Category: Odd Facts
The North and South Couldn’t Even Agree on What to Call the American Civil War
“Before arriving at the almost universally-accepted ‘American Civil War,’ a vast assortment of names were applied to the conflict.” THE UNION AND the Confederacy had violently differing views on issues like states’ rights and slavery. Not surprisingly,…
The “Hello Girls” – How the U.S. Army’s All-Female Telephone Corps Answered the Call in WW1
“Unable to get timely and accurate battle reports, AEF commanding general John J. Pershing urged Washington to recruit American telephone operators. And since stateside switchboards were run almost entirely by females; Blackjack’s phone jockeys would…
Hitting the Silk – 15 Airborne Operations Carried Out Since World War Two
“The advent of the helicopter made large-scale airborne operations largely obsolete. Yet, a number of armies still conducted parachute landings in the Post War era.” AIRBORNE WARFARE REACHED its zenith in 1945 with Operation Varsity —…
WW2 Bomb Squads – Meet the U.S. Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Pioneers
“More than 2,000 men served in the U.S. Army’s elite bomb disposal teams during the war. Yet American UXB squads received very little media coverage owing to their secrecy and small numbers.” By Jeffrey M….
Beating the “Bloody Flux” – Meet the 18th Century Army Doctor Who Waged War on Dysentery
“Sanitation standards in the 18th Century were almost non-existent. Soldiers were in the habit of relieving themselves wherever they wished, including outside their own tents, turning encampments into mucky breeding grounds for dysentery.” By George Yagi Jr….
The Nataruk Massacre – Pre-Historic Battleground Holds Clues to Earliest Human Conflicts
“The find suggests that pre-historic peoples used violence to secure resources and land – not unlike their modern-day descendants.” THE BODIES OF 27 stone-age humans, recently unearthed in northern Kenya, are offering science new insights into…
