Check out these The Secret images:

US Secret Service – Motorcade Support Unit


Image by cliff1066™
Established in 1922 as the White House Police Force, this organization was fully integrated into the Secret Service in 1930.
Motorcycle officers are used in the USA as part of motorcades for the nations and the world’s most elite VIPs. Naturally, the President’s motorcade is the biggest one in existence. Motorcycles are used to ‘jack rabbit’ to cross-streets and intersections about ½ – ¾ mile ahead of the motorcade to block any potential cross traffic, report on overall conditions and generally be the first line in a very impressive show of force. They’re also used on controlled-access highways such as freeways and turnpikes, blocking access by closing off-ramps ahead of the motorcade until the convoy passes. Then the bikers ‘fly’ up ahead of the motorcade (at speeds up to 100 miles per hour or more, depending on the motorcade speed), to block the next set of on-ramps. They stay at their posts until the motorcade passes, then fly (fast) ahead of the procession once again to block upcoming cross traffic.

Museum Finds “Secret” Message in Lincoln’s Watch (Weird News No. 7)


Image by Caveman Chuck Coker
Top image: An inscription inside a watch owned by President Abraham Lincoln is seen after the watch was opened in Washington March 10, 2009.

Center image: George Thomas of The Towson Watch Company holds an inscribed watch owned by President Lincoln, after the watch was opened in Washington March 10, 2009.

Bottom image: George Thomas of The Towson Watch Company opens an inscribed watch owned by President Lincoln, after the watch was opened in Washington March 10, 2009.

Note: I did not take these three photos. They came with the news story.

Update: This photo, a compilation of three original photos and not the original photos, was used to accompany an article on the Smithsonian Channel website: A Secret Message Found in Lincoln’s Pocket watch, by Andrea Michnik, on Thursday, March 26, 2009.

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Museum Finds "Secret" Message in Lincoln’s Watch

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Washington, DC — A gold watch owned by Abraham Lincoln bears a message marking the start of the U.S. Civil War, but the president never knew of the "secret" inscription uncovered on Tuesday at the National Museum of American History.

The engraving, by watchmaker Jonathan Dillon, is dated April 13, 1861, and reads in part: "Fort Sumpter was attacked by the rebels" and "thank God we have a government."

The museum said it agreed to open the watch to find out if the message really was there after it was contacted by the watchmaker’s great-great-grandson, Doug Stiles of Waukegan, Illinois.

The American Civil War began when Confederate troops opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861.

Forty-five years later, Dillon the watchmaker told The New York Times that he was repairing Lincoln’s watch when he heard that the first shots of the Civil War had been fired.

Dillon said he unscrewed the dial of the watch and used a sharp instrument to mark the historic day on the president’s watch. He told the newspaper that, as far as he knew, no one had ever seen the inscription.

"Lincoln never knew of the message he carried in his pocket," Brent Glass, director of the National Museum of American History said in a statement. "It’s a personal side of history about an ordinary watchman being inspired to record something for posterity."

Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States in November 1860. In the leadup to the Civil War, South Carolina and six other states seceded from the Union before Lincoln’s inauguration in March 1861.

(Reporting by JoAnne Allen; Editing by Patricia Zengerle)

Source: Reuters <http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE52A0FG20090311>

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2009-03-11_lincolns-watch

The Secret Chambers of Beautiful India


Image by Stuck in Customs
I am thankful to my host Anil who was able to set me up with some amazing guides that took me to the most unusual and seemingly secret places. It was just amazing… the only downside is that I am sworn to secrecy on the location. In case anyone else has ever been there, then there is more than one iota of a chance that this crazy place called the internet will soon tell you where this place is. The internet has a habit of finding out such things.

Doesn’t this want to make you pack your bags for a week’s adventure? What’s stoppin’ ya?!! (I mean, other than excuses)

See it large on my blog at stuckincustoms.com/2008/04/26/the-secret-chambers-of-beau…