts convulsed their sugar plantation around 1791. To save Gandolfo's kinfolk, a loyal slave hid them in barrels and smuggled them to New Orleans. The slave, it turned out, was a voodoo queen.

But it wasn't until Gandolfo reached adulthood that he learned that countless Creole families told versions of the same story. Still, he says, "I don't think I even knew how to spell voodoo."

That changed in 1972, when Gandolfo's older brother Charles, an artist and hairdresser, wanted a more stable career. "So I said, 'How about a voodoo museum?'" Gandolfo recalls. Charles-soon to be known as "Voodoo Charlie"-set about gathering a hodgepodge of artifacts of varying authenticity: horse jaw rattles, strings of garlic, statues of the Virgin Mary, yards of Mardi Gras beads, alligator heads, a clay "govi" jar for storing souls, and the wooden kneeling board allegedly used by the greatest voodoo queen of all: New Orleans' own Marie Laveau.

Charlie presided over the museum in a straw hat and an alligator tooth necklace, carrying a staff carved as a snake. "At one point he made it known that he needed skulls, so people sold him skulls, no questions asked," Gandolfo says. "Officially, they came from a medical school."

Charlie busied himself with recreating raucous voodoo ceremonies on St. John's Eve (June 23) and Halloween night, and sometimes, at private weddings, which typically were held inside the building and outside, in nearby Congo Square, and often involved snake dances and traditional, spirit-summoning drumming. Charlie "was responsible for the renaissance of voodoo in this city," Gandolfo says. "He revitalized it from something you read in history books and brought it back to life again." Meanwhile, Charlie's more introverted brother researched the history of the religion, which spread from West Africa by means of slave ships. Eventually, Gandolfo learned how to spell voodoo-vudu, vodoun, vodou, vaudoux. It's unclear how many New Orleanians practice voodoo today, but Gandolfo believes as much as 2 or 3 percent of the population, with the highest concentrations in the historically Creole Seventh Ward. The religion remains vibrant in Haiti.

Voodoo Charlie died of a heart attack in 2001, on Mardis Gras day: his memorial service, held in Congo Square, attracted hundreds of mourners, including voodoo queens in their trademark tignons, or head scarves. Gandolfo took over the museum from Charlie's son in 2005. Then Hurricane Katrina hit and tourism ground to a halt: the museum, which charges between $5 and $7 admission, once welcomed some 120,000 visitors a year; now the number is closer to 12,000. Gandolfo, who is unmarried and has no children, is usually on hand to discuss voodoo history or to explain (in frighteningly precise terms) how to make a human "zombie" with poison extracted from a blowfish. ("Put it in the victim's shoe, where it is absorbed through sweat glands, inducing a death-like catatonic state," he says. Later, the person is fed an extract containing an antidote to it as well as powerful hallucinogens. Thus, the "zombie" appears to rise from the dead, stumbling around in a daze.)

"The museum is an entry point for people who are curious, who want to see what's behind this stuff," says Martha Ward, a University of New Orleans anthropologist who studies voodoo. "How do people think about voodoo? What objects do they use? Where do they come from? [The museum] is a very rich and deep place."

The eighth graders-visiting from a rural Louisiana parish-filed through the rooms, sometimes pausing to consider candles flickering on the altars or to stare into the vacant eye sockets of skulls.

The braver girls hoisted Jolie Vert over their shoulders for pictures. ("My mom's going to flip!") Others scuttled for the door.

"Can we go now?" one student asked in a small voice.

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Jerry Gandolfo didn't flinch when a busload of eighth-grade girls began shrieking at the front desk. The owner of the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum simply assumed that John T. Martin, who calls himself a voodoo priest, was wearing his albino python around his neck as he took tickets.

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Voodoo Museum | New Orleans | Attraction

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Your monthly guide to NOLA'S foods, drinks, music and more.

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- It is located in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the French Quarter.
- It is often hot in the building, to accommodate the manager's pet python that lives in the museum
- Contains various voodoo artifacts considered 'magic'
- I chose this location simply because it is very weird, and i think it would be interesting, in a very creepy way

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Commissioned in 1942, USS Alabama BB-60 survived her tours in World War 2 and lives on today as a museum ship in Mobile Bay, Alabama.

Detailing the development and operational history of the USS Alabama (BB-60) Battleship. Entry last updated on 8/7/2017; Authored by Dan Alex; Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com

The American Navy became one of the most powerful fighting forces in the world during World War 2 (1939-1945) and American industry played a large and important role in supplying the Allies during their marches on Rome, Berlin, and Tokyo. While the aircraft carrier became the undisputed "King of the Sea" during the war, the United States Navy (USN) also invested in a massive submarine force and continued to provide newer and better battleship designs into the war's final months. In the case of the latter, the South Dakota-class was established that would number four total warships - USS South Dakota (BB-57), USS Indiana (BB-58), USS Massachusetts (BB-59), and USS Alabama (BB-60). The warships displaced in the 35,000-ton range under standard loads, held a primary battery of nine 16" main guns, and could field two floatplane reconnaissance-minded aircraft. All of the class managed to survive the war with two ending as preserved museums (USS Massachusetts and USS Alabama).

USS Alabama was to lead a storied career in the war effort when she was ordered on April 1st, 1939. World War 2 was not to officially begin until September of that year but the signs on the horizon were clear to many and shipbuilding programs around the globe smashed the naval limitations observed since the close of World War 1 (1914-1918). America's number one enemy would undoubtedly become the Empire of Japan in the West so naval superiority proved the call of the day.

Picture of the USS Alabama (BB-60) Battleship

Norfolk Naval Shipyard was tabbed with the new vessel's construction which saw her keel laid down on February 1st, 1940. With the December 7th, 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Japanese Navy, America officially entered the war on the side of the Allies, ramping up its industry and manpower into and during 1942. While Germany would become the primary enemy for the United States-and-Britain-led coalition in Europe going forward, resources were also being gathered for combating the Japanese in the Pacific. USS Alabama was launched on February 16th, 1942 and formally commissioned into USN service on August 16th of that year.

As built, Alabama exhibited the standard 35,000-ton load and featured a length of 680 feet, a beam of 108.2 feet, and a draught of 36.2 feet. She was powered by oil-fired steam turbines which drove 130,000 horsepower to four shafts. Speeds could reach 27.5 knots in ideal conditions and range was out to 15,000 nautical miles (17,000 miles / 28,000 km). All told, her crew complement numbered 1,793 officers and enlisted. Alabama carried two recoverable Vought OS2U "Kingfisher" floatplanes to be used in the over-the-horizon reconnaissance and gun-directing roles.

Her primary armament was 9 x 16" (406mm) /45 caliber Mark 6 main guns installed as three gun tubes arranged across three total turrets - two held forward of the hull superstructure and one held aft. This provided the vessel with a powerful broadside and still-effective firepower at other engagement angles. To this was added 20 x 5" (127mm) /38 caliber support guns used when the sixteen inch weapons were deemed overkill. For anti-aircraft defense, the vessel was outfitted with 24 x 40mm Bofors autocannons and up to 22 x 20mm Oerlikon cannons. These weapons would become the last line of defense against attacking dive bombers, torpedo planes, and kamikaze strikes. With her entire armament suite (aided by radar), Alabama could be called upon to engage enemy warships directly or support amphibious landings through offshore bombardment of land-based targets. The 16" guns packed plenty of firepower and range for either action.

Alabama's initial action was as part of the British fleet in the Mediterranean in support of the invasion of Sicily during 1943. She then served in "Operation Government" off the southern coast of Norway. Her presence there failed to draw the German battleship KMS Tirpitz out of harbor. She arrived at Virginia in August of 1943 where she was given an overhaul before being called to her next assignment in Pacific waters. She reached the theater by way of the Panama Canal, passing through in August, and arrived at Havannah Harbor of Efate Island in the southwest pacific for mid-September.

Alabama conducted several training actions and took part in exercises during this lull. She served in the Gilbert Islands assault through "Operation Galvanic" during November and supported Marine landings on the Tarawa Atoll and Army landings at Makin Atoll. Beyond her big guns leveling inland positions, her AA defense network threatened Japanese aircraft in the area. Her guns were then brought to bear against enemy positions at Nauru Island. USS Alabama served as escort for the carriers USS Bunker Hull and USS Monterey before arriving herself at Pearl for a period of refit and overhaul during January of 1944. Before the end of the month, she was engaged with other warships in "Operation Flintlock" in the Marshall Islands region and then lent her support to American carriers in transit. This lasted until February 1944. A short patrol session ended with nothing of note.

