well, here we go...

California is the only state to rebel against the government alone(1848). I heard that in 1850 we declared independence, but withdrew our claim 3 months later after feeling that we had made our point, but that source is questionable.

The guy on the $10 bill is from Jamaca.

Nazi Germany originally oposed Japans invasion of China in 1931. The USA and Germany both sent military advisors to China. The US also sent air support(The Flying Tigers).

The Mughal Empire and the United States co-existed.

The Confederate Army wasn't segregated. Some 50,000 blacks fought for them, 13,000 in combat roles. By the end of the war, however, they had created all-black units.

The slang word "hooker," which means prostitute, was gotten from the US civil-war general Joseph T. Hooker. He hired prostitutes for his army to keep up troop morale. They started being called, "Hooker's girls" which was eventually shortened to "hooker." The name stuck.

The slang word "hooker," which means prostitute, was gotten from the US civil-war general Joseph T. Hooker. He hired prostitutes for his army to keep up troop morale. They started being called, "Hooker's girls" which was eventually shortened to "hooker." The name stuck.

Funny one who obsesses over pimps would mention that.;)\

Anyways: Here's an interesting fact:

French Fries were made in Belgium, but they were called "French Fries" cuz they looked like French-cut green beans.

The can opener was made after the can. The original cans weighed more than the contents of the can.

The Navy helped design the first tank.

The director of the US Patent Office in 1899 said that "Everything to be invented has been invented." Four years later, 2 bicycle shop owners flew the first plane and changed our world forever.

The first VHS player was built in the 1950's and was the size of a piano.

Hitler let some Jews stay in the Navy.

Stalin, an alterboy, banned Russian Orthodox.

Portugal once moved their capitol to Rio de Janero.

Central America used to be one country.

The only time Mexico put troops into foreign territory(unless you count the raids on the Republic of Texas) was against Japan. 1/6 of all Mexican airmen who fought died during WW2. this sounds like a lot, but Mexico sent only 31 pilots(5 of which died). They flew US-made P-47 Republic fighters and were intergrated into an American unit, yet had the Mexican flag on them. They were burried next to 6 cadets who died, ironicly, fighting US imperial invaders.

Hitler let some Jews stay in the Navy.

From what I remember, they discovered files after the war pertaining to senior officers in the army who had Jewish backgrounds and had been effectively "pardoned" for the "crime" by the state in order to continue their roles.

Originally posted by sims2789


The director of the US Patent Office in 1899 said that "Everything to be invented has been inventer. Four years later, 2 bicycle shop owners flew the first plane and changed our world forever.




I think his family moved to Australia and worked his great grand kids worked for Tandy, cos a bloke in Tandy said games would never need more than 640K Ram ... :)

Have a history teacher explain this if they can.....

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.

Both wives lost a child while living in the White
House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.

Both Presidents were shot in the head.

Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln.

Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in
1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in
1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born
in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born
in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat

Lincoln was shot at the theater named "Ford."
Kennedy was shot in a car called "Lincoln" made by
"Ford."

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their
trials.

And here's the "kicker":

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe,
Maryland.
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn
Monroe.

Lincoln was shot in a theater and the assassin
ran to a warehouse.

Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and the assassin
ran to a theater.

Creepy, huh?

Originally posted by Pariah
Have a history teacher explain this if they can.....

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.


Creepy, huh?

Unbelievable. :eek:

It is better rendered when it is said that "Kennedy was in Marilyn Monroe". ;)

A pattern such as this could indicate a nefarious situation beyond normal understanding.

Originally posted by sims2789
Nazi Germany originally oposed Japans invasion of China in 1931. The USA and Germany both sent military advisors to China. The US also sent air support(The Flying Tigers).
Germany wasn't under control of the Nazi's in 1931. Hitler didn't become Chancellor until 1933.

The Zero Year Presidential curse:
EVERY PRESIDENT since 1840 that was elected in a year ending in "0" was either shot or died in office:

William Henry Harrison - elected 1840, died of pneumonia after 1 month in office.

Abraham Lincoln - elected 1860, shot dead in 1865, a few months into his second term.

James Garfield - elected 1880, shot July 2, 1881, died September 19th due to complications from his wounds.

William McKinley - elected 1900 to a second term. Shot dead in 1901.

