Ride away...

Of all places, I was at my nail shop last week getting my fingers all pretty once again and I heard some really interesting historical facts - about the Pony Express.

Yes, I know it's odd to be chatting up history while getting my nails done, but at least it's intellectually stimulating.

SO here are today's fun historical trivia questions:

1.) Did you know how long it took for a Pony Express rider to go 2,000 miles?

2.) Do you know how often riders changed horses?

3.) Do you know the age of the youngest Pony Express rider?

and 4.) How long was the Pony Express in business?

Are you still thinking? It's hard, I know....

First answer - To ride 2,000 miles (From St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California) took only 10 days or less. Riders rode through the day and the night through all sorts of terrain and with the threat of Indian attacks.

Second answer - Pony Express stations were about 10 miles apart along the route, roughly the maximum distance a horse can travel at full run. The rider changed to a fresh horse at each station, taking only the mail pouch with him. The mailbag, or mochila, could hold 20 pounds of mail. Riders, who could not weigh over 125 pounds, were changed about every 75–100 miles.

Third answer - The youngest official rider (who was paid) was 14 years old. The oldest a rider could be was 18. Johnson William Richardson, who was 9 at the time, was believed to have been the actual first rider for the Pony Express when he took a mailbag a few blocks to the ferry for his brother who managed the stables.

And finally - the last answer - The Pony Express was only around for a year and a half, operating from April 1860 to November 1861. The business was set up in efforts to win a mail delivery contract (to replace the old route by boat around South America or by boat through Panama via train) but was instead replaced by the First Transcontinental Telegraph and the railroads.

So there's your fun history lesson for today. And when your mail's acting all slow and that letter take 3 or 4 days to get from Texas to Virginia, be thankful it's only 3 days and not 3 weeks. We've come a long way....