History Warp (8/06-12): We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Verification

Here’s what I’m pretty sure about when I think of of August 6 and Bolivia simultaneously. On that date in 1825, an Upper Peruvian congress declared what we know as Bolivia to be an independent nation. (And thereby became eligible to participate in the Olympics.) Some pretty darned reliable sources confirm that historical factoid.

But it gets tricky. History Warp, despite what you may think, is not an exact science.

There’s another source reporting that on the same date, but in 1806, Bolivia declared its independence from Peru.

Hmmmmmm.

And yet another source, more reliable by reputation, says it was in 1809 — no specific date mentioned — that La Paz and Chuquisaca rebelled, commencing the war of liberation.

If anyone is privy to any information that might settle this conundrum, feel free to weigh in. The Comments Section is below.

* * * * *

Since we’re having problems with verification this week, let’s continue on with another bit of info that I’ve had difficulty confirming.

Equivocation notwithstanding, so enchanted am I by the comparison of the event, which is said to have occurred on August 7, 1941, and the current state of TV, that I pass it along anyway. With a most heartfelt caveat emptor.

It is said that the very first audience participation TV show was aired on that date on New York’s WBNT-TV. During the show, members of a live audience were urged to participate, without prior coaching, in a game of charades.

It was not exactly being parachuted onto an island — deserted except for a phalanx of cameras and production trucks and catering personnel — where the participants are required to crawl through a rain forest full of fire ants, run up an active volcano barefooted and backstab teammates.

But charades was a start.