Friday Smiles 321: Back to the Museum of World History

First, did you notice how much quicker my right sidebar loaded today?  I moved the top five bloggers who visit and comment to the last entry.  It was definitely slowing the sidebar down.

I'm joining Annie (at A Stitch in Time) and the ladies at Friday Smiles.  But first, here are a few funnies I found in my office when I cleaned it last year.

A fire started in the grasslands close to a farm. The county fire department rushed to the scene, but the fire was more than they could handle. Someone suggested calling the volunteer fire department. Despite some doubt that they would be of any assistance, they were called.
      
The volunteers arrived in a dilapidated old fire truck. They rumbled straight towards the fire, drove right into the middle of the flames and stopped! The firefighters jumped from the truck and frantically started spraying water in all directions. Soon they had snuffed out the center of the fire and leaving two parts which were easily put out.
       
As the farmer watched all this, he was impressed and grateful that his house and farm had been spared. He quickly got his checkbook and donated $1000 to the volunteer fire department.
       
A local news reporter asked the volunteer fire captain how they planned to use the funds.
      
The captain replied, "The first thing we're gonna do is get the brakes on our fire truck fixed!"



Leaving Miami for Ft Lauderdale, I decide to stop at one of those rest areas on the side of the road. I go into the bathroom. The first stall is taken, so I go into the second stall. I had just sat down when I hear a voice from the other stall............
      
 "Hi there, how is it going?"
      
Okay, I am not the type to strike up conversations with strangers in washrooms on the side of the road. I didn't know what to say, so finally I say:
      
"Not bad............"
      
 Then the voice says:
      
"So, what are you doing?"
      
I am starting to find this a bit weird, but I say:
      
"Well, I'm going to Ft Lauderdale.........."
      
Then I hear the person, all flustered, say:
      
"Look, I'll call you back. Every time I ask you a question, this idiot in the next stall keeps answering me!!!"


A new clerk was hired in a supermarket. A customer asked him if she could buy half a grapefruit. Not knowing what to do, he excused himself to ask the manager.
      
"Some nut out there wants to buy half a grapefruit..." he began, and, suddenly realizing that the customer had entered the office behind him, continued, " ... and this lovely lady would like to buy the other half."
       
The manager was impressed with the way the clerk amicably resolved the problem and they later started chatting. "Where are you from?" asked the store manager.
      
"Lancaster, Pennsylvania," replied the clerk, "home of ugly women and great hockey teams."
      
"Oh, my *WIFE* is from Lancaster," challenged the manager.
      
Without skipping a beat, the clerk asked, "What team was she on?"




Now we're heading back to the museum.

We are nearly finished in the Crown room.

Once again, I got turned around

then found myself in one of the World Wars.

I know you are thinking these are horrible photos, but the images bouncing off the glass were overpowering in the small room.

Here we are at the end of WWII and in England.

Many of you will recognize King George VI, who reigned until his death in 1952.  He was Elizabeth II's father.

We have seen the Hall of Presidents, Founding of America, the American Civil War, and Creating the Crown (in the exact middle of the map).  I left the room and, since I was turned around (again), I headed to WWII.

This was something I was truly interested in.  Too bad this photo was not crisp.

I never use a flash, so this was from a light in the room.

This represents Americans in WWII.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this photo in my browser.  I apparently caught the image just right and saw how the mannequin was put together.

I tried to find out more about these operations,

as well as the instrument the soldier was using.

One thing I recognized was the "flak" jacket the pilot was wearing.  I've seen several documentaries that show the same gear.

This apparatus, however, defied all my internet searches, although I was sure it had something to do with maps for pilots.

Now you may read these next plaques (or skip them, if you wish).

Americans on the beaches of France.

Why would ANYONE want a souvenir like that swastika?

Next, I walked into a small, narrow hallway.  It was nearly impossible to turn around in there, much less take decent photos.  However, this was the most interesting of all the exhibits I've seen so far.

A letter from a prisoner of Auschwitz is shown in German.  Apparently, this was a very important political prisoner, and not one headed to the "showers."

I read about this horrendous event when I created an article on what led up to the Japanese invading Hawaii.

I read about the tunnels where mainly Jewish prisoners worked on the V2 rockets, when I visited the Cosmosphere a few years ago.

Thanks as usual for joining me in the museum today.  Please don't forget to start your weekend off right by visiting Annie for a few Friday Smiles.  We would love to have you join, also.