Category: Odd Facts
“Removal of a Tenth” – A Brief and Bloody History of Decimation
“The practice of decimation didn’t die with the Roman Empire. Military commanders throughout history have revived the tradition from time to time as a means of punishment.” BY ALL ACCOUNTS, Luigi Cadorna was a terrible…
Eugene Bullard – The First African-American Combat Pilot Was a Hero in France But Forgotten in the U.S.
“Despite his acclaim in France, Bullard received virtually no recognition in America.” EUGENE JACQUES BULLARD may have been the 6,950th French military pilot to earn his wings during World War One, but he’s remembered as history’s…
We Have Met the Enemy And They Are Small – A Brief History of Bug Warfare
National Geographic reported last week that biologists from the University of Tübingen in Germany have uncovered evidence that the Nazis may have tested malaria-carrying mosquitoes for possible use against the Allies. According to the article, which…
Culture Wars – Meet Nazi Germany’s ‘Monuments Men’
“From the very outset of the Second World War, Axis agents fanned out across the occupied territories in an epic campaign to snatch up Europe’s paintings, statues, artifacts and ancient manuscripts.” The Monuments Men, George…
Meet Wilmer McLean – One of the Civil War’s First and Last Victims
“The war exacted a heavy toll on McLean’s business.” WILMER MCLEAN WAS was too old to fight in the American Civil War. But that didn’t stop the 47-year-old Virginia farmer and merchant from finding himself…
The Battle of Nauru – Nazi Germany’s Forgotten Foray into the Pacific
“German warships would carry to the fight against the Allies to the very shores of Nauru. The ensuing battle would represent the only Nazi military action of World War Two to take place in the…
