1
The Beirut blast was significantly less powerful than the atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima which was the equivalent of 15 kilotons of TNT.
The Beirut blast would be as powerful as a B61 nuclear gravity bomb, the smallest nuclear bomb in the US arsenal, which is equivalent to about 300 tons.
2
On August 12, 1990, fossil hunter Susan Hendrickson discovers three huge bones jutting out of a cliff near Faith, South Dakota. They turn out to be part of the largest-ever Tyrannosaurus rex
Largest skeleton ever discovered, a 65 million-year-old specimen dubbed Sue, after its discoverer.
Amazingly, Sue’s skeleton was over 90 percent complete, and the bones were extremely well-preserved. Hendrickson’s employer, the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, paid $5,000 to the land owner, Maurice Williams, for the right to excavate the dinosaur skeleton, which was cleaned and transported to the company headquarters in Hill City. The institute’s president, Peter Larson, announced plans to build a non-profit museum to display Sue along with other fossils of the Cretaceous period.
In 1992, a long legal battle began over Sue. The U.S. Attorney’s Office claimed Sue’s bones had been seized from federal land and were therefore government property. It was eventually found that Williams, a part-Native American and member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, had traded his land to the tribe two decades earlier to avoid paying property taxes, and thus his sale of excavation rights to Black Hills had been invalid. In October 1997, Chicago’s Field Museum purchased Sue at public auction at Sotheby’s in New York City for $8.36 million, financed in part by the McDonald’s and Disney corporations.
3
John Sassamon (ca. 1620-75)
During the Pequot War, John Sassamon, a Massachuset Indian, served as an interpreter for the English. Sassamon interpreted for the colonists on the battlefield, and his language skills would prove essential to the spread of Puritanism in New England. In 1651, Sassamon became a schoolmaster in the praying town of Natick and in 1653 attended Harvard College at the behest of John Eliot.
Sassamon worked closely with Eliot for decades. While Eliot helped Sassamon improve his English language skills, Sassamon aided Eliot in his understanding of the Algonquian language. Sassamon, like Cockenoe before him, essentially enabled Eliot to preach to Native Americans in their own language and to start translating the text of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
John Sassamon lived between two worlds as a native among the English. In the winter of 1674/75, aware of increasing native tensions, Sassamon warned the English of an impending attack led by Metacom, the Wampanoag sachem. However, the English did not heed the warning. Days later, Sassamon’s body was found under the ice of Assawompset Pond. His death and the subsequent execution of several Wampanoags for the crime are considered to be the most immediate causes of individual Philip’s War.
Yes it really happened
Re: Yes it really happened
1
There are three main types of driling bits:
The first is
Roller Cone Bits: The bit body, the lugs and the cones (others have explained what these are, so I’m not going to repeat it) are usually made from high grade steel. Mill tooth bits have cutting “teeth” cut out from the cone, so in this case, they are made from steel. Insert bits have tungsten carbide inserts pressed into hold on the cones. The cones usually have some sort of hardfacing, usually tungsten carbide. Some unique types of roller cone bits have cones and teeth completely made from sintered tungsten carbide. They rotate on the bottom of the hole, using the weight of the bottom hole assembly to crush the rock.
2
Can sink holes be created as a result of drilling for oil?
Yes! In early 20th century, drillers were less familiar with the hazards of drilling through salt beds with water-based drilling muds. In one case in Oklahoma, a collapse started to occur during the drilling process and developed so rapidly that the drill rig and all tools were lost, though the men excaped. The sinkhole expanded so rapidly because of a layer of loose sand at the ground surface that was funneling down the hole as it collapsed. It is not this site, but the sinkhole created was similar.
https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1984/0897/report.pdf
There are three main types of driling bits:
The first is
Roller Cone Bits: The bit body, the lugs and the cones (others have explained what these are, so I’m not going to repeat it) are usually made from high grade steel. Mill tooth bits have cutting “teeth” cut out from the cone, so in this case, they are made from steel. Insert bits have tungsten carbide inserts pressed into hold on the cones. The cones usually have some sort of hardfacing, usually tungsten carbide. Some unique types of roller cone bits have cones and teeth completely made from sintered tungsten carbide. They rotate on the bottom of the hole, using the weight of the bottom hole assembly to crush the rock.
2
Can sink holes be created as a result of drilling for oil?
Yes! In early 20th century, drillers were less familiar with the hazards of drilling through salt beds with water-based drilling muds. In one case in Oklahoma, a collapse started to occur during the drilling process and developed so rapidly that the drill rig and all tools were lost, though the men excaped. The sinkhole expanded so rapidly because of a layer of loose sand at the ground surface that was funneling down the hole as it collapsed. It is not this site, but the sinkhole created was similar.
https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1984/0897/report.pdf
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Printing press
Though woodblock printing emerged in China during the 7th century, the first bona fide printing press was invented around 1440 in Mainz, Germany by Johannes Gutenberg, changing humanity forever and ushering in the modern era. But like many revolutionary inventions, the contraption had plenty of critics.
2
Umbrella
Today the umbrella is an essential accessory in rainy England. In fact, the average person in the country owns two of the things. Yet the first man to carry an umbrella in the nation was bombarded with insults, pelted with garbage and almost run over and killed by a coach. Jonas Hanway shocked fellow Londoners in the 1750s when he took to using an umbrella in the city's streets.
An import from Persia via France, the accessory was considered taboo for men to carry and thought of as a sign of a weak, effeminate character. Hanway also drew the ire of coach drivers (behind two-wheeled, horse-drawn carriages) who feared the accessory would steal away their business, which flourished on wet days. Stubborn, Hanway ignored the haters even when one coach driver went as far as trying to run him over. Within decades the stigma attached to umbrellas vanished and they have come to be ubiquitous across the world.
3
Vaccines
In 1796 English country doctor Edward Jenner pulled off a sensational medical breakthrough when he inoculated an eight-year-old boy with cowpox to protect against the far more deadly smallpox after noticing milkmaids, who were routinely exposed to the more benign bovine pathogen, seemed immune to the devastating human disease. The experiment was an unmitigated success. Jenner coined the term vaccine from the Latin word 'vacca', meaning cow, and published his findings in 1798.
Instead of being lauded for his discovery, Jenner was lampooned, particularly by religious leaders, who were horrified the physician was going against the will of God and using pus from diseased animals to inoculate people. The press also poured scorn on Jenner, as you can see from this satirical cartoon by James Gillray, which shows vaccinated individuals growing grotesque cow's heads. Thankfully the disdain for Jenner's discovery dissipated and vaccination eventually become commonplace.
Printing press
Though woodblock printing emerged in China during the 7th century, the first bona fide printing press was invented around 1440 in Mainz, Germany by Johannes Gutenberg, changing humanity forever and ushering in the modern era. But like many revolutionary inventions, the contraption had plenty of critics.
2
Umbrella
Today the umbrella is an essential accessory in rainy England. In fact, the average person in the country owns two of the things. Yet the first man to carry an umbrella in the nation was bombarded with insults, pelted with garbage and almost run over and killed by a coach. Jonas Hanway shocked fellow Londoners in the 1750s when he took to using an umbrella in the city's streets.
An import from Persia via France, the accessory was considered taboo for men to carry and thought of as a sign of a weak, effeminate character. Hanway also drew the ire of coach drivers (behind two-wheeled, horse-drawn carriages) who feared the accessory would steal away their business, which flourished on wet days. Stubborn, Hanway ignored the haters even when one coach driver went as far as trying to run him over. Within decades the stigma attached to umbrellas vanished and they have come to be ubiquitous across the world.
3
Vaccines
In 1796 English country doctor Edward Jenner pulled off a sensational medical breakthrough when he inoculated an eight-year-old boy with cowpox to protect against the far more deadly smallpox after noticing milkmaids, who were routinely exposed to the more benign bovine pathogen, seemed immune to the devastating human disease. The experiment was an unmitigated success. Jenner coined the term vaccine from the Latin word 'vacca', meaning cow, and published his findings in 1798.
Instead of being lauded for his discovery, Jenner was lampooned, particularly by religious leaders, who were horrified the physician was going against the will of God and using pus from diseased animals to inoculate people. The press also poured scorn on Jenner, as you can see from this satirical cartoon by James Gillray, which shows vaccinated individuals growing grotesque cow's heads. Thankfully the disdain for Jenner's discovery dissipated and vaccination eventually become commonplace.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Bicycle
The earliest bicycle was invented in Germany in the 1810s but the pedal-driven vehicle didn't enter the mainstream until the 1890s with the introduction of the so-called safety bike. Regarded at the time as a frivolous pastime for the aspirational middle- and decadent upper-classes, the innovation was mercilessly panned.
Female cyclists in particular were the objects of ridicule, as you can see from this Punch magazine cartoon from 1898, and journalists were quick to dismiss the bicycle as a silly short-lived craze. In 1902 The Washington Post declared the activity a passing fancy, while the New York Sun confidently proclaimed the death of the pastime in 1906.
2
Sound film
The first 'talkies' were actually produced by pioneering French director Alice Guy-Blaché in the early 1900s. But movies incorporating synchronised dialogue didn't take off until 1927 with the release of Hollywood blockbuster The Jazz Singer, which spelled the end of the silent movie era. That said, despite the film's huge success, early sound movies had plenty of powerful detractors.
United Artists president Joseph Schenck surmised in 1928 that “talking doesn't belong in pictures”, while across the pond British film studio boss John Maxwell dismissed the talkie as “a costly fad”. Hollywood stars were equally disdainful of the new technology. Actress Mary Astor wrote in the 1960s that many artists of the era considered The Jazz Singer a box office gimmick and reckoned that sound movies would “drive audiences from the theaters”.
3
Email
Electronic mail was invented way back in 1965 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the first message from computer to computer (the two devices are pictured here) was sent in 1969 via the US Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET). Interestingly, the agency initially dismissed the technology, stating that sending messages between users “was not an important motivation for a network of scientific computers”.
