Rex Trulove
Mark Twain, or more properly Samuel Clemmons, was an American author who achieved fame because of his writing of the Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn stories. There are a few facts about Twain that many people don’t know, but which are also quite curious.
For instance, did you know that Samuel Clemmons never graduated from elementary school? As important as a school education is, he is one example of a school dropout who was successful.
There is also an important event that occurred in 1876 that is tied strongly to Mark Twain. The event impacts computer users even today, as well as anyone who sends text messages. That event was the invention of the typewriter, with the letter layout that we still use. It was the forerunner of computer keyboards and text pads.
What did Mark Twain have to do with the typewriter? Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1876. He typed the story out on the newly invented typewriter and sent the manuscript to the publisher. In so doing, he became the first author to submit a typed manuscript to a publisher before the manuscript was published.
Mark Twain was also at the center of a controversy that occurred after his death. He had books that were banned in many schools and public libraries. The book was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the reason they were banned was an over-reaction. One of the main characters in the book was a runaway slave who befriende4d Huck. That slave’s name was written as “Nigger Jim”. The book was banned because of the “N” word, though in no way was Mark Twain making a disparaging slam against blacks. In fact, the character was complimentary. At the time the book was written, the ‘N’ word was in common usage by whites and blacks. It was no more of an insult then than it would be to call a person with dark skin a “black” today. Yet, in some places in the US, Huckleberry Finn is still on the banned book lists to this day.
Did you know that Mark Twain held three patents, which means that he was also an inventor? One was a patent for a very early version of post-it notes. Another was for a new design for elastic braces that were meant to fasten on pants to help; hold them up. That design was used on early bras as connectors. The third was for a game that was designed to help people remember historical events.
Almost as curious, Mark Twain/Samuel Clemmons was born in 1835. That is a year that Halley’s Comet was visible and a lot of people took great notice of the comet, which had been discovered much earlier. The next time that Halley’s comet was again seen was in 1910. That was the year that Mark Twain died at the age of 75.
How many of these curious facts about Mark Twain did you know?
Mark Twain said once . Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see
There is a lot of truth in that.
Had no idea he was an inventor but I do remember when his books were banned.
They still are in some places, all because of a major and important character that actually showed that blacks are people, too.
I have always curious about Mark Twain. But never took time to do the research. Didn’t know that any of his books were banned. Considering that we have a special award we give certain people at the Kennedy Center. http://www.kennedy-center.org/pages/specialevents/marktwain
Something else that’s interesting. American Neo-Nazi groups are protected by the First Amendment but Huckleberry Finn is banned in certain places in the USA? (O.o) https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/neo-nazi
Yeah, hate speech is protected (even in the US Congress), yet using common terminology at the time of publication isn’t. This is a case of political correctness gone awry. When someone finds out that I’m Cherokee and calls me a ‘red skin’, am I insulted? Not in the slightest. At times, I actually am a redskin…such as when I work too long out in the sunshine. If you get right down to it, even the term “black” is derogatory. Most ‘blacks’ are a beautiful shade of brown. They aren’t black. So is “black” going to become the politically targeted description next? Who knows?
People like to throw around the term “diversity”. But it’s really not about diversity. It’s about “division”. The serpent’s moves are subtle. People like to keep things divided because they don’t want to be united. But the scriptures teach that “a house divided against itself can not stand”. If people insist on the divisions then they can try to argue the one is better or superior to the other and create even more divisions, and there is a sinister purpose for those divisions. It’s not God’s plan. We are God’s creation and God doesn’t have any respect of persons. We all live because His breath is in us. We all die when He decides our time is up. It happens to us all.
Just curious. Is Trulove your real name? Because that’s an amazing name!
Amen to that. No two people are exactly the same ‘shade’, which goes to show that to God, that is totally unimportant. What is in a person’s heart is what is important and God KNOWS what is in each person’s heart. They might be able to hide it from other people, but they can’t hide it from God, who knew them before they were even born.
Yes, Trulove is my real name. The name isn’t Cherokee, though. Some of my ancestors were from the UK and that is where the name came from.
Some of my ancestors are from the UK. They came into the US by way of The Bahamas. My late mother told me that I also have Cherokee roots. I don’t know much more than that though. How interesting that our backgrounds are very similar.
I’m a firm believer that most people have far more in common than they think. Finding out what those connections are can be a lot of fun.