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When TV researchers get it wrong"


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As an exPat living many many miles from home I often find that the TV here in the US can be er slightly less than accurate, and I recently had an issue with the school my children go to apparently WWI didn't start until 1917? The teacher couldn't differentiate between entered and started. 

Well it doesn't stop there the US Marines invented the Hovercraft and land a jet on a carrier (sorry Captain Brown) the list is endless but imagine to my surprise when last night I'm watching American Pickers a show dedicated to American Industrial heritage with the odd diversion in to German toys and VW part or British motorcycles when they come across a guy selling old railroad junk, when they come across a hand held signal lamp. I will admit they did a good job of explaining about flag men and went on to explain how the railroads expanded and a better system of using gates and barriers were needed and introduced with a short video clip.

So please tell me what class of US steam loco this is and that brick structure looks decidedly British in my opinion.

 

post-8483-0-55298300-1415725292_thumb.jpg

 

Andy

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The number is plain enough to see on the cab side, it being  58138 making it an ex Midland railway 0-6-0 Class 2F. By the way, we are talking here a locomotive which is hauling a train. I cannot be bothered to copy and paste a couple of times to press home the point.  :scratchhead:

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I think I recognize the problem - you are watching too much History Channel. 

 

Their programmes are notoriously unreliable if what you are looking for is "history". (I guess it's less a one trick pony than it used to be. Once upon a time it was essentially the "WW2 Channel".)

 

Much like their cronies over at "TLC" aka (the very ironically named) "The Learning Channel" being the former home of "Jon and Kate plus Eight", "Toddlers and Tiaras" and "Here comes Honey Boo Boo" and many other similar shows of deep 'learning'.

 

I have to agree with you regarding the education of young children in US schools. What passes for "history" in their formative years is pretty sketchy.

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I have to agree with you regarding the education of young children in US schools. What passes for "history" in their formative years is pretty sketchy.

 

What passed for history in my formative years was a bit sketchy too. I knew that Alfred burnt the cakes and Ethelred was unready, but beyond that it was all a bit vague. I did know that William won at conkers.

 

Martin.

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What passed for history in my formative years was a bit sketchy too. I knew that Alfred burnt the cakes and Ethelred was unready, but beyond that it was all a bit vague. I did know that William won at conkers.

 

Martin.

The problem being that with school history, it starts off with Big Bang, Dinosaurs, Cavemen, Egypt, various historic European Empires (what did the Romans ever do for us, except build a wall to keep the Scots out!), 1066, wars with France, Scotland, Wales, France, Scotland etc. Middle Ages, The Industrial Age (including railways - back on topic), the Rise of The British Empire, Crimea, the heyday of British railways, WW1, The Fall of the British Empire, The Depression, Hornby Dublo trains, WW2, Nationalism of various industries (including the railways), Tri-ang trains, various strikes, dividing up the railways several times, losing lots of staff each time but with large payments to management, Airfix & Mainline trains, Hornby trains now made in China.

 

We just work our way through history.

 

Did I miss out anything significant?

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The problem being that with school history, it starts off with Big Bang, Dinosaurs, Cavemen, Egypt, various historic European Empires (what did the Romans ever do for us, except build a wall to keep the Scots out!), 1066, wars with France, Scotland, Wales, France, Scotland etc. Middle Ages, The Industrial Age (including railways - back on topic), the Rise of The British Empire, Crimea, the heyday of British railways, WW1, The Fall of the British Empire, The Depression, Hornby Dublo trains, WW2, Nationalism of various industries (including the railways), Tri-ang trains, various strikes, dividing up the railways several times, losing lots of staff each time but with large payments to management, Airfix & Mainline trains, Hornby trains now made in China.

 

 

Ah,all you need is the music to 'We Didn't Start The Fire' by Billy Joel !! But you forgot Stonehenge between cavemen, and Egypt.

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i had a huge argument once with an American who said we were ungrateful to the fact that the USA won the Battle of Britain .I soon put him right using language symptomatic of the time.Why do American tourists wear check trousers .This probably shows just how long ago it was that I left London . :no:

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As an exPat living many many miles from home I often find that the TV here in the US can be er slightly less than accurate, and I recently had an issue with the school my children go to apparently WWI didn't start until 1917? The teacher couldn't differentiate between entered and started. 

Well it doesn't stop there the US Marines invented the Hovercraft and land a jet on a carrier (sorry Captain Brown) the list is endless but imagine to my surprise when last night I'm watching American Pickers a show dedicated to American Industrial heritage with the odd diversion in to German toys and VW part or British motorcycles when they come across a guy selling old railroad junk, when they come across a hand held signal lamp. I will admit they did a good job of explaining about flag men and went on to explain how the railroads expanded and a better system of using gates and barriers were needed and introduced with a short video clip.

So please tell me what class of US steam loco this is and that brick structure looks decidedly British in my opinion.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_0021.JPG

 

Andy

Its really a USA tank in disguise to fool the Germans during WWII :sungum:

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One thing growing up that always worried me is it took the Americans three years to get into the first world war, it took them three years to get into the second world war. They said that if there's another one there would only to be a 4 min warning. Not really holding out much hope of them making it next time!

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The Americans are well known for re-writing history, they have never really acknowledged that :

 

  •  They landed on the wrong beach in Normandy which is why they had such a tough time ( we don't need English navigators, who can get lost crossing 20 miles of ocean)
  •  They bombed their own troops at Monte Casino
  •  They were told by British Intelligence that the Japanese were planning an attack on Pearl Harbour, but even to this day deny it.

 

 

They are also so arrogant that in 1976 they celebrated 200 yrs of America, I wonder what was there before ?

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Korea, Vietnam and all the wars since inc Afganistan part 2. A putty medal for anyone who gets the date of Afganistan Part 1. The clue is in a popular TV series

I thought war in Afghanistan was a season. They have winter, poppy planting, war, poppy harvest, winter. It's just the opponents that change and the natives are more than happy to oblige if someone needs an away fixture.

 

So what do you class as Afghanistan Part 1. There were three Anglo-Afghan wars I can think of in the days of Empire, IIRC

First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842)

Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880)
Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919)
 
No doubt someone will correct me as history never was my strong subject.
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I thought war in Afghanistan was a season. They have winter, poppy planting, war, poppy harvest, winter. It's just the opponents that change and the natives are more than happy to oblige if someone needs an away fixture.

 

So what do you class as Afghanistan Part 1. There were three Anglo-Afghan wars I can think of in the days of Empire, IIRC

First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842)

Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880)
Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919)
 
No doubt someone will correct me as history never was my strong subject.

 

Your history is better than mine as I was only aware of the first

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The Americans are well known for re-writing history, they have never really acknowledged that :

 

  •  They landed on the wrong beach in Normandy which is why they had such a tough time ( we don't need English navigators, who can get lost crossing 20 miles of ocean)
  •  They bombed their own troops at Monte Casino
  •  They were told by British Intelligence that the Japanese were planning an attack on Pearl Harbour, but even to this day deny it.

 

 

They are also so arrogant that in 1976 they celebrated 200 yrs of America, I wonder what was there before ?

That's not even taking into account that in Normandy they refused the offer of any specialized Armour to help clear there beaches apart from some DD tanks which they managed to launch to far out and that they ignored British advice and failed to anchor there Mulberry harbor using only one in the three anchors to fix it in place - result it was wrecked in the first storm

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NO it can't be the chap is in America watching American TV about America

But maybe it was filmed in the region of New England which is more like old England than anybody thought

No, can't be, it's Japan that has a theme park where the theme is 'England' complete with imported routemasters, or is new England a theme park also?

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