Assigned as part of Task Force 58 (TF58), Alabama once against screen American carriers and managed to down several incoming enemy aircraft. On March 30th, Allied air raids were undertaken on several islands against enemy positions with Alabama providing support. Her guns covered Army amphibious landings on New Guinea in April and steamed with aircraft carriers during attacks on the Truk Atoll. She then joined other warships in leveling Ponape prior to the amphibious assault on the Marianas. The invasion followed through "Operation Forager".

USS Alabama took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, marking the last major aircraft carrier engagement of the war. The vessel provided a stout defense with her AA guns as the battle evolved to become the "Marianas Turkey Shoot" - scoring the Allies some 400 enemy warplanes downed in the action while the Japanese Navy were also to suffer the loss of three complete aircraft carriers - this turned the tide of naval power in the Pacific in favor of the Allies.

Alabama served in the bombardment role at Guam, Tinian, and Saipan thereafter and supported the Guam landings during July of 1944 before engaging enemy forces at the Carolines in September. She covered the liberation of the Philippines and supported carriers engaging targets in Okinawa and Taiwan. The warship was in drydock by the end of January 1945 and was put to sea as soon as March to which she trained personnel and tested new installations. This took her from California to Pearl and, finally, to Ulithi for April. Her guns aided in the Okinawa landings that month and she survived a deadly typhoon in June. For July, she joined other American warships en route to the Japanese mainland for the final assault to end the Pacific War. She supported air raids on key Japanese industrial centers during this time.

The Japanese Empire fell in August of 1945 and this found Alabama near Honshu. During the period, she helped to land Marines on Japanese soil before entering Tokyo Bay on September 5th. She took on troops and sailed for Okinawa where she brought aboard several hundreds more for the return trip to the United States ("Operation Magic Carpet"). She was deactivated in 1946 and formally decommissioned on January 9th, 1947. She was then laid up as part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet before being removed from the Naval Register on June 1st, 1962.

For her service in World War 2, Alabama earned a total of nine Battle Stars. Her nickname became "Lucky A".

A civilian-led initiative of 1963 ultimately saved Alabama from the scrap heap to become a floating museum in 1964. She remains a tourist destination today (2015) alongside the attack submarine USS Drum (SS-228) and many aircraft and armor exhibits in Mobile Bay, Alabama.

USS Alabama stood in for another World War 2-era veteran warship, USS Missouri (BB-63), in the 1992 Steven Seagal motion picture "Under Siege". USS Drum (SS-228), stood in for the French-made North Korean attack submarine in the same film. USS Alabama was also used in the television mini-series "War and Remembrance" and the 1942 Abbott and Costello motion picture "In the Navy".

National Origin: United States

Service Year / Commissioned: 1942

Classification Type: Battleship

Ship Class: South Dakota-class

Global Operators:
United States

Structural - Crew, Dimensions, and Operating Weights:

Installed Power / Machinery - Standard Day Performance:
Oil-fed boilers driving steam turbines producing 130,000 horsepower to 4 x shafts.

Armament / Air Wing:

9 x 16" (410mm) /45 caliber Mark 6 main guns (three x three-gunned turrets).
20 x 5" (130mm) /38 caliber guns
24 x 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns
22 x 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns

Aircraft:
2 x Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes

Ships-in-Class (4):

USS South Dakota (BB-57); USS Indiana (BB-58); USS Massachusetts (BB-59); USS Alabama (BB-60)

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USS Alabama (BB-60) Battleship - United States

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Detailing the development and operational history of the USS Alabama (BB-60) Battleship. Entry last updated on 8/7/2017; Authored by Dan Alex; Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com The American Navy became one of the most powerful fighting forces in the world during World War 2 (1939-1945) and American industry played a large and important role in supplying the Allies during their marches on Rome, Berlin, and Tokyo.

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- Not the First, but the 6th U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name 'Alabama'
- Was an anti airplane ship, intended to shoot down enemy air vehicles.
- Was launched on February 16, 1942, and officially put into service on August 16 of the same year
- I chose this location because i thought it would be interesting to see, because i really enjoy learning about warfare, and the U.S.S Alabama is an                    important part of the history of it

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Source

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The State of Alabama Legislature outlined the mission of the USS ALABAMA Battleship Commission when it created that body in 1963. The Commission shall "establish, operate and maintain a state memorial park to honor the Alabamians who participated so valiantly in all armed conflicts of the United States...and, as a permanent public memorial, to educate the public on the contributions and sacrifices of the veterans of all branches of the United States Armed Services in all conflicts."