A ten-year-old girl sneezes for 21 days.
An Indian game leads to an Indian massacre.
History proves that it does repeat itself.
Yes, friends, this is Lindsay McCarrie,
back once more for another session of Can You Imagine That?
My cohorts and I have dug up a lot of interesting items
for your amusement and amazement,
so if you'd like to see more of our
If you'd like to see more of our
minute and a half.
And back we are.
You know, written down by historians,
quoted by almost everyone at one time or another,
is the Hackneyed and Trite phrase,
history repeats itself.
But, Hackneyed as it is, Trite though it may seem,
it never loses its truth through usage.
Many are the examples of its proof,
but one of the most dramatic and startling parallels
of history to prove this saying,
I discovered in two sets of newspapers,
published 300 years apart.
One set of newspapers were the first to be printed
in the English language outside of England,
and the second set was printed in Amsterdam, Holland,
beginning in the year 1620.
The other set of news items came from
dispatches emanating from the same part of Europe as the first,
but 300 years later.
Now to begin, listen to this modern
dispatch of October 18, 1918.
Be it known that we,
the people of Czechobohemia,
have proclaimed the republic
to be known as Czechoslovakia
on this day.
And in July 1920, at the conference of ambassadors,
it is hereby agreed that the borders
of the republic of Czechoslovakia
are confirmed by the decision of this
conference of ambassadors.
That was in 1918 and 1920.
Now go back 300 years
to the year 1620.
On November 4, in Prague, Bohemia,
this scene takes place.
In the name of the Almighty, in whom we place our trust,
I crown thee,
Frederick, King of Bohemia.
In thy hands hath been placed the protection
of Bohemia against all invaders,
against those who would destroy the state.
Guard it well,
King Frederick.
Thus did history repeat itself
in 1620 when Frederick was crowned
King of Bohemia, and in 1920
when the republic of Czechoslovakia
was confirmed by treaty.
But, born in trouble, torn with wars,
that nation has been tossed to and fro
on the deep and rough waters of international diplomacy.
Emperor Ferdinand of Austria,
in an alliance with certain other princes,
made war on Bohemia.
A dispatch from an Amsterdam paper
of the year 1621 states that
the English ambassador, who has been at the assembly
of Regensburg, has been told
that whatever agreement could be arrived at
had been hindered by the soldiers in Bohemia.
The troops continue to fight
with the soldiers of Jagrendorfs in Silesia.
That was in 1621.
Now listen to history repeat itself
again in this dispatch that reached the press
of the world on September 14, 1938.
Open fighting broke out today
in the Sudeten area of Czechoslovakia near Eger.
Two thousand Sudetens,
armed with machine guns, rifles and pistols,
battled hundreds of Czech troops and police.
And still more along the amazing
parallel of history, from the Amsterdam paper
of 1620, the enemy has captured
some of King Frederick's cannon
together with ammunition, forcing the king
to retire back into Prague.
The time again changes,
but the locale remains the same,
Bohemia, or Czechoslovakia, the date?
September 13, 1938.
Flash to the newspapers of the world
was this startling announcement, grim in its
impending threat of war, terrifying in its
simple finality.
Dispatch, special bulletin, Prague,
Czechoslovakia, September the 18th, 1938.
The Czech government today
rejected a Sudeten German ultimatum
which was to have expired at 1 a.m.
The ultimatum briefly was this,
that the Czech government withdraw
a declaration of martial law
and remove all Czech police from the Sudeten area.
The Czech government flatly
refused to bow to the demands.
War is imminent while street fighting still goes on
in the Sudeten area.
Determined to fight off the attack
threatening independence, Czechoslovakia
went ahead with war plans, strengthening
fortifications, mobilizing troops.
Now, move back in time once more.
Suddenly, in 1623,
crushing defeats were overwhelmed the
Bohemia nation, and in the month of June
1623, in the city of Sedan,
sits a man, once
King Frederick of Bohemia, now
a man without a nation.
He writes a letter to his wife.
The end has come.
I shall go to Hague, perhaps there
to plead again.
Oh, my dearest wife, I would to God that we
possess but a little corner of the earth
where we could rest together in peace.
Thus wrote Frederick,
King of Bohemia, in 1623.
And once more, history repeats itself.
Listen to the parallel.
The time, October 5, 1938.
Another man, another century,
but the situation. Listen.
