Category: Odd Facts
Toons on the March — How Hollywood Animators Turned Their Characters Loose on the Axis
“Most cartoons in the wartime genre were quickly pulled from circulation. In fact, few born after the 1945 ever saw any of them.” DO YOU REMEMBER time Daffy Duck gave a Nazi the hot foot?…
The Gustloff Incident – History’s Deadliest (and Mostly Forgotten) Maritime Disaster
The RMS Titanic is by far the most famous ill-fated ship of all time. Yet the unlucky luxury liner, which went down with more than 1,600 on board, can’t touch the doomed Nazi cruise ship…
Navies Without Oceans — Meet the World’s Landlocked Fleets
“More than a dozen nations maintain inland navies, most of which will likely never see service on (or even near) the world’s oceans.” ALTHOUGH IT MAY not enjoy the seafaring notoriety of say Great Britain,…
“Dear Mom, I Miss You!” – 1,800-Year-Old Letter Home From Roman Soldier Translated
“His emotions are really no different than those of soldiers today who are longing to go home.” AN AMERICAN GRADUATE student has translated fragments of a letter written by a 3rd Century Roman soldier, according to…
By The Numbers – Some of the World’s Longest and Shortest Wars
By MHN Staff HISTORY HAS WITNESSED hundreds of civil wars, at least two “world wars” and more than 40 distinct wars of independence. Other conflicts have been named for kings, queens, dogs, pigs, flagpoles, ears, pastries,…
The ‘Cargo Cult’ — How WWII Spawned a Bizarre America-Worshiping Religion on a Remote South Pacific Island
“Known among anthropologists as a “cargo cult,” the movement got its start when the first engineers arrived on the island to build a military airstrip.” THE Second World War led to a number of major…