16. Hussein Was Given The Keys To The City Of Detroit
There have only been 10 people in history who have been given the ornamental key to the City of Detroit. That list includes the late, great Sammy Davis Jr., Sesame Street favourite Elmo, as well as good old Saint Nick, Mr Santa Claus himself - who is annually given the key during the citys Thanksgiving Day Parade. But another surprising addition is former Iraqi dictator Hussein, who was given the key in 1980 in recognition for the vast sums of money he had donated to a church in Detroit. Luckily for the citizens of Detroit, Hussein never took this token of friendship as a mandate to carry out some of the atrocities in the city that he had on his own citizens in Iraq.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
There have only been 10 people in history who have been given the ornamental key to the City of Detroit. That list includes the late, great Sammy Davis Jr., Sesame Street favourite Elmo, as well as good old Saint Nick, Mr Santa Claus himself - who is annually given the key during the citys Thanksgiving Day Parade. But another surprising addition is former Iraqi dictator Hussein, who was given the key in 1980 in recognition for the vast sums of money he had donated to a church in Detroit. Luckily for the citizens of Detroit, Hussein never took this token of friendship as a mandate to carry out some of the atrocities in the city that he had on his own citizens in Iraq.