Real Deal History (T or F) #2

Samuel Clemens alias Mark Twain

In this new series you will learn more about historical figures than many textbooks care to acknowledge. Second in line is Samuel Clemens, otherwise known as Mark Twain. These five statements below are either true or false. Before you let your fingers run to Google, try answering these questions by yourself. Answers will be posted in a few days  Have fun and prepare to have your eyes opened.

1. Mark Twain's book Tom Sawyer (1876) was the first novel ever to be written on a typewriter.

2. There are no direct heirs to Samuel Clemens surviving today..

3. Mark Twain was said to have been working on a ghost story right before his death. No one ever found it for he ordered all his manuscripts burned when he died.

4. Twain gave Anne Sullivan the label "miracle worker" for her work with Helen Keller.

5. Clemens once slapped Thomas Edison with a white glove when Edison made a remark about Nikola Tesla, Clemens close friend.

The only false statement above is number 5.

Bonus fact: Twain also used the pen names "Josh" as in just joshing and "John Snook" as in to snooker, and "Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass". Samuel Clemens used "Mark Twain" because in his clever wit, he was indicating shallow writing. With a flair for folksy humor that made Twain famous, he also added that "you could train a cat to do what I did. You could train a garden slug to do what I did, but the cat would be quicker."