SECRET MESSAGES CONTAINED IN STATUES
So you sit there and stare at a statue. Your kid asks, "Who is this?" Well, of course you have no idea, but thinking quickly, you read the plaque on the statue and tell your child who the person is. If you're lucky, you might have even heard of the person yourself. Perhaps you can throw in a few tidbits like "George Washington was our first President. He's on the one dollar bill!" Your child will be amazed.
We can do better though. If you really want to impress your kid, have him think that you are an absolute know-it-all, just carry around these simple facts. If the statue depicts a figure on horseback the position of the legs of the horse is critical:
* If the horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.
* If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle.
* If the horse has all four legs securely on the ground, the person died of natural causes. Hopefully you won't run across this one, because you'll end up having to guess if it was old age, heart attack, or something else.