http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSt574xqPbw

Watch rare footage of the last 27 prisoners leaving Alcatraz on March 21, 1963, the day the notorious federal penitentiary was closed for good due to major structural problems, which became a burdensome financial strain.

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Rare Footage of Alcatraz Prison’s Closing Day appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3sDiH3FhnY

On February 28, 1939, the erroneous word “dord” was discovered in the second edition of the Webster’s New International Dictionary. In this video listen to Emily Brewster, an associate editor at Webster’s, tell the story of how “dord” made it into the second edition. The video also shows the original index card on which the mistake was made.

The post The Ghost Word Of Webster’s International Dictionary appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpjBWw5w444

Mahatma Gandhi lead the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India by employing techniques of nonviolent civil disobedience. His methods were eventually successful, and they went on to inspire civil rights movements across the world. In his first television interview on April 30, 1931, Gandhi spoke with Fox Movietone News about his efforts to achieve independence for India, saying “I am an optimist”. Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948. Prior to his assassination, there had been five other unsuccessful attempts on his life.

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Mahatma Gandhi’s First Television Interview appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt5WyHWyRnM

The Apollo Theater on 125th street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, is a famous venue that has launched the careers of many African-American performers. The Apollo Theater opened on January 26, 1934. The Apollo went on to host Showtime at the Apollo, which was a nationally syndicated television show from 1987 to 2008 that showcased new talent. In this video, Gladys Knight of Gladys Knight and the Pips discusses how performing at the Apollo helped to launch her career.

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Gladys Knight On The Importance Of The Apollo appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0IkxV6b_V8

Gone with the Wind is a film from 1939 based on Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. Set in the 19th-century American South, the film tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, from her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes, who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton, to her marriage to Rhett Butler. Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War and Reconstruction era, the story is told from the perspective of white Southerners. The film debuted on December 15, 1939, at the Loew’s Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Gone With The Wind received positive reviews, and the film went on to win ten Academy Awards in 1940, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Hattie McDaniel, who won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mammy became the first African-American to win an Academy Award. Gone With The Wind is still considered the most successful film in box-office history. This video features live footage from the film’s premiere.

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Gone With The Wind’s Movie Premiere appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT3_ff5nqkI

According to legend, during the 1932 World Series, Babe Ruth pointed to the spot in the stands at Wrigley Field where he would hit the next pitch for a home run. Many people think this never happened, however, his teammates who were there, Joe Sewell and Ed Wells, confirm that Babe Ruth did indeed point to the stands.

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Witnesses Confirm Legend: Babe Ruth Pointed to Centerfield appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SetNFqcayeA

On September 30, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain arrived in Great Britain with a signed copy of The Munich Agreement. Dated September 29, The Munich Agreement allowed Germany to annex parts of Czechoslovakia that were predominately inhabited by German speakers, designating this territory “Sudetenland”. Czechoslovakia was not present at the negotiations. Speaking to a large crowd, Chamberlain declared that: “The settlement of the Czechoslovakian problem which has now been achieved is, in my view, only the prelude to a larger settlement in which all Europe may find peace”.

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Neville Chamberlain on Signing the Munich Agreement appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H87yJpHD6Kc

Priscilla Tolkien, daughter to author of “Lord of the Rings” book series J. R. R. Tolkien interview, discusses her father’s conscientious and exact approach to the details in his books. She recalls how he would fastidiously revise elements in his books until they accurately portrayed the situations he construed for his stories.

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Tolkien’s Daughter on Her Dad’s Meticulous Story-Telling appeared first on Witnify.

Author: Robbie Faselt

“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” -John Muir

The Pacific Crest in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Source: Creative Commons.

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is one of the most well-known long-distance hiking trails in the world.

It spans 2,663 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border to the U.S.-Canada border and changes in elevation from just above sea level to over 13,000 feet. While it may not be quite as famous as the Appalachian Trail, it has become more recognizable recently mostly due to Cheryl Strayed’s 2012 memoir, “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail,” which had reached the first position in the New York Times Best Sellers list and been selected for Oprah’s Book Club. The trail will gain more public attention soon when the film adaptation of Strayed’s memoir is released in December of 2014 starring Reese Witherspoon in the lead role.

