CrashFrog vs. Juhrahnimo: A friendly discussion

Does anyone remember Stephen whats-his-name ... Freakwell, or something like that?

News Flash! Gen. Washington crosses Delaware and surprises British and Hessian forces occupying Trenton on a snowy December 26, 1776. Film at http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/gw/el_gw.htmThe Spanish 8 Reales was the universal standard silver dollar from about 1530 to 1850. In the U.S., the Spanish milled silver dollar was legal tender until the U.S. mint began producing sufficient coinage to replace the milled dollar a few years prior to the Civil War.
http://www.coinsite.com/content/faq/8RealesMilledPillar.asp

Re: Washington’s Crossing by David Hackett Fischer:In this well-written and documented history, the author relies on an impressive mix of primary and secondary sources. The firsthand accounts and personal stories of major players from both sides add color to the narrative. (Library Journal)Online Bookstore: Books, NOOK ebooks, Music, Movies & Toys | Barnes & Noble®

Yeah, I think we can safely conclude that Washington crossed the Delaware and defeated the English at Trenton. There are even historic records that show English government securities took a nose dive on the market due to public insecurity following the monumentous feat.Oh, by the way, it was the Potomac across which the fable-makers claim Washington tossed a silver 8 reales coin.

Juhrahnimo (in Message 104): "Sorry, wasn't ignoring this post. There's been a flurry of posts that I've been answering lately."Flurries are a commonly experienced phenomenum this time of year in the temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere, and can be replicated.

Sometimes we must ask where a myth-maker obtains his ideas when the stories are written well after the legend was established.For example, the raising of the dead. Was that a first-hand account or simply the revamping of 2 Kings 4:8-36. And the multiplication of the loaves that fed the masses ... was that a retooling of 2 Kings 4:42-44?

So, then by your more open-minded approach, I should assume the story of George Washington tossing a silver coin over one hundred yards across the Potomac River is true? I should assume it true that Washington was a wastrel willing to squander what in his youth would've been handsome bit of pocket change? I should assume it true that he would've tossed a coin rather than a rock? I should assume it true he could've tossed a coin for that unbelievable distance?Your suggestion that I assume illogical and incredible events to be truth without any first-hand accountability does not comport with common sense, much less a scientific approach. Your suggestion becomes more illogical when one can see that certain such stories are simply one-upmanship wherein the hero performs bigger and better miracles that the hero of the original source story.Your approach to verification additionally seems silly when we have well-researched documentation that those cherry tree/coin toss stories were written two generations after the supposed events by myth-building story writers.Now, if you will pardon me, I must get back to my current project, a biography of Santa Claus.Regards, AbshalomThis message has been edited by Abshalom, 01-20-2005 10:56 AM

Quetzal:Actually, there may be places in the upper Potomac where one could toss a coin across the river. I lived on the North River, a branch of the Potomac, when we were first married, and the Cacapon River, another tributary of the Potomac in Hampshire County, W.Va, near where Washington's family had owned land used to grow hemp for ropes used to tow barges up and down the Potomac and around Great Falls.There are many narrow gorges in the upper Potomac, so rather than totally discount the story by whether one can toss a coin across the river, I will instead stick with the argument that no one but an idiot spend-thrift would throw away a week's wages in such an frivilous way.And now, back to the Santa biography.Regards, Abshalom