Old Man River

That Old Man River – He Just Keeps a-Rolling Along

The Mississippi River was discovered on this date in 1941 by Hernando De Soto. A year later he died on the banks of the Mississippi and it is believed his men delivered his body to the river, which was the right thing to do, since he discovered it.

What if he hadn’t discovered the Mississippi River? Can you imagine all the mix-ups there would be? Like, how would you identify what section of the country a radio station is in by its call-letters? And what would riverboat gamblers do for a lliving? Huckleberry Finn would have never been written! Nobody thinks of details like this.