Despite being part of the Triple Crown of Hiking along with the Appalachian Trail and the Continental Divide Trail, the PCT was officially completed just over 20 years ago in 1993. And even though the trail was completed relatively recently, the PCT has a long and interesting history that starts in the 1930s.

There are many theories as to who the first person was to propose a trail running from Mexico to Canada along the west coast of the United States, but the most believed theory is that a man named, Clinton C. Clarke, proposed the trail. Clarke wanted to link the many already-existing trails into one long-distance trail that would span across the U.S. south to north.

A trail sign on the Pacific Crest Trail. Source: Flickr.

Clarke wanted to connect the John Muir Trail, the Tahoe-Yosemite Trail, the Skyline Trail and the Cascade Crest Trail. In order to promote this proposed trail, Clarke founded the Pacific Crest Trail System Conference in 1932–including hiking and youth groups such as the YMCA, the Sierra Club and the Boy Scouts. Throughout the 1930s, people in these groups, especially the YMCA, scouted a route for the trail figuring out how they could combine the already-existing trails.

By the 1960s, hiking and spending time in the mountains became a lot more popular throughout the United States and as a result of this, President Lyndon B. Johnson wanted there to be a nationwide system of trails that would promote outdoor recreation. In 1968, the National Trails System Act was passed by the U.S. Congress and the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail became the U.S.’s first two national scenic trails.

A hiker heading north on the Pacific Crest Trail. Source: Flickr.

The act also called for a Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail Advisory Council to be formed that would be in charge of the upkeep of the PCT and deal with all sorts of people such as cattle ranchers that use the land that the trail goes through.

In 1992, the council was renamed the Pacific Crest Trail Association and made agreements with the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. In 1993, the trail was declared complete. But with over 200 miles of the trail running through private lands, the trail is still at risk from urban encroachment, and as a result of this, the trail has seen many changes since it was officially declared complete.

Today, hikers come from throughout the country and the world to complete a thru-hike of the PCT.

A map showing the Pacific Crest Trail spanning from Mexico to Canada. Source: Creative Commons.

This means that they try to complete the whole 2,663 miles in a single trip. According to the Pacific Crest Trail Association, approximately 700-800 people try to complete a thru-hike of the PCT every year but only about 60% accomplish their goal. Thru-hikes usually take five or more months to complete but the fastest person to ever finish the PCT did it in 59 days traveling an average of 45 miles per day.

The first person to complete a PCT thru-hike was Eric Ryback who achieved the feat as an 18-year-old student. Ryback only re-supplied five times on the 2,663-mile trail meaning he traveled most of the time with an 80-pound backpack filled with 40 pounds of food. Even with that much sustenance, Ryback often ran out of food and was forced to forage.

Some people have even begun to hike the trail both northbound and southbound in the same trip hiking a total of 5,300 miles.

Scott Williamson was the first to complete this feat in 2004 on his fourth attempt. His trip lasted 197 days.

Many avid thru-hikers have clearly trekked through the PCT or sections of it. The famous Scottish-American naturalist, John Muir, sums it up perfectly when he explains why people hike and spend time in nature: “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”

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[Blog] The Pacific Crest Trail’s History & Rise to Prominence appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIrxKCymXs4

J. R. R. Tolkien’s son, Christopher Tolkien analyzes his father’s work, particularly the metaphoric use of magic in his books: “Magic is very close to the machine. Magic is coercion…” And due to man’s use of machines, or “magic,” in order to attain power, Christopher Tolkien says it was important for his father that the magical ring in his “Lord of the Rings” books to be ultimately destroyed. Christopher reads his father’s letter to him that provides evidence for this analysis where J. R. R. Tolkien explains his critical feelings towards man’s knack for making machines such as the atomic bomb: “Labor-saving machinery only creates endless and worse labor.”

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J. R. R. Tolkien’s Son on His Dad’s Use of Rings As Metaphor appeared first on Witnify.