Comments on: Amateur Theatricals

By: Bryan

Bryan — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:45:21 +0000

Snopes did it in 2006. The idea came about because Harry changed it after the end of World War II and Churchill said something about putting the head on a swivel so it could switch.

I have no idea why Hayes had it designed to look to its left in 1880, because we weren’t in any major wars at the time.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:28:50 +0000

I thought the eagle looked toward the olive branch unless the country was at war, in which case it looked toward the arrows. Or is that just an urban legend?

By: Bryan

Bryan — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:31:27 +0000

I might call it a pun, if I did those sort of things.

Harry Truman had the seal redrawn in 1945 to the more traditional eagle looking to its own right and the olive branch. Prior versions had the eagle looking left towards the arrows.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:02:59 +0000

That’s a really, really free translation, then.

On the other hand, at least with that seal the eagle is gazing at the olive branch instead of the talon-full of arrows, which is what we’ve been getting the past eight years.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:46:30 +0000

Because Pogo is a ‘possum’.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:26:55 +0000

Um, “Vero possumus” is “Yes, we can” in Latin. Don’t know where you got the idea that it had any connection to Pogo.