Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Tuesday Trivia...

So, here's something I think I USED to know the answer to but have forgotten in my old age:

Why is the Republican Party represented by an elephant and why is the Democratic Party represented by a donkey?

Here's the most concise answer, copied in from factmonster (check them out!):

The Democratic Donkey and the Republican Elephant

Ever wondered what the story was behind these two famous party animals?

The now-famous Democratic donkey was first associated with Democrat Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign. His opponents called him a jackass (a donkey), and Jackson decided to use the image of the strong-willed animal on his campaign posters. Later, cartoonist Thomas Nast used the Democratic donkey in newspaper cartoons and made the symbol famous.

Nast invented another famous symbol—the Republican elephant. In a cartoon that appeared in Harper's Weekly in 1874, Nast drew a donkey clothed in lion's skin, scaring away all the animals at the zoo. One of those animals, the elephant, was labeled “The Republican Vote.” That's all it took for the elephant to become associated with the Republican Party.
Democrats today say the donkey is smart and brave, while Republicans say the elephant is strong and dignified.

*Personally, I think pretty much all politicians should be represented by the donkey, because they are all jackasses!*

Hope you've enjoyed this edition of "Tuesday Trivia".

-KC Jones

Big Ran Note: These are both terrible animals to represent political parties. If I was Obama, I would change this before the next election and let the Republicans do it as well. If I am his advisor, I tell him to surf the wave of his best week ever and get really fired up and say: "We found Osama. We killed him. The US political parties deserve some kick-ass animals representing them. So, we're going to vote on what the new animals will be. Now, I'm off to put the wood to Michelle...again."

For the Democrats, I think they should have a wolf. How sweet would a Democratic wolf pack be? I would vote for that so hard. Wolves are awesome and badass. Canines are the balls.

For the Republicans, they probably want something classy, so they could have a Clydesdale. That would be cool too. They represent strength and beer. How much better would this be?