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Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for October 12, 2018
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
October 12, 2018: After more than two months of sailing across the Atlantic, Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World 526 years ago today.[1] The seaman was 41 years old and led an expedition of three small ships—the Santa María, the Pinta, and the Niña.
When he arrived in 1492, Columbus became the first European in more than 500 years to explore the Americas.
At the time, the entrepreneurial explorer thought he had reached East Asia. In fact, he had found the Bahamas (probably Watling Island). History.com reports that later in the month, “Columbus sighted Cuba, which he thought was mainland China.” A couple of months later, “the expedition landed on Hispaniola, which Columbus thought might be Japan.”[1]
Columbus claimed the lands for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain. They had “sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia.” Upon his return, he was given a hero's welcome in the Spanish court.
Over time, Columbus made three more journeys in search of an ocean route to Asia. He died in 1506 without accomplishing that goal. And he never realized that this discovery would help make Spain the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth for a period of time.
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- October 11, 2018 – 53 percent of voters don’t know who Susan Collins is
- October 10, 2018 – 30 years after his death, Roy Orbison goes on tour
- October 9, 2018 – 9 Supreme Court justices attended Yale or Harvard
- October 8, 2018 – 13.9 billion dollars: private investment in space this century
- October 5, 2018 – 11,700 dollars: amount of savings in median U.S. household
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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