Therefore, I, Edward Banish,
resign my position as president
of Czechoslovakia,
because I feel by
doing so that I shall remove an obstacle
to the new conditions
which now confront the state.
And the finale,
go back again to the 17th century.
The tramp of soldiers echoed through the
streets of Bohemia. General Tilley's men,
victorious, taking Bohemia in the name
of their master, the Emperor of Austria.
Back to the 20th century,
to October 6, 1938.
The same country, only the time is different.
Marching into Bohemia, into Czechoslovakia,
are troops of a dictator.
Adolf Hitler's jubilant fighting men.
The tramp of their boots echoes and re-echoes
through the streets where once marched the men of General Tilley,
of Frederick, of Ferdinand.
Yes, history does repeat itself.
Ah, ah, ah, achoo!
Oh, what's all this?
Sounds like a hay fever convention.
And if it is, the sufferers can sympathize
with little 10 year old Bertha Turner
of Crossville, Tennessee. Why?
Well, according to a news item we dug up,
Bertha had started sneezing,
and for 21 days, just think,
21 days had kept it up.
Her family told the doctor that when the sneezing occurred,
Bertha sneezed as many as 200 times in succession.
Can you imagine that?
But fortunately, at last reports, she was recovering.
Did you know that one of the oldest games
on the North American continent
enabled an Indian chief to bring about
one of the bloodiest massacres in Canadian history?
Yes, what started out as a game ended up
in a massacre of almost every English soldier
in Fort Michilly, Mackinac.
In 1762,
Canada became a British possession,
and the Indian chief Pontiac,
who hated the English, resented it.
But he swallowed his pride, apparently,
and invited the English to witness
a game of Bagot away, or as we know the game today,
lacrosse.
The commandant of the fort wisely declined,
fearing a trap if his men got too far away from the fort,
but later in his quarters...
Come in, come in.
Pontiac is back, sir.
Eh? Well, all right, show him in.
Very good sir.
Now what do you suppose he's up to, sir?
Shh. Here he comes.
We'll find out, lieutenant.
Great English father,
it is in your heart to think
Pontiac speak with double tongue,
that he plan evil
while holding up hand of friendship.
You thought Pontiac's braves
would attack English soldiers
while they are out of fort.
That is not true.
So Pontiac,
you are not to blame.
That is not true.
So Pontiac has commanded his braves
to play in front of fort
where you can watch without leaving fort.
I say, that's great.
Lieutenant. Oh, I'm sorry, sir.
Great Pontiac, we accept.
May my heart be blackened for thinking evil.
True to his word,
Pontiac brought his braves
to play the game of Bagot away,
lacrosse in front of the fort.
The commandant saw to it that the lines of play
were not posted too near the fort.
In the middle of the game?
I say, sir,
those Indians really play for all their worth.
Just look at them club each other.
They have been known to kill each other
in a game of Bagot away.
Lieutenant. Yes, sir.
Doesn't it seem to you that they are moving
nearer to the fort?
Why, it does, sir, but that's nothing to worry about.
Those two medicine men
marking the goals have been on the move.
Oh, that often happens, you know.
Yes, I know. I suppose there's nothing to worry about.
Of course not, sir.
We may as well take advantage of old Pontiac's
gesture of peace and enjoy the game.
Wait. What is it, sir? What's the matter?
Quickly, order all the men into the fort.
This is a trap. Those Indians are reaching for Tomahawks.
They wouldn't do that if they were just playing a game.
The game has given them their chance to get close to the fort.
You're right, sir. It was a trap.
It's too late to get back to the fort.
They're all surrounded.
And it was a trap.
Under cover of the game of lacrosse,
the Ottawa Indians surrounded the English soldiers,
poured into the fort, and Tomahawked
every Englishman in sight.
Thus, what started out as a game ended up as a bloody massacre.
Well, comes now the time for another oddity in music,
or rather, we should say, similarity.
In browsing around the world of music,
we've picked up quite a lot of interesting facts.
And here's one you can play detective with.
First, we're going to let you listen to our pianist
play a bit of Russell of Spring.
Now, listen again.
Did you catch any resemblance to a popular number of a few years back?
Well, rather than have curiosity get the better of you,
we'll play the popular number for you.
It's Sweet Little You.
Well, now, once more, it's time to take our leave
as we turn you over to the able care of your own announcer.
Mrs. Lindsay McCurry saying to you, goodbye now.
Goodbye.