If you happen to like our videos and have a few bucks to spare to support our efforts, check out our Patreon page where we've got a variety of perks for our Patrons, including Simon's voice on your GPS and the ever requested Simon Whistler whistling package: https://www.patreon.com/TodayIFoundOut →Subscribe for new videos every day! https://www.youtube.com/user/TodayIFoundOut?sub_confirmation=1 Never run out of things to say at the water cooler with TodayIFoundOut! Brand new videos 7 days a week! More from TodayIFoundOut The Black Babe Ruth https://youtu.be/smWPojGVrcc?list=PLR0XuDegDqP3fLCVklBGENr2Tsd2UPpOI Did Fidel Castro Really Almost Pitch in the Major Leagues? https://youtu.be/elqTGzbR-QQ?list=PLR0XuDegDqP3fLCVklBGENr2Tsd2UPpOI In this video: As Francis Scott Key sat aboard a ship, now officially a prisoner of war, he could only watch as the British bombarded American forces at Fort McHenry. He had been sent to the British ship HMS Tonnant, along with John Stuart Skinner, by President James Madison himself to negotiate the release of prisoners of war. Want the text version?: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/12/story-u-s-national-anthem-became-part-national-pastime/ Sources: http://mentalfloss.com/article/18997/why-do-we-sing-national-anthem-sporting-events http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/6957582/the-history-national-anthem-sports-espn-magazine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner http://newsok.com/why-do-they-sing-the-national-anthem-at-sporting-events/article/3551560 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Anacreon_in_Heaven http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/flag.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_World_Series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Ruth http://www.usa-flag-site.org/song-lyrics/star-spangled-banner.shtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Skinner http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/hh/5/hh5h.htm http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-193654p1.ht