Warren Harding - elected 1920, died of food poisoning 1923.

Franklin Roosevelt - elected 1940 to his third term (should have quit while he was ahead!) Died of a stroke in 1945 during his 4th term.

John F. Kennedy - elected 1960. Shot dead 1963.

Ronald Regan - elected in 1980. Shot while exiting his limo in 1981. Regan survived the asassination attempt. Did this break the curse?

George W. Bush - elected 2000. February 7th a former IRS agent was found just outside the White House with a handgun. Several shots were fired before Secret Service disabled the man. George Bush was indeed in the White House at the time. Does this count? Is the curse broken? Who knows. But it is creepy.

And sure other Presidents have had attempts on their lives, but the only successful asassinations were with presidents elected in zero years!

P.S. "Kennedy was in Marilyn Monroe." :lol: Hee hee.

Regarding the curse, I think it's called Tecumesheh's curse, and was supposedly placed for his vengence. Of course, it's kinda helpful that the first prez killed off was W.H.Harrison...

Personally, I believe the curse got broken. One more reason people love Reagan, I guess. ;)

Pariah, whilst your information is interesting, it is also not that unusual. I seem to recall an article on either snopes or urban legends which made a mockery of the idea that the two being linked was so unlikely as we all think.

Originally posted by Pirate
The Zero Year Presidential curse:
EVERY PRESIDENT since 1840 that was elected in a year ending in "0" was either shot or died in office
George W. Bush - elected 2000. February 7th a former IRS agent was found just outside the White House with a handgun. Several shots were fired before Secret Service disabled the man. George Bush was indeed in the White House at the time. Does this count? Is the curse broken? Who knows.

One thinks George W. Bush is the more deserving of a bullet than most Presidents. Let's hope the curse holds a little longer...

Originally posted by sims2789
The Navy helped design the first tank.
No "help" involved. The first tanks were designed, developed and built by the Royal Navy at the instigation of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill.

BTW, consider the following definitions:

tank, n. 1. A vessel or cistern for holding liquids. 2. An armored fighting vehicle (AFV).

You might think that the two definitions had nothing to do with each other. But you'd be wrong.

One of the major problems with trench warfare in WWI was supplying drinking water to the trenches. Water is heavy (1 liter=1 kilogram/1 gallon=8 pounds) and every drop had to be carried to the trenches by horse or man. So when the British were developing AFVs, they put out a cover story that they were developing self-propelled water tanks. Everyone involved with AFVs was told to call them "tanks" and stick to the cover story. As it happens, the Germans heard the cover story and, since they had similar problems providing water to their front-line trenches, had no problem believing the story.

Since the name "tank" was so pervasive, AFVs have been called "tanks" ever since.

No "help" involved. The first tanks were designed, developed and built by the Royal Navy at the instigation of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill.

And were orginally called "Land Battleships" :)


Hitler let some Jews stay in the Navy.

Not surprising, he let some 600,000 Jews and Half-Jews remain in the Army.

California is the only state to rebel against the government alone(1848). I heard that in 1850 we declared independence, but withdrew our claim 3 months later after feeling that we had made our point, but that source is questionable.

I wonder if thats connected to Emperor Norton I, self-declared Emperor or America(edit, nope, he "rose" to power in 1859). He lived in San Francisco, outlawed the Republic, fired Lincon and arrested Andrew Jackson, course noone outside of San Francisco took him seriously, except the rest of the world. He planned on getting married to Queen Victoria, Czar Alexander II sent his congratulations while the President of France tha such a marriage could be disastrous to world peace.

Originally posted by sims2789
The can opener was made after the can. The original cans weighed more than the contents of the can.
I've heard the orignal "can opener" was a revolver :D

the Californian Army, made up of pro-Mexican Californians, who fought against the USA after the Mexican-American War ended. When the Californians made their last stand, the USA had only 2 companys to fight them. the Californians had a larger army, although the numbers are unkown. the USA only lost 16 men. thus ending the so-called Californian-American War(although it was really between Mexican Nationalists and the US occupiers).

more immigrants used to go from the United States to Mexico than the other way around. but they got their revenge against the Gringo's!!!

Bowie(inventor of the Bowie knife. i forgot his first name) who fought for Texas during the Texas Revolution and died at the Alