Category: Odd Facts
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…
“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…