Even during the mid-1990s when email was going mainstream naysayers were dismissive of the technology. In 1994 UK government officials mulling over whether to set up an email account for the then-prime minister John Major claimed that the new method of exchanging messages would likely never catch on.
Bicycle
The earliest bicycle was invented in Germany in the 1810s but the pedal-driven vehicle didn't enter the mainstream until the 1890s with the introduction of the so-called safety bike. Regarded at the time as a frivolous pastime for the aspirational middle- and decadent upper-classes, the innovation was mercilessly panned.
Female cyclists in particular were the objects of ridicule, as you can see from this Punch magazine cartoon from 1898, and journalists were quick to dismiss the bicycle as a silly short-lived craze. In 1902 The Washington Post declared the activity a passing fancy, while the New York Sun confidently proclaimed the death of the pastime in 1906.
2
Sound film
The first 'talkies' were actually produced by pioneering French director Alice Guy-Blaché in the early 1900s. But movies incorporating synchronised dialogue didn't take off until 1927 with the release of Hollywood blockbuster The Jazz Singer, which spelled the end of the silent movie era. That said, despite the film's huge success, early sound movies had plenty of powerful detractors.
United Artists president Joseph Schenck surmised in 1928 that “talking doesn't belong in pictures”, while across the pond British film studio boss John Maxwell dismissed the talkie as “a costly fad”. Hollywood stars were equally disdainful of the new technology. Actress Mary Astor wrote in the 1960s that many artists of the era considered The Jazz Singer a box office gimmick and reckoned that sound movies would “drive audiences from the theaters”.
3
Electronic mail was invented way back in 1965 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the first message from computer to computer (the two devices are pictured here) was sent in 1969 via the US Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET). Interestingly, the agency initially dismissed the technology, stating that sending messages between users “was not an important motivation for a network of scientific computers”.
Even during the mid-1990s when email was going mainstream naysayers were dismissive of the technology. In 1994 UK government officials mulling over whether to set up an email account for the then-prime minister John Major claimed that the new method of exchanging messages would likely never catch on.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
A rare version of the original 1985 Super Mario Bros has achieved a new Guinness World Records title for most expensive video game sold at an online auction.
Still in its original packaging, the game was sold for $114,000 (£90,000) to an anonymous buyer with demand said to be extremely high.
Super Mario Bros was the first in the highly popular Mario series and is still one of the highest selling video games of all time with over 45 million units sold.
2
History’s largest pandemic was caused by fleas
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that swept from Asia across Europe from 1347 to the early 1350s, killing more than 20 million people in Europe alone, almost one-third of the continent’s population. At the time, people believed that disease was caused by divine punishment, misalignment of the planets, or “foul air.” Centuries later, researchers found that a bacterium, Yersinia pestis, was responsible, most likely spread by fleas.
3
The “Spanish flu” probably began in Kansas
The influenza pandemic that infected about one-third of the world’s population and killed tens of millions of people between 1918 and 1920 is known around the world as the Spanish flu. In fact, it’s thought to have originated in western Kansas and spread around the world as soldiers left for, and returned from, the First World War. “During World War I, Spain was a neutral country with a free media that covered the outbreak from the start,” the History Channel explains. “Because Spanish news sources were the only ones reporting on the flu, many believed it originated there. The Spanish, meanwhile, believed the virus came from France and called it the ‘French Flu.’”
4
Bubonic plague still exists today
The last major plague outbreak in Europe effectively ended in 1666. However, the disease is still around. It most recently resurfaced in 2017, when 2,000 cases were reported in a three-month span in Madagascar. Authorities tracked down 7,000 people who had come into contact with known patients, about 9,300 people received antibiotic treatment and a wider disaster was averted. Plague can now be treated with antibiotics, and better hygiene makes it less likely that fleas will stick around on human skin. In the United States, about seven cases are reported annually.
A rare version of the original 1985 Super Mario Bros has achieved a new Guinness World Records title for most expensive video game sold at an online auction.
Still in its original packaging, the game was sold for $114,000 (£90,000) to an anonymous buyer with demand said to be extremely high.
Super Mario Bros was the first in the highly popular Mario series and is still one of the highest selling video games of all time with over 45 million units sold.
2
History’s largest pandemic was caused by fleas
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that swept from Asia across Europe from 1347 to the early 1350s, killing more than 20 million people in Europe alone, almost one-third of the continent’s population. At the time, people believed that disease was caused by divine punishment, misalignment of the planets, or “foul air.” Centuries later, researchers found that a bacterium, Yersinia pestis, was responsible, most likely spread by fleas.
3
The “Spanish flu” probably began in Kansas
The influenza pandemic that infected about one-third of the world’s population and killed tens of millions of people between 1918 and 1920 is known around the world as the Spanish flu. In fact, it’s thought to have originated in western Kansas and spread around the world as soldiers left for, and returned from, the First World War. “During World War I, Spain was a neutral country with a free media that covered the outbreak from the start,” the History Channel explains. “Because Spanish news sources were the only ones reporting on the flu, many believed it originated there. The Spanish, meanwhile, believed the virus came from France and called it the ‘French Flu.’”
4
Bubonic plague still exists today
The last major plague outbreak in Europe effectively ended in 1666. However, the disease is still around. It most recently resurfaced in 2017, when 2,000 cases were reported in a three-month span in Madagascar. Authorities tracked down 7,000 people who had come into contact with known patients, about 9,300 people received antibiotic treatment and a wider disaster was averted. Plague can now be treated with antibiotics, and better hygiene makes it less likely that fleas will stick around on human skin. In the United States, about seven cases are reported annually.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
A parade in Philadelphia killed thousands—just when they thought it was over
In September 1918, the city of Philadelphia threw a parade to honour First World War soldiers, raise money for a local loan program and boost residents’ morale in light of the war and the initial wave of the Spanish flu pandemic, which had subsided that summer. More than 200,000 people showed up, “crushed together like sardines in a can.” What they didn’t know was that the flu was still there. Within a week over 4,500 people were dead, and the city went into lockdown. However, due to the war effort, munitions makers kept working in crowded factories and soldiers kept shipping out. The second wave of Spanish flu would be the most devastating.
2
Silk and soap
By the early 1700s, the French port city of Marseille had developed a sophisticated system for reducing the risk to its people from potentially infected ships. Diplomats tracked rumours of outbreaks, and arriving vessels were inspected and subjected to 18 days of quarantine—longer, if plague was suspected—on the rocky islands off the coast. In 1720, an exception to the rules was made for a ship carrying silk and ash for soap-making. Within days, plague started spreading, and within two years, more than 60 per cent of the city’s population died.
3
Shortest Goalkeeper
Pedro Benítez (1.66 m)
Height: 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Full name: Pedro Manuel Benítez Arpolda
Country of origin: Paraguay
Life: January 12, 1901–January 31, 1974
Pedro Benítez played for the Paraguayan team in the 1930 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Uruguay.
In 1932, he played nine matches in the Club Atlético Atlanta, in the Argentinean First League.
4
Widest Highway TEXAS Heah why not
The $2.8 billion expansion of I-10 west of Houston, known as the Katy Freeway, took it up to 26 lanes, according to its local boosters. That would dwarf other U.S. contenders, like I-75 through Atlanta (up to 15 lanes) and I-405 in Los Angeles (14 lanes in parts). But as Politifact pointed out in 2015, the mayor's count includes the freeway's frontage roads as well, which doesn't seem quite fair. Those access roads inflate the count by eight lanes.
A parade in Philadelphia killed thousands—just when they thought it was over
In September 1918, the city of Philadelphia threw a parade to honour First World War soldiers, raise money for a local loan program and boost residents’ morale in light of the war and the initial wave of the Spanish flu pandemic, which had subsided that summer. More than 200,000 people showed up, “crushed together like sardines in a can.” What they didn’t know was that the flu was still there. Within a week over 4,500 people were dead, and the city went into lockdown. However, due to the war effort, munitions makers kept working in crowded factories and soldiers kept shipping out. The second wave of Spanish flu would be the most devastating.
2
Silk and soap
By the early 1700s, the French port city of Marseille had developed a sophisticated system for reducing the risk to its people from potentially infected ships. Diplomats tracked rumours of outbreaks, and arriving vessels were inspected and subjected to 18 days of quarantine—longer, if plague was suspected—on the rocky islands off the coast. In 1720, an exception to the rules was made for a ship carrying silk and ash for soap-making. Within days, plague started spreading, and within two years, more than 60 per cent of the city’s population died.
3
Shortest Goalkeeper
Pedro Benítez (1.66 m)
Height: 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Full name: Pedro Manuel Benítez Arpolda
Country of origin: Paraguay
Life: January 12, 1901–January 31, 1974
Pedro Benítez played for the Paraguayan team in the 1930 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Uruguay.
In 1932, he played nine matches in the Club Atlético Atlanta, in the Argentinean First League.
4
Widest Highway TEXAS Heah why not
The $2.8 billion expansion of I-10 west of Houston, known as the Katy Freeway, took it up to 26 lanes, according to its local boosters. That would dwarf other U.S. contenders, like I-75 through Atlanta (up to 15 lanes) and I-405 in Los Angeles (14 lanes in parts). But as Politifact pointed out in 2015, the mayor's count includes the freeway's frontage roads as well, which doesn't seem quite fair. Those access roads inflate the count by eight lanes.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Genghis Khan, the Mongol leader who forged an empire stretching from the east coast of China west to the Aral Sea, dies in camp during a campaign against the Chinese kingdom of Xi Xia. The great Khan, who was over 60 and in failing health, may have succumbed to injuries incurred during a fall from a horse in the previous year.
2
Saskatchewan - Who Knew?
* Regina is in the Guinness Book Of Records.. It has the longest
bridge (Albert Street Bridge) over the shortest body of water
(Wascana Lake).
* The railway track from Regina to Stoughton used to be the longest
stretch of perfectly straight track in the world, at 85 miles.
* Battleford was the capital of the Northwest Territories before
Saskatchewan became a province. But lost out to Regina when the
province was formed. The original government House looked over
the former battle grounds of the rebellion until it burned to the
ground a few years ago.
* The very first Dairy Queen was started in Melville in 1953. The
original owner was Donald M. Patrick.
* In Saskatchewan there are over 100,000 lakes, rivers, and bogs. The
Province has three major river systems all of which empty into
Hudson Bay; the Assiniboine, the North & South Saskatchewan and
the Churchill.
*The Frenchman River, sourced in the Cypress Hills, empties into The Gulf of Mexico.
*The South west corner of the province was a part on the Louisiana Purchase.
* Over one-half of the province, or approximately 3,450,000 square
km, is covered by forests. Of the total forest area, 2,165,000
square km are classified as commercially productive forest land
and contain both hardwood and softwood species.
* Famed theorist/physicist Albert Einstein played goal for the
Canwood (SK) Canucks one winter while sojourning north to Canada
to 'find peace and silence' for his work on the Theory of
Relativity. He had played hockey in his younger years in Germany.
* Dr. Ballard of dog food fame was a veterinarian in Wolsely
which, incidentally, was also the home of the very first Beaver
Lumber.
* Dad's Cookies were once made at the former roller skating rink in
White City.
* Brett Hull lived in a little log house a few miles out of
Whitewood.
* Gordie Howe was born near Saskatoon.
* Moose Jaw - The former Joyner department store was the western
distributor of Levis jeans. The stock would sometimes exceed one
million dollars. It had been reopened as a Gift/Crafu/Souvenir
store. Tragically, this store and several nearby historical
buildings recently burned down. This store ! also owned the largest
Cash Cable Car system (over 1000 feet in length) that was still
operational. The only other one in working order is in Europe or
China and is between 600 and 700 feet.. Disney had offered the
Joyner family $600,000 for the system so they could put it into
their Euro-Disney complex, but the family honoured the wishes of
the original store owner that the system remain in Moose Jaw.
* In the 20's Moose Jaw's (AKA 'Little Chicago') River Street was
the home of gambling, prostitutes and the bootleg center of booze
running into the States. The tunnels under the streets there
connected the various businesses and were used by various
gangsters, and rumour has it, including Al Capone. The tunnels
were believed to have been dug years earlier by Chinese immigrants
as a way to escape. (Canada had Chinese concentration camps
although no one ever brags about that!)
* W.O. Mitchell, who wrote Who Has Seen the Wind, and Jake and the
Kid (both of which are regularly read in classrooms across
Canada), grew up in Weyburn. In 1976 the town of Arcola was the
site of the filming of Who Has Seen the Wind
* Estevan is the sunshine capital of Canada.
* Saskatchewan has the largest kimberlite field, (diamond-bearing
rock) in the world, located near Prince Albert, where DeBeers &
other companies are working now.
* Wilkie is home to the world's largest Grasshopper - which
everyone hates because it's a farming community. Apparently you
can fit eight people and three cases of beer comfortably on his
back.
* A small town called Saltcoats, (16 miles S/E of Yorkton PTH 16) has
been titled the salamander capital of Canada .. The town is
nestled on the side of Anderson Lake which is where thousands and
thousands (varies from year to year) of!salamanders also call
home. On rainy nights they can be seen making their trek from the
water to land. It is a crazy sight to see so many lizards running
across the roads.. I will not tell you what it sounds like as the
cars drive by.
* Every tree growing in Regina was planted or reseaded by the trees planted.
* Manitou Lake is not in fact the 3rd 'saltiest' body of water -
The others are The Dead Sea and The Great Salt Lake in Utah. There
are many bodies of water in Saskatchewan that are saltier,
but none have the mineral content of Manitou. No one knows for
sure where!Manitou gets the minerals from. In fact, in 1946,
there was a team of doctors commissioned by the Province to do a
medical study on Manitou ('the lake of the healing waters'). The
doctors didn't complete their study however, because at the time,
they felt the lake may dry up.
* Danceland - at Lake Manitou near Watrous - world's only horse
hair padded dance floor.
* John Diefenbaker, former Prime Minister, lived in Wakaw and
Prince Albert. Interestingly, Sir Wilfred Laurier, Mackenzie individual
and John Diefenbaker were all elected to the House of Commons from
the Prince Albert constituency. Laurier had actually run in two
seats--he ran in Prince Albert as it ! was a 'safe' Liberal seat,
but gave that seat up and represented his seat won in Quebec; individual
represented Prince Albert from 1925 to 1944 (not a well known
fact). Dief's story is well known. This marvellous bit of trivia
is added by Rod Thomson in PA---only!because it was conspicuous byits absence.=PAN>
* Tom Sukanen, a Finnish immigrant, built an ocean-going boat near
Macrorie during the middle of the dust-bowl years. He was 15
miles from the South Saskatchewan River. He intended to!take a
load of wheat back to Finland. He hand made every part, including
boiler and steam engine. He died before completion. The assembled
ship can now been seen on Highway 2 south of Moose Jaw.
* Wynyard is the chicken capital of Canada because they export the
highest amount of chicken per capita. Every summer during the
carnival days they host the 'chicken chariot race' where chickens
are hooked up to a homemade chariot and they are raced down lanes
to see which one is the fastest.
Genghis Khan, the Mongol leader who forged an empire stretching from the east coast of China west to the Aral Sea, dies in camp during a campaign against the Chinese kingdom of Xi Xia. The great Khan, who was over 60 and in failing health, may have succumbed to injuries incurred during a fall from a horse in the previous year.
2
Saskatchewan - Who Knew?
* Regina is in the Guinness Book Of Records.. It has the longest
bridge (Albert Street Bridge) over the shortest body of water
(Wascana Lake).
* The railway track from Regina to Stoughton used to be the longest
stretch of perfectly straight track in the world, at 85 miles.
* Battleford was the capital of the Northwest Territories before
Saskatchewan became a province. But lost out to Regina when the
province was formed. The original government House looked over
the former battle grounds of the rebellion until it burned to the
ground a few years ago.
* The very first Dairy Queen was started in Melville in 1953. The
original owner was Donald M. Patrick.
* In Saskatchewan there are over 100,000 lakes, rivers, and bogs. The
Province has three major river systems all of which empty into
Hudson Bay; the Assiniboine, the North & South Saskatchewan and
the Churchill.
*The Frenchman River, sourced in the Cypress Hills, empties into The Gulf of Mexico.
*The South west corner of the province was a part on the Louisiana Purchase.
* Over one-half of the province, or approximately 3,450,000 square
km, is covered by forests. Of the total forest area, 2,165,000
square km are classified as commercially productive forest land
and contain both hardwood and softwood species.
* Famed theorist/physicist Albert Einstein played goal for the
Canwood (SK) Canucks one winter while sojourning north to Canada
to 'find peace and silence' for his work on the Theory of
Relativity. He had played hockey in his younger years in Germany.
* Dr. Ballard of dog food fame was a veterinarian in Wolsely
which, incidentally, was also the home of the very first Beaver
Lumber.
* Dad's Cookies were once made at the former roller skating rink in
White City.
* Brett Hull lived in a little log house a few miles out of
Whitewood.
* Gordie Howe was born near Saskatoon.
* Moose Jaw - The former Joyner department store was the western
distributor of Levis jeans. The stock would sometimes exceed one
million dollars. It had been reopened as a Gift/Crafu/Souvenir
store. Tragically, this store and several nearby historical
buildings recently burned down. This store ! also owned the largest
Cash Cable Car system (over 1000 feet in length) that was still
operational. The only other one in working order is in Europe or
China and is between 600 and 700 feet.. Disney had offered the
Joyner family $600,000 for the system so they could put it into
their Euro-Disney complex, but the family honoured the wishes of
the original store owner that the system remain in Moose Jaw.
* In the 20's Moose Jaw's (AKA 'Little Chicago') River Street was
the home of gambling, prostitutes and the bootleg center of booze
running into the States. The tunnels under the streets there
connected the various businesses and were used by various
gangsters, and rumour has it, including Al Capone. The tunnels
were believed to have been dug years earlier by Chinese immigrants
as a way to escape. (Canada had Chinese concentration camps
although no one ever brags about that!)
* W.O. Mitchell, who wrote Who Has Seen the Wind, and Jake and the
Kid (both of which are regularly read in classrooms across
Canada), grew up in Weyburn. In 1976 the town of Arcola was the
site of the filming of Who Has Seen the Wind
* Estevan is the sunshine capital of Canada.
* Saskatchewan has the largest kimberlite field, (diamond-bearing
rock) in the world, located near Prince Albert, where DeBeers &
other companies are working now.
* Wilkie is home to the world's largest Grasshopper - which
everyone hates because it's a farming community. Apparently you
can fit eight people and three cases of beer comfortably on his
back.
* A small town called Saltcoats, (16 miles S/E of Yorkton PTH 16) has
been titled the salamander capital of Canada .. The town is
nestled on the side of Anderson Lake which is where thousands and
thousands (varies from year to year) of!salamanders also call
home. On rainy nights they can be seen making their trek from the
water to land. It is a crazy sight to see so many lizards running
across the roads.. I will not tell you what it sounds like as the
cars drive by.
* Every tree growing in Regina was planted or reseaded by the trees planted.
* Manitou Lake is not in fact the 3rd 'saltiest' body of water -
The others are The Dead Sea and The Great Salt Lake in Utah. There
are many bodies of water in Saskatchewan that are saltier,
but none have the mineral content of Manitou. No one knows for
sure where!Manitou gets the minerals from. In fact, in 1946,
there was a team of doctors commissioned by the Province to do a
medical study on Manitou ('the lake of the healing waters'). The
doctors didn't complete their study however, because at the time,
they felt the lake may dry up.
* Danceland - at Lake Manitou near Watrous - world's only horse
hair padded dance floor.
* John Diefenbaker, former Prime Minister, lived in Wakaw and
Prince Albert. Interestingly, Sir Wilfred Laurier, Mackenzie individual
and John Diefenbaker were all elected to the House of Commons from
the Prince Albert constituency. Laurier had actually run in two
seats--he ran in Prince Albert as it ! was a 'safe' Liberal seat,
but gave that seat up and represented his seat won in Quebec; individual
represented Prince Albert from 1925 to 1944 (not a well known
fact). Dief's story is well known. This marvellous bit of trivia
is added by Rod Thomson in PA---only!because it was conspicuous byits absence.=PAN>
* Tom Sukanen, a Finnish immigrant, built an ocean-going boat near
Macrorie during the middle of the dust-bowl years. He was 15
miles from the South Saskatchewan River. He intended to!take a
load of wheat back to Finland. He hand made every part, including
boiler and steam engine. He died before completion. The assembled
ship can now been seen on Highway 2 south of Moose Jaw.
* Wynyard is the chicken capital of Canada because they export the
highest amount of chicken per capita. Every summer during the
carnival days they host the 'chicken chariot race' where chickens
are hooked up to a homemade chariot and they are raced down lanes
to see which one is the fastest.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Did cannonballs explode?
In movies showing battles from the Civil War and earlier conflicts, cannon-fired projectiles inevitably send up dirt and smoke and flailing stuntmen upon impact. It makes a nice visual and is probably easier to stage than an iron ball bouncing murderously through a division.
In reality, an array of both exploding and solid projectiles were used in the Civil War and for centuries before, but solid shot predominated until around the1850s.
The earliest cannons, developed in 1300s, fired nothing but solid objects — stone balls. The following century weapons makers did develop hollow iron balls filled with gunpowder and fitted with a fuse that had to be lit just before firing. But the difficulty in handling these primitive time bombs and in getting them to explode at the target made them both dangerous and unreliable. To minimize the danger of their blowing up in the cannon’s barrel, these lit-fuse balls were used mainly in quick-loading, wide-bore, stubby-barreled cannons called howitzers or with drop-and-fire “mortars,” which looked like the World War II-era weapon of the same name only much larger.
Over the centuries, weapons makers devised a great variety of solid-shot combinations and techniques. The one-two punch of stone and iron balls spelled doom for castle walls. At close range, cannons were often used like sawed-off shotguns to fire bunches of smaller balls, devastating to troops massed on level ground. At sea, ships often fired iron bars, chains and small balls to take down masts and rigging. Another trick was to heat a cannonball red hot in hopes of igniting a fire on deck or, better yet, landing one in the enemy ship’s magazine. Blasting a hole through the hull of the enemy ship by firing into the water normally didn’t work, however. The ball would skip off the surface.
Elongated solid projectiles called bolts were developed for use with rifled cannons, which had a spiral groove cut on the inside of the barrel to start the projectile spinning and improve accuracy. But round balls were the most common solid shot used in the Civil War, and those are what you see today welded into a pyramid shape and set next to a cannon in a town square.
Sources: Daniel A. Lindley and Keir Lieber, both Notre Dame assistant professors of government/political science; Dennis Showalter, professor of history, Colorado College; various reference works
ter
2
The Bren gun is a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used in the Korean War and saw service throughout the latter half of the 20th century, including the 1982 Falklands War. Although fitted with a bipod, it could also be mounted on a tripod or be vehicle-mounted.
The Bren gun was a licensed version of the Czechoslovak ZGB 33 light machine gun which, in turn, was a modified version of the ZB vz. 26, which British Army officials had tested during a firearms service competition in the 1930s. The later Bren gun featured a distinctive top-mounted curved box magazine, conical flash hider, and quick change barrel. The name Bren was derived from Brno, the Czechoslovak city in Moravia, where the Zb vz. 26 was designed (in the Zbrojovka Brno Factory) and Enfield, site of the British Royal Small Arms Factory. The designer was Václav Holek, a gun inventor and design engineer.ny Bren guns were re-barrelled to accept the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge and modified to feed from the magazine for the L1 (Commonwealth version of the FN FAL) rifle as the L4 light machine gun. It was replaced in the British Army as the section LMG by the L7 general-purpose machine gun (GPMG), a heavier belt-fed weapon. This was supplemented in the 1980s by the L86 Light Support Weapon firing the 5.56×45mm NATO round, leaving the Bren gun in use only as a pintle mount on some vehicles. The Bren gun was manufactured by Indian Ordnance Factories as the "Gun Machine 7.62mm 1B"[3] before it was discontinued in 2012.[4]
Did cannonballs explode?
In movies showing battles from the Civil War and earlier conflicts, cannon-fired projectiles inevitably send up dirt and smoke and flailing stuntmen upon impact. It makes a nice visual and is probably easier to stage than an iron ball bouncing murderously through a division.
In reality, an array of both exploding and solid projectiles were used in the Civil War and for centuries before, but solid shot predominated until around the1850s.
The earliest cannons, developed in 1300s, fired nothing but solid objects — stone balls. The following century weapons makers did develop hollow iron balls filled with gunpowder and fitted with a fuse that had to be lit just before firing. But the difficulty in handling these primitive time bombs and in getting them to explode at the target made them both dangerous and unreliable. To minimize the danger of their blowing up in the cannon’s barrel, these lit-fuse balls were used mainly in quick-loading, wide-bore, stubby-barreled cannons called howitzers or with drop-and-fire “mortars,” which looked like the World War II-era weapon of the same name only much larger.
Over the centuries, weapons makers devised a great variety of solid-shot combinations and techniques. The one-two punch of stone and iron balls spelled doom for castle walls. At close range, cannons were often used like sawed-off shotguns to fire bunches of smaller balls, devastating to troops massed on level ground. At sea, ships often fired iron bars, chains and small balls to take down masts and rigging. Another trick was to heat a cannonball red hot in hopes of igniting a fire on deck or, better yet, landing one in the enemy ship’s magazine. Blasting a hole through the hull of the enemy ship by firing into the water normally didn’t work, however. The ball would skip off the surface.
Elongated solid projectiles called bolts were developed for use with rifled cannons, which had a spiral groove cut on the inside of the barrel to start the projectile spinning and improve accuracy. But round balls were the most common solid shot used in the Civil War, and those are what you see today welded into a pyramid shape and set next to a cannon in a town square.
Sources: Daniel A. Lindley and Keir Lieber, both Notre Dame assistant professors of government/political science; Dennis Showalter, professor of history, Colorado College; various reference works
ter
2
The Bren gun is a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used in the Korean War and saw service throughout the latter half of the 20th century, including the 1982 Falklands War. Although fitted with a bipod, it could also be mounted on a tripod or be vehicle-mounted.
The Bren gun was a licensed version of the Czechoslovak ZGB 33 light machine gun which, in turn, was a modified version of the ZB vz. 26, which British Army officials had tested during a firearms service competition in the 1930s. The later Bren gun featured a distinctive top-mounted curved box magazine, conical flash hider, and quick change barrel. The name Bren was derived from Brno, the Czechoslovak city in Moravia, where the Zb vz. 26 was designed (in the Zbrojovka Brno Factory) and Enfield, site of the British Royal Small Arms Factory. The designer was Václav Holek, a gun inventor and design engineer.ny Bren guns were re-barrelled to accept the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge and modified to feed from the magazine for the L1 (Commonwealth version of the FN FAL) rifle as the L4 light machine gun. It was replaced in the British Army as the section LMG by the L7 general-purpose machine gun (GPMG), a heavier belt-fed weapon. This was supplemented in the 1980s by the L86 Light Support Weapon firing the 5.56×45mm NATO round, leaving the Bren gun in use only as a pintle mount on some vehicles. The Bren gun was manufactured by Indian Ordnance Factories as the "Gun Machine 7.62mm 1B"[3] before it was discontinued in 2012.[4]
Re: Yes it really happened
1
The Geneva Convention of 1864 for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick of Armies in the Field is adopted by 12 nations meeting in Geneva. The agreement, advocated by Swiss humanitarian Jean-Henri Dunant, called for nonpartisan care to the sick and wounded in times of war and provided for the neutrality of medical personnel. It also proposed the use of an international emblem to mark medical personnel and supplies. In honor of Dunant’s nationality, a red cross on a white background—the Swiss flag in reverse—was chosen. The organization became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross. In 1901, Dunant was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize.
2
The term punch refers to a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice.[1][2] The drink was introduced from India to the United Kingdom by sailors and employees of the British East India Company.[3] Punch is usually served at parties in large, wide bowls, known as punch bowls.
What Does Fruit Punch Have to Do With India?
The word pañc meant “five.” The Indian and Persian words for five originated from the Proto-Indo-European word penk-e, which is also the source of the Greek word pente, the root of pentagon. The Persian word was panj, which you might also encounter spelled as punj. We see these words also in Punjab or Panjab, which is a region of Northwest India which is bordered by the Indus River in the West and the Yamuna in the East. Panjab translates to “five rivers.”
There is another version of the origin of the word punch, that claims that the it was not Indian, but came from sailor’s slang for puncheon. A puncheon was a large wooden cask that was used to transport rum. There seems to be more written reference to the Indian origin.
The Geneva Convention of 1864 for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick of Armies in the Field is adopted by 12 nations meeting in Geneva. The agreement, advocated by Swiss humanitarian Jean-Henri Dunant, called for nonpartisan care to the sick and wounded in times of war and provided for the neutrality of medical personnel. It also proposed the use of an international emblem to mark medical personnel and supplies. In honor of Dunant’s nationality, a red cross on a white background—the Swiss flag in reverse—was chosen. The organization became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross. In 1901, Dunant was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize.
2
The term punch refers to a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice.[1][2] The drink was introduced from India to the United Kingdom by sailors and employees of the British East India Company.[3] Punch is usually served at parties in large, wide bowls, known as punch bowls.
What Does Fruit Punch Have to Do With India?
The word pañc meant “five.” The Indian and Persian words for five originated from the Proto-Indo-European word penk-e, which is also the source of the Greek word pente, the root of pentagon. The Persian word was panj, which you might also encounter spelled as punj. We see these words also in Punjab or Panjab, which is a region of Northwest India which is bordered by the Indus River in the West and the Yamuna in the East. Panjab translates to “five rivers.”
There is another version of the origin of the word punch, that claims that the it was not Indian, but came from sailor’s slang for puncheon. A puncheon was a large wooden cask that was used to transport rum. There seems to be more written reference to the Indian origin.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
The USS Jarvis.
Jarvis was a Bagley-class destroyer that was tasked with escorting the troop transports carrying the invasion force of some 20,000 US Marines to Guadalcanal and Tulagi in August 1942. While the transports landed the Marines and their supplies on the beaches, Jarvis and the rest of the screen patrolled nearby to guard against any surface or air counterattack. They managed to repel one air attack from Rabaul that only damaged the destroyer USS Mugford, but the next day another attack by torpedo bombers managed to hit Jarvis with a single torpedo, as well as sinking the transport George F. Elliott. Damage control was able to check flooding and fires, and Jarvis was ordered to report to the rear base of Efate with an escort, but apparently never received the order because her radios were down. Instead Jarvis started out alone on the much farther journey to Sydney, Australia (which had a destroyer tender and more extensive repair facilities), slipping away from Tulagi on the night of August 9th, just barely missing the Battle of Savo Island. She was seen by the destroyer USS Blue steaming slowly off Guadalcanal, and briefly spotted by a scout plane from the carrier USS Saratoga the next morning, and that’s the last anyone ever saw of her or her crew.
Her disappearance remained a mystery until after the war, when archives of Japanese operational reports became available for review. Apparently she was attacked somewhere south of Guadalcanal the following day after her departure by bombers from Rabaul, being mistaken for a cruiser escaping from the carnage at Savo Island the night before. According to Japanese reports she was able to shoot down two of the attacking planes and damage another, but was eventually overwhelmed and sunk. Since all her radios were down she was unable to call for help, and so apparently perished with all hands.
2
What was the strangest execution in history?
The execution of Willie Francis.
Willie Francis was 16 years old when he was convicted of murder. He was sentenced to death for the murder of Andrew Thomas, a pharmacist who employed him in 1944.
Arrested nine months later after a wallet that belonged to the deceased was found on him.
Without much trials he was sentenced to death. There were many speculations that he may not have been responsible for the crime.
On May 3,1946 he was to be executed by the electric chair. The set up of the electric chair was improperly done by a drunk guard. This caused the chair to malfunction and the surge of electricity meant to kill him was not enough to get the job done.
He was the first person to have survived an execution by the electric chair.
He was finally executed a year later on May 9 , 1947.
There have been many cases of failed executions, but the execution of Willie Francis is the the only one where the prisoner had to wait for a whole full year to executed again.
The USS Jarvis.
Jarvis was a Bagley-class destroyer that was tasked with escorting the troop transports carrying the invasion force of some 20,000 US Marines to Guadalcanal and Tulagi in August 1942. While the transports landed the Marines and their supplies on the beaches, Jarvis and the rest of the screen patrolled nearby to guard against any surface or air counterattack. They managed to repel one air attack from Rabaul that only damaged the destroyer USS Mugford, but the next day another attack by torpedo bombers managed to hit Jarvis with a single torpedo, as well as sinking the transport George F. Elliott. Damage control was able to check flooding and fires, and Jarvis was ordered to report to the rear base of Efate with an escort, but apparently never received the order because her radios were down. Instead Jarvis started out alone on the much farther journey to Sydney, Australia (which had a destroyer tender and more extensive repair facilities), slipping away from Tulagi on the night of August 9th, just barely missing the Battle of Savo Island. She was seen by the destroyer USS Blue steaming slowly off Guadalcanal, and briefly spotted by a scout plane from the carrier USS Saratoga the next morning, and that’s the last anyone ever saw of her or her crew.
Her disappearance remained a mystery until after the war, when archives of Japanese operational reports became available for review. Apparently she was attacked somewhere south of Guadalcanal the following day after her departure by bombers from Rabaul, being mistaken for a cruiser escaping from the carnage at Savo Island the night before. According to Japanese reports she was able to shoot down two of the attacking planes and damage another, but was eventually overwhelmed and sunk. Since all her radios were down she was unable to call for help, and so apparently perished with all hands.
2
What was the strangest execution in history?
The execution of Willie Francis.
Willie Francis was 16 years old when he was convicted of murder. He was sentenced to death for the murder of Andrew Thomas, a pharmacist who employed him in 1944.
Arrested nine months later after a wallet that belonged to the deceased was found on him.
Without much trials he was sentenced to death. There were many speculations that he may not have been responsible for the crime.
On May 3,1946 he was to be executed by the electric chair. The set up of the electric chair was improperly done by a drunk guard. This caused the chair to malfunction and the surge of electricity meant to kill him was not enough to get the job done.
He was the first person to have survived an execution by the electric chair.
He was finally executed a year later on May 9 , 1947.
There have been many cases of failed executions, but the execution of Willie Francis is the the only one where the prisoner had to wait for a whole full year to executed again.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
After more than four years of Nazi occupation, Paris is liberated by the French 2nd Armored Division and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. German resistance was light, and General Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the German garrison, defied an order by Adolf Hitler to blow up Paris’ landmarks and burn the city to the ground before its liberation. Choltitz signed a formal surrender that afternoon, and on August 26, Free French General Charles de Gaulle led a joyous liberation march down the Champs d’Elysees.
2
Is poverty in Mississippi (the poorest state in the U.S.) worse than some third world countries?
Technically, West Virginia dropped below Mississippi in late 2018 as the poorest U.S. state. But I’ll focus on Mississippi as you’ve requested.
The short answer is NO. It’s not even close.
Median household income
The statistic usually cited to declare Mississippi the second-poorest state is their median household annual income of $44,717 (as of 2018). Sure, by American standards, that’s far below the wealthiest state of Maryland with a median of $83,242.
But by world standards, where the median income is around US $10,000, Mississippi would be considered wealthy. If Mississippi were an independent country, they would be the 9th richest nation in the world by median income. Among Third World countries - a loose term without a strict definition that tends to be subjective - even the most successful of those have a median income below US $25,000. So Mississippi would never be considered Third World if it were an independent nation.
Poverty level
In Mississippi, 19.8% of people live in poverty, the worst of any state. But well over half of the world’s countries have a higher poverty rate than Mississippi. Even more, nations considered Third World by various qualifications have poverty levels ranging from 23% to 83%.
3
How many U-boats did Germany lose in operations in World War II?
Short answer - 765 U-boats were lost by Germany during WWII.
After more than four years of Nazi occupation, Paris is liberated by the French 2nd Armored Division and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. German resistance was light, and General Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the German garrison, defied an order by Adolf Hitler to blow up Paris’ landmarks and burn the city to the ground before its liberation. Choltitz signed a formal surrender that afternoon, and on August 26, Free French General Charles de Gaulle led a joyous liberation march down the Champs d’Elysees.
2
Is poverty in Mississippi (the poorest state in the U.S.) worse than some third world countries?
Technically, West Virginia dropped below Mississippi in late 2018 as the poorest U.S. state. But I’ll focus on Mississippi as you’ve requested.
The short answer is NO. It’s not even close.
Median household income
The statistic usually cited to declare Mississippi the second-poorest state is their median household annual income of $44,717 (as of 2018). Sure, by American standards, that’s far below the wealthiest state of Maryland with a median of $83,242.
But by world standards, where the median income is around US $10,000, Mississippi would be considered wealthy. If Mississippi were an independent country, they would be the 9th richest nation in the world by median income. Among Third World countries - a loose term without a strict definition that tends to be subjective - even the most successful of those have a median income below US $25,000. So Mississippi would never be considered Third World if it were an independent nation.
Poverty level
In Mississippi, 19.8% of people live in poverty, the worst of any state. But well over half of the world’s countries have a higher poverty rate than Mississippi. Even more, nations considered Third World by various qualifications have poverty levels ranging from 23% to 83%.
3
How many U-boats did Germany lose in operations in World War II?
Short answer - 765 U-boats were lost by Germany during WWII.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
First televised Major League baseball game
On August 26, 1939, the first televised Major League baseball game is broadcast on station W2XBS, the station that was to become WNBC-TV. Announcer Red Barber called the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York.
At the time, television was still in its infancy. Regular programming did not yet exist, and very few people owned television sets—there were only about 400 in the New York area. Not until 1946 did regular network broadcasting catch on in the United States, and only in the mid-1950s did television sets become more common in the American household.
2 Greatest General WW2
Hermann Balck , what ? You don't know him? Well he somehow maintained a low profile in and after the second world war and yes he was a very skilled commander, well how? His mentor was Heinz Guderian.
What did he do? He defeat an entire soviet army with his one division? How's that possible?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Balck
Well he led the 11th panzer division in the southern part of the eastern front at case blue when soviet counter-offensive successfully encircled the entire 6th army at Stalingrad and the front started to crumble
After encircling Stalingrad the soviets then tried to achieve a breakthrough near the Dnieper using the 5th tank army. Unlucky for them they met Hermann Balck's division there
One division againts an entire army? Looks like an easy victory for the army but no: it's Hermann Balck's division
He led his division from the front (sounds familiar?) and parried every attacking the soviets there and, well, I might just quote Wikipedia here:
"The Soviets commanded a local superiority of 7:1 in tanks, 11:1 in infantry, and 20:1 in artillery. Leading from the front, Balck was able to quickly react to each enemy thrust. He repeatedly parried, surprised, and wiped out superior Soviet detachments. His motto was "Night marches save blood." Through a series of encounters his ability to make use of maneuver allowed his single panzer division to destroy piecemeal the much larger Soviet forces. Over the next few months his division would garner an astonishing one thousand enemy tank kills. For this and other achievements Balck was made one of only twenty-seven officers in the entire war who received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds."
First televised Major League baseball game
On August 26, 1939, the first televised Major League baseball game is broadcast on station W2XBS, the station that was to become WNBC-TV. Announcer Red Barber called the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York.
At the time, television was still in its infancy. Regular programming did not yet exist, and very few people owned television sets—there were only about 400 in the New York area. Not until 1946 did regular network broadcasting catch on in the United States, and only in the mid-1950s did television sets become more common in the American household.
2 Greatest General WW2
Hermann Balck , what ? You don't know him? Well he somehow maintained a low profile in and after the second world war and yes he was a very skilled commander, well how? His mentor was Heinz Guderian.
What did he do? He defeat an entire soviet army with his one division? How's that possible?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Balck
Well he led the 11th panzer division in the southern part of the eastern front at case blue when soviet counter-offensive successfully encircled the entire 6th army at Stalingrad and the front started to crumble
After encircling Stalingrad the soviets then tried to achieve a breakthrough near the Dnieper using the 5th tank army. Unlucky for them they met Hermann Balck's division there
One division againts an entire army? Looks like an easy victory for the army but no: it's Hermann Balck's division
He led his division from the front (sounds familiar?) and parried every attacking the soviets there and, well, I might just quote Wikipedia here:
"The Soviets commanded a local superiority of 7:1 in tanks, 11:1 in infantry, and 20:1 in artillery. Leading from the front, Balck was able to quickly react to each enemy thrust. He repeatedly parried, surprised, and wiped out superior Soviet detachments. His motto was "Night marches save blood." Through a series of encounters his ability to make use of maneuver allowed his single panzer division to destroy piecemeal the much larger Soviet forces. Over the next few months his division would garner an astonishing one thousand enemy tank kills. For this and other achievements Balck was made one of only twenty-seven officers in the entire war who received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds."
Re: Yes it really happened
1
How many prisoners escaped from Auschwitz?
As far as I know: A little over 200.
Here’s why:
When prisoners did escape or attempt to escape, the SS didn’t keep track of who was captured or who was killed during the pursuit.
Many more tried to escape. I’d say since 1942, hundreds. Many who tried to escape were killed.
In some of the ghettos, for 1 person that escaped, they would execute 20 people. I’m sure the SS implemented this in Auschwitz, although a lower number since they would work the prisoners to death. The SS did this to convince prisoners that even if they escaped successfully, the people left behind would not be safe.
2
1533
Atahuallpa, the 13th and last emperor of the Incas, dies by strangulation at the hands of Francisco Pizarro’s Spanish conquistadors. The execution of Atahuallpa, the last free reigning emperor, marked the end of 300 years of Inca civilization.
High in the Andes Mountains of Peru, the Inca built a dazzling empire that governed a population of 12 million people. Although they had no writing system, they had an elaborate government, great public works and a brilliant agricultural system. In the five years before the Spanish arrival, a devastating war of succession gripped the empire. In 1532, Atahuallpa’s army defeated the forces of his half-brother Huascar in a battle near Cuzco. Atahuallpa was consolidating his rule when Pizarro and his 180 soldiers appeared.
3
1914
August 29
Women join British war effort
On August 29, 1914, with World War I approaching the end of its first month, the Women’s Defense Relief Corps is formed in Britain.
Though women’s rights organizations in Britain had initially opposed the country’s entrance into the First World War, they reversed their position soon enough, recognizing the potential of the war effort to gain advancement for British women on the home front. As early as August 6, 1914, just one day after Britain declared war on Germany, an article published in the women’s suffrage newspaper Common Cause stated that: “In the midst of this time of terrible anxiety and grief, it is some little comfort to think that our large organization, which has been completely built up during past years to promote women’s suffrage, can be used to help our country through the period of strain and sorrow.”
In addition to the two nursing organizations that existed in 1914—the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) and the Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs)—several new women’s organizations sprung into being over the course of the war. Created with the support of the British secretary of state for war, Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener, the Women’s Defense Relief Corps came into being in late August 1914. The corps was made up of two divisions: a civil section, the goal of which was to substitute women for men in factories and other places of employment in order to free those men for military service; and a “semi-military” or “good citizen” section, where women were actively recruited for the armed forces. This latter group was trained in drilling, marching and the use of arms; its members were exhorted to protect not only themselves but their loved ones on the home front in case of possible invasion by the enemy.
Another organization founded during World War I was the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), created in July 1917. Members of the WAAC supported the war effort more directly, enlisting in the army to perform labors such as cookery, mechanical and clerical work and other miscellaneous tasks. For the first time, British women were sent to the battlefields of the Western Front to serve their country, thus freeing more male soldiers to do battle in the trenches against the German enemy. By the end of the war, some 80,000 women had served Britain as non-combatants, both on the home front and on the front lines in France and Belgium.
How many prisoners escaped from Auschwitz?
As far as I know: A little over 200.
Here’s why:
When prisoners did escape or attempt to escape, the SS didn’t keep track of who was captured or who was killed during the pursuit.
Many more tried to escape. I’d say since 1942, hundreds. Many who tried to escape were killed.
In some of the ghettos, for 1 person that escaped, they would execute 20 people. I’m sure the SS implemented this in Auschwitz, although a lower number since they would work the prisoners to death. The SS did this to convince prisoners that even if they escaped successfully, the people left behind would not be safe.
2
1533
Atahuallpa, the 13th and last emperor of the Incas, dies by strangulation at the hands of Francisco Pizarro’s Spanish conquistadors. The execution of Atahuallpa, the last free reigning emperor, marked the end of 300 years of Inca civilization.
High in the Andes Mountains of Peru, the Inca built a dazzling empire that governed a population of 12 million people. Although they had no writing system, they had an elaborate government, great public works and a brilliant agricultural system. In the five years before the Spanish arrival, a devastating war of succession gripped the empire. In 1532, Atahuallpa’s army defeated the forces of his half-brother Huascar in a battle near Cuzco. Atahuallpa was consolidating his rule when Pizarro and his 180 soldiers appeared.
3
1914
August 29
Women join British war effort
On August 29, 1914, with World War I approaching the end of its first month, the Women’s Defense Relief Corps is formed in Britain.
Though women’s rights organizations in Britain had initially opposed the country’s entrance into the First World War, they reversed their position soon enough, recognizing the potential of the war effort to gain advancement for British women on the home front. As early as August 6, 1914, just one day after Britain declared war on Germany, an article published in the women’s suffrage newspaper Common Cause stated that: “In the midst of this time of terrible anxiety and grief, it is some little comfort to think that our large organization, which has been completely built up during past years to promote women’s suffrage, can be used to help our country through the period of strain and sorrow.”
In addition to the two nursing organizations that existed in 1914—the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) and the Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs)—several new women’s organizations sprung into being over the course of the war. Created with the support of the British secretary of state for war, Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener, the Women’s Defense Relief Corps came into being in late August 1914. The corps was made up of two divisions: a civil section, the goal of which was to substitute women for men in factories and other places of employment in order to free those men for military service; and a “semi-military” or “good citizen” section, where women were actively recruited for the armed forces. This latter group was trained in drilling, marching and the use of arms; its members were exhorted to protect not only themselves but their loved ones on the home front in case of possible invasion by the enemy.
Another organization founded during World War I was the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), created in July 1917. Members of the WAAC supported the war effort more directly, enlisting in the army to perform labors such as cookery, mechanical and clerical work and other miscellaneous tasks. For the first time, British women were sent to the battlefields of the Western Front to serve their country, thus freeing more male soldiers to do battle in the trenches against the German enemy. By the end of the war, some 80,000 women had served Britain as non-combatants, both on the home front and on the front lines in France and Belgium.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
What did the Allies do with all the German weapons and armor after WW2?
Well many of the equipments left from the Germans after their defeat in WW2 were used for testing and analysis. However, the vast majority was scrapped for metal and made into new products .The numbers scrapped and reused were truly staggering. Between 1945 to 1946, around 5,500 aircraft were scrapped at Kingman Air Force Base in Arizona alone. A small amount was used by other countries for their uses. The reason for that was that World War II surplus stock was very attractive to buy as it was in plentiful supply and the designs were combat proven. For instance, many countries in the Middle East bought World War II aircraft like the American P-51 Mustang for counterterrorism duties.
France used captured German Panther tanks up until 1949 until the ARL-44 heavy tank replaced them. The Lebanese also bought some SM 79 bombers from Italy after the war, but they quickly fell into a state of disrepair due to poor maintenance and their age.
2
America's purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, 1803
In 1803 the US made the first of many territorial acquisitions when the burgeoning country bought 820,000 square miles of territory from France for a bargain $15 million, the equivalent of $340 million (£259m) in today's money. The land that made up the purchase covers a vast swathe of modern-day America including Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska and Montana.
3
America's purchase of Florida from Spain, 1819
The US government got out its check book again in 1819 with the purchase of Florida from Spain. Secured in the Adams-Onís Treaty, the territory encompasses present-day Florida and southern parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. All in all, the purchase cost the US $5 million, which is just $101 million (£77m) in today's terms.
4
America's purchase of northwestern Missouri from Native American tribes, 1836
Having successfully bagged the Louisiana Territory and Florida, the US government negotiated with local Native American tribes in 1836 to acquire 3,149 square miles of land in the modern-day northwest corner of Missouri. The so-named Platte Purchase cost $7,500, a paltry $207,000 (£158k) in today's money.
What did the Allies do with all the German weapons and armor after WW2?
Well many of the equipments left from the Germans after their defeat in WW2 were used for testing and analysis. However, the vast majority was scrapped for metal and made into new products .The numbers scrapped and reused were truly staggering. Between 1945 to 1946, around 5,500 aircraft were scrapped at Kingman Air Force Base in Arizona alone. A small amount was used by other countries for their uses. The reason for that was that World War II surplus stock was very attractive to buy as it was in plentiful supply and the designs were combat proven. For instance, many countries in the Middle East bought World War II aircraft like the American P-51 Mustang for counterterrorism duties.
France used captured German Panther tanks up until 1949 until the ARL-44 heavy tank replaced them. The Lebanese also bought some SM 79 bombers from Italy after the war, but they quickly fell into a state of disrepair due to poor maintenance and their age.
2
America's purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, 1803
In 1803 the US made the first of many territorial acquisitions when the burgeoning country bought 820,000 square miles of territory from France for a bargain $15 million, the equivalent of $340 million (£259m) in today's money. The land that made up the purchase covers a vast swathe of modern-day America including Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska and Montana.
3
America's purchase of Florida from Spain, 1819
The US government got out its check book again in 1819 with the purchase of Florida from Spain. Secured in the Adams-Onís Treaty, the territory encompasses present-day Florida and southern parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. All in all, the purchase cost the US $5 million, which is just $101 million (£77m) in today's terms.
4
America's purchase of northwestern Missouri from Native American tribes, 1836
Having successfully bagged the Louisiana Territory and Florida, the US government negotiated with local Native American tribes in 1836 to acquire 3,149 square miles of land in the modern-day northwest corner of Missouri. The so-named Platte Purchase cost $7,500, a paltry $207,000 (£158k) in today's money.
Re: Yes it really happened
For those that aspire to BLM movers and shakers or those who Feel many countries have been wrongly castigated for encouraging or assisting in slavery
The Royal Navy between 1807 and 1869 , following instructions from the British Government , seized 1600 slave ships, freeing over 150,000 African Slaves, while during this time span, lost over 1587 men for a variety of reasons including Killed in Action. If it was not for the British Navy a lot more Americans would be called slaves as apparently the so-called American Navy did nothing to thwart this trade at all.
The Royal Navy between 1807 and 1869 , following instructions from the British Government , seized 1600 slave ships, freeing over 150,000 African Slaves, while during this time span, lost over 1587 men for a variety of reasons including Killed in Action. If it was not for the British Navy a lot more Americans would be called slaves as apparently the so-called American Navy did nothing to thwart this trade at all.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (17 March] 1899 – 23 December 1953) was a Soviet politician, Marshal of the Soviet Union and state security administrator, chief of the Soviet security, and chief of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) under Joseph Stalin during World War II, and promoted to deputy premier under Stalin from 1941.
Beria was the longest-lived and most influential of Stalin's secret police chiefs, wielding his most substantial influence during and after World War II. Following the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, he was responsible for organising the Katyn massacre. He simultaneously administered vast sections of the Soviet state, and acted as the de facto Marshal of the Soviet Union in command of NKVD field units responsible for barrier troops and Soviet partisan intelligence and sabotage operations on the Eastern Front during World War II. Beria administered the vast expansion of the Gulag labour camps, and was primarily responsible for overseeing the secret detention facilities for scientists and engineers known as sharashkas.
Beria attended the Yalta Conference with Stalin, who introduced him to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt as "our Himmler". After the war, he organised the communist takeover of the state institutions in central and eastern Europe and political repressions in these countries. Beria's uncompromising ruthlessness in his duties and skill at producing results culminated in his success in overseeing the Soviet atomic bomb project. Stalin gave it absolute priority, and the project was completed in under five years.
After Stalin's death in March 1953, Beria became First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In this dual capacity, he formed a troika, alongside Georgy Malenkov and Vyacheslav Molotov, that briefly led the country in Stalin's place. A coup d'état by Nikita Khrushchev, with help from Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov in June 1953, removed Beria from power. He was arrested on charges of 357 counts of rape and treason. He was sentenced to death and was executed on 23 December 1953.
2
Why didnt the Allies just copy the German MG 42? They had the means…
Ah, the MG 42. Much feared muchine gun, in the hands of a competent team. 25 bullets per second flying at you like deadly hornets
It was a newish gun. The Wehrmacht started using it in 1942. Cheaper and quicker to build than it's predecessor, the MG 34, and with variants introduced to account for experience in the field, be it the North African desert's heat and sand, or the frozen tundra in the Soviet Union, where skin of bare hands got firmly stuck to the gelic metal, and mechanisms froze shut.
The US did try to reverse engineer this gun:
Also, there were just too many American M1919 Browning's, shooting at half the cadence, as well as British Brens.
The field problems with this German wonder were two:
While the barrel was designed to be easy to exchange, the operators had to have a good supply of barrels because at that rate of fire, the heating of the barrel was very serious.
The gun consumed an inordinate amount of ammo, so if the crew only had a couple boxes of belted 7.92 x 57 rounds, they would spend them in a few seconds.
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (17 March] 1899 – 23 December 1953) was a Soviet politician, Marshal of the Soviet Union and state security administrator, chief of the Soviet security, and chief of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) under Joseph Stalin during World War II, and promoted to deputy premier under Stalin from 1941.
Beria was the longest-lived and most influential of Stalin's secret police chiefs, wielding his most substantial influence during and after World War II. Following the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, he was responsible for organising the Katyn massacre. He simultaneously administered vast sections of the Soviet state, and acted as the de facto Marshal of the Soviet Union in command of NKVD field units responsible for barrier troops and Soviet partisan intelligence and sabotage operations on the Eastern Front during World War II. Beria administered the vast expansion of the Gulag labour camps, and was primarily responsible for overseeing the secret detention facilities for scientists and engineers known as sharashkas.
Beria attended the Yalta Conference with Stalin, who introduced him to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt as "our Himmler". After the war, he organised the communist takeover of the state institutions in central and eastern Europe and political repressions in these countries. Beria's uncompromising ruthlessness in his duties and skill at producing results culminated in his success in overseeing the Soviet atomic bomb project. Stalin gave it absolute priority, and the project was completed in under five years.
After Stalin's death in March 1953, Beria became First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In this dual capacity, he formed a troika, alongside Georgy Malenkov and Vyacheslav Molotov, that briefly led the country in Stalin's place. A coup d'état by Nikita Khrushchev, with help from Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov in June 1953, removed Beria from power. He was arrested on charges of 357 counts of rape and treason. He was sentenced to death and was executed on 23 December 1953.
2
Why didnt the Allies just copy the German MG 42? They had the means…
Ah, the MG 42. Much feared muchine gun, in the hands of a competent team. 25 bullets per second flying at you like deadly hornets
It was a newish gun. The Wehrmacht started using it in 1942. Cheaper and quicker to build than it's predecessor, the MG 34, and with variants introduced to account for experience in the field, be it the North African desert's heat and sand, or the frozen tundra in the Soviet Union, where skin of bare hands got firmly stuck to the gelic metal, and mechanisms froze shut.
The US did try to reverse engineer this gun:
Also, there were just too many American M1919 Browning's, shooting at half the cadence, as well as British Brens.
The field problems with this German wonder were two:
While the barrel was designed to be easy to exchange, the operators had to have a good supply of barrels because at that rate of fire, the heating of the barrel was very serious.
The gun consumed an inordinate amount of ammo, so if the crew only had a couple boxes of belted 7.92 x 57 rounds, they would spend them in a few seconds.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Most badass German Infantry man ww2
Meet Private Hubert Brinkforth.
He served as an anti-tank gunner in the 2nd Motorize Division which took part in the invasion of France in 1940. On May 27th, he made his greatest military achievement in his life. During a dramatic action that lasted 20 minutes, Hubert knocked out nine British tanks at Huppy, 10 km Southwest of Abbeville.
In recognition of this stupendous deed, Hubert was immediately promoted to corporal (unteroffizier) and most importantly, General Erich von Manstein personally recommended him for a Knight’s Cross, the first time the legendary operational genius had done so on behalf of a private soldier.
Hubert went on to fight in the USSR and fell in action in 1942.
Knocking out 9 enemy tanks in a span of 20 minutes certainly made him one of the most badass infantry soldier in WW2.
2
1777
September 03
The Stars and Stripes flies in battle for the first time
The American flag is flown in battle for the first time, during a Revolutionary War skirmish at Cooch’s Bridge, Delaware. Patriot General William Maxwell ordered the stars and strips banner raised as a detachment of his infantry and cavalry met an advance guard of British and Hessian troops. The rebels were defeated and forced to retreat to General George Washington’s main force near Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania.
Three months before, on June 14, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” The national flag, which became known as the “Stars and Stripes,” was based on the “Grand Union” flag, a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white stripes. According to legend, Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross designed the new canton for the Stars and Stripes, which consisted of a circle of 13 stars and a blue background, at the request of General George Washington. Historians have been unable to conclusively prove or disprove this legend.
Most badass German Infantry man ww2
Meet Private Hubert Brinkforth.
He served as an anti-tank gunner in the 2nd Motorize Division which took part in the invasion of France in 1940. On May 27th, he made his greatest military achievement in his life. During a dramatic action that lasted 20 minutes, Hubert knocked out nine British tanks at Huppy, 10 km Southwest of Abbeville.
In recognition of this stupendous deed, Hubert was immediately promoted to corporal (unteroffizier) and most importantly, General Erich von Manstein personally recommended him for a Knight’s Cross, the first time the legendary operational genius had done so on behalf of a private soldier.
Hubert went on to fight in the USSR and fell in action in 1942.
Knocking out 9 enemy tanks in a span of 20 minutes certainly made him one of the most badass infantry soldier in WW2.
2
1777
September 03
The Stars and Stripes flies in battle for the first time
The American flag is flown in battle for the first time, during a Revolutionary War skirmish at Cooch’s Bridge, Delaware. Patriot General William Maxwell ordered the stars and strips banner raised as a detachment of his infantry and cavalry met an advance guard of British and Hessian troops. The rebels were defeated and forced to retreat to General George Washington’s main force near Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania.
Three months before, on June 14, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” The national flag, which became known as the “Stars and Stripes,” was based on the “Grand Union” flag, a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white stripes. According to legend, Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross designed the new canton for the Stars and Stripes, which consisted of a circle of 13 stars and a blue background, at the request of General George Washington. Historians have been unable to conclusively prove or disprove this legend.
Re: Yes it really happened
1
What is something that almost nobody knows about tanks?
Talking about US Vietnam M48A3 tanks. No toilet, no air conditioning, driver is surrounded by extra cannon rounds, 19 rounds in his left, 11 rounds in his right. The tank has a steering wheel and auto transmission, drivers position is the best place inside the tank to have a sleep. By hanging sheet iron, track blocks and wood on the sides of our tanks, we were not that worried about RPGs. A little but not that terrified. We had mine roller attachments to attach to the front of the tank to blow up road mines, and dozer blade attachments for jungle clearing. When evac wounded in the back deck of a tank, make sure no one has their feet dangling off the edge in case you hit a mine. Maximum angle the tank can take is a 40 degree angle. The loader is at the bottom of the totem pole, usually the new guy, then comes the driver, gunner and tank commander. The tank could go into four feet of water, though it wasn't appreciated by the driver, temperatures reached 130F (54.4C) inside a buttoned up tank, there was an infrared scope in drivers hatch so he would see at night, driver had three scopes to look through- forward, to the right and to the left angled outward a little. There are auto fire extinguishers in engine compartment but no fire warning systems which does not make sense. The cannon can fire 700 full rounds before it needs changing. There is a phone at the rear outside of the tank the infantry can use.
2
Heinz Ketchup sales exceed 650.000.000 units a year
What is something that almost nobody knows about tanks?
Talking about US Vietnam M48A3 tanks. No toilet, no air conditioning, driver is surrounded by extra cannon rounds, 19 rounds in his left, 11 rounds in his right. The tank has a steering wheel and auto transmission, drivers position is the best place inside the tank to have a sleep. By hanging sheet iron, track blocks and wood on the sides of our tanks, we were not that worried about RPGs. A little but not that terrified. We had mine roller attachments to attach to the front of the tank to blow up road mines, and dozer blade attachments for jungle clearing. When evac wounded in the back deck of a tank, make sure no one has their feet dangling off the edge in case you hit a mine. Maximum angle the tank can take is a 40 degree angle. The loader is at the bottom of the totem pole, usually the new guy, then comes the driver, gunner and tank commander. The tank could go into four feet of water, though it wasn't appreciated by the driver, temperatures reached 130F (54.4C) inside a buttoned up tank, there was an infrared scope in drivers hatch so he would see at night, driver had three scopes to look through- forward, to the right and to the left angled outward a little. There are auto fire extinguishers in engine compartment but no fire warning systems which does not make sense. The cannon can fire 700 full rounds before it needs changing. There is a phone at the rear outside of the tank the infantry can use.
2
Heinz Ketchup sales exceed 650.000.000 units a year
Re: Yes it really happened
1
The U.S. bombing of Laos (1964-1973) was part of a covert attempt by the CIA to wrest power from the communist Pathet Lao, a group allied with North Vietnam and the Soviet Union during the Vietnam War.
The officially neutral country became a battleground in the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union, with American bombers dropping over two million tons of cluster bombs over Laos—more than all the bombs dropped during WWII combined. Today, Laos is the most heavily bombed nation in history.
The United States eventually dropped the equivalent of a planeload of bombs every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years, according to Al Jazeera.
2
The latest article from “Beyond the World War II We Know,” a series from The Times that documents lesser-known stories from the war, recounts the sacrifices of colonial forces, particularly British-backed Indian troops who fought not only the Axis powers, but also their compatriots.
They fought in every theater of World War II, from North Africa to Europe and as far east as Hong Kong. They died and went missing in the tens of thousands. And they formed the largest volunteer force in history. But their contributions are often an afterthought in history books.
The colonial forces that dotted the battle maps of World War II were crucial for the Allies to fill out their ranks and keep up their momentum. While India contributed the largest number of volunteers, at some 2.5 million troops, Africans, Arabs and others fought and died for the freedom of the Allied powers, although they were under the yoke of colonial rule. “I always say, Britain didn’t fight the Second World War, the British Empire did,” said Yasmin Khan, a historian at Oxford University and author of “The Raj at War.”
The U.S. bombing of Laos (1964-1973) was part of a covert attempt by the CIA to wrest power from the communist Pathet Lao, a group allied with North Vietnam and the Soviet Union during the Vietnam War.
The officially neutral country became a battleground in the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union, with American bombers dropping over two million tons of cluster bombs over Laos—more than all the bombs dropped during WWII combined. Today, Laos is the most heavily bombed nation in history.
The United States eventually dropped the equivalent of a planeload of bombs every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years, according to Al Jazeera.
2
The latest article from “Beyond the World War II We Know,” a series from The Times that documents lesser-known stories from the war, recounts the sacrifices of colonial forces, particularly British-backed Indian troops who fought not only the Axis powers, but also their compatriots.
They fought in every theater of World War II, from North Africa to Europe and as far east as Hong Kong. They died and went missing in the tens of thousands. And they formed the largest volunteer force in history. But their contributions are often an afterthought in history books.
The colonial forces that dotted the battle maps of World War II were crucial for the Allies to fill out their ranks and keep up their momentum. While India contributed the largest number of volunteers, at some 2.5 million troops, Africans, Arabs and others fought and died for the freedom of the Allied powers, although they were under the yoke of colonial rule. “I always say, Britain didn’t fight the Second World War, the British Empire did,” said Yasmin Khan, a historian at Oxford University and author of “The Raj at War.”
Re: Yes it really happened
1
Natalya Meklin was regarded by many as the most beautiful of the ''Night Witches''. During the war several generals fell in love with her and she was portrayed on several war time publications. She was born exacty 98 years ago, on 8th September 1922, in Ukraine from a Russian family. When she was 18 she joined the glider school in Kiev and later graduated from the Moscow aviation Institute in 1941. When the Germans invaded her motherland, she volunteered and served first as a navigator in the 588 Night Bombing Air Regiment and later as a pilot in the same air unit, that had been honured with the title of Guards and so changed its name in 46 GvNBAP. By the end of the war, she had flown 980 night missions and dropped an estimated 147 tons of bombs. While a lieutenant, she was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 23 February 1945, for her first 840 missions and received the Gold Star medal in Poland, on 8 March 1945 by Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky. After the war the became a writer and a journalist, writing several books and many articles about her sister in arms and their outstanding service in the Red Army flying the fabric and wood biplane Polikarpovs U-2. In January 1956 she married Yu. F. Kravtsov and took his last name.
She passed away on 5 June 2005, in Moscow, and was buried in Troyekurosovskoye Cemetery.
2
The Strangest Battle of WW-2, Castle Itter in Austria (optioned for movie--in production)
The castle was a high security prison run by the SS from Dachau for high profile political prisoners such as former prime ministers Édouard Daladier and Paul Reynaud, they were ordered executed and this was days after Hitlers death. A prisoner escapes and contacts American unit from the 12th Armored Division led by Capt. Jack C. Lee, Jr. who led a rescue of 1 tank & a small group of men. On the way Lee met German major, Josef (Sepp) Gangl who surrendered to Lee, and then agreed to help free the prisoners from Itter. They arrived to find the SS gone & prisoners in charge, but a battle ensued when the SS returned, destroyed the tank but could not retake the castle. There was only one casualty among those defending, Maj. Gangl killed by a sniper. 100 SS men were taken prisoner. If the French VIPs had been killed post-war France might have been radically different. There is much available from many sources & should make a fascinating movie.
Natalya Meklin was regarded by many as the most beautiful of the ''Night Witches''. During the war several generals fell in love with her and she was portrayed on several war time publications. She was born exacty 98 years ago, on 8th September 1922, in Ukraine from a Russian family. When she was 18 she joined the glider school in Kiev and later graduated from the Moscow aviation Institute in 1941. When the Germans invaded her motherland, she volunteered and served first as a navigator in the 588 Night Bombing Air Regiment and later as a pilot in the same air unit, that had been honured with the title of Guards and so changed its name in 46 GvNBAP. By the end of the war, she had flown 980 night missions and dropped an estimated 147 tons of bombs. While a lieutenant, she was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 23 February 1945, for her first 840 missions and received the Gold Star medal in Poland, on 8 March 1945 by Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky. After the war the became a writer and a journalist, writing several books and many articles about her sister in arms and their outstanding service in the Red Army flying the fabric and wood biplane Polikarpovs U-2. In January 1956 she married Yu. F. Kravtsov and took his last name.
She passed away on 5 June 2005, in Moscow, and was buried in Troyekurosovskoye Cemetery.
2
The Strangest Battle of WW-2, Castle Itter in Austria (optioned for movie--in production)
The castle was a high security prison run by the SS from Dachau for high profile political prisoners such as former prime ministers Édouard Daladier and Paul Reynaud, they were ordered executed and this was days after Hitlers death. A prisoner escapes and contacts American unit from the 12th Armored Division led by Capt. Jack C. Lee, Jr. who led a rescue of 1 tank & a small group of men. On the way Lee met German major, Josef (Sepp) Gangl who surrendered to Lee, and then agreed to help free the prisoners from Itter. They arrived to find the SS gone & prisoners in charge, but a battle ensued when the SS returned, destroyed the tank but could not retake the castle. There was only one casualty among those defending, Maj. Gangl killed by a sniper. 100 SS men were taken prisoner. If the French VIPs had been killed post-war France might have been radically different. There is much available from many sources & should make a fascinating movie.