From bob@ns1.greenbush.com Sat Jul 20 19:08:24 2002 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Coding-System: undecided-unix Mail-from: From bob@ns1.greenbush.com Sat Jul 20 19:08:24 2002 To: Denis Howe Subject: Defenstration of Prague From: Bob Hilliard Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2002 14:08:11 -0400 Lines: 37 User-Agent: Gnus/5.090007 (Oort Gnus v0.07) Emacs/21.2 (i386-debian-linux-gnu) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii The definition of "defenestration" in the FOLDOC contains the phrase "the traditional Czechoslovakian method of assassinating prime ministers". This phrase contains several errors. Historically, there were two Defenestrations of Prague - in 1419 and 1618. In 1419, Prague was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, and in 1618 it was the capital of the province of Bohemia in the Habsburg Empire. The Republic of Czechoslovakia did not exist until the end of World War I. In the First Defenstration of Prague in 1419, 7 members of the Prague city council were thrown out of the windows of the town hall and impaled on pikes held by the mob below. The Second Defenstration of Prague in 1618 was not fatal. Some accounts say the victims landed on a pile of mud, some say a pile of garbage, others say a pile of manure. At any rate, all accounts seem to agree that there were no fatalities. Some references say that the 2 Imperial representatives were accompanied by their secretary in their flight through the window, but most ignore the secretaries. It is clear that none of the victims of these incidents were prime ministers, and only one involved fatalities. I suggest that you remove the phrase "the traditional Czechoslovakian method of assassinating prime ministers" from the FOLDOC definition and replace it with "the traditional Bohemian method of disposing of unwanted politicians". Regards, Bob -- _ |_) _ |_ Robert D. Hilliard |_) (_) |_) 1294 S.W. Seagull Way Palm City, FL 34990 USA GPG Key ID: 390D6559