For a long time, growing up, I was under the impression that Susan B. Anthony was the founder of Sue Bee honey, and I found that a much more important day-to-day contribution to society.

I know better now, of course. Sue Bee is a misspelling of Sioux, for Sioux City, Iowa.

Oh, you thought I was going to talk about anti-slavery, or women’s suffrage? Ha! OK, let’s do that.

Here are some things about Suzie B that you might not have known:

• She was homeschooled because her dad said the local schools sucked.
• She flirted with spiritualism.
• She hopped into politics because she hated booze, not because she wanted to vote.
• She was pals with Frederick Douglass until a falling-out over the Fifteenth Amendment. (Douglass went on to be the running mate of the first woman to run for president, Victoria Woodhull. I go into her story in the book I wrote lo those many years ago—the link is on the right.)
• She was the first non-allegorical woman on a U.S. coin. They aren’t minted anymore, presumably because they were too dang easy to confuse for quarters.
• One of her catch phrases was “failure is impossible.” I find “failure is not an option” a tad more catchy, but that’s me.