Thanks for this. It was interesting, and fun, but I was sorry to see a local "historian Carolyn Eichin" in Nevada pushing the debunked bar-tab story as the explanation for Mark Twain's name. As some in this Forum will recall, Alf Doten admitted in an interview that he was the source of that ridiculous hoax. The spread of this sort of nonsense, being pawned off as historical fact, needs to stop. I also cringe when I see desks, chairs, and bric-a-brac that was supposedly used by Twain proudly displayed in public museums--relics for which there is no documentation or even a reasonable provenance. The world is full of fake relics and fake facts, but the bogus relics should not be on display and the fake facts should be smacked down. It reminds me of Twain's reaction to seeing Jesus relics everywhere along the route of the Quaker City tour. BTW, on the subject of Jesus, for anyone curious to know how Jesus got his name, I refer you to George Carlin's account, which seems as plausible as any. Kevin @ Mac Donnell Rare Books 9307 Glenlake Drive Austin TX 78730 512-345-4139 Member: ABAA, ILAB ************************* You may browse our books at: www.macdonnellrarebooks.com -----Original Message----- From: Tony Verhulst Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2017 8:20 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Hardly scholarly but a fun read. http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-road-trips-twain-trail-20170611-htmlstory.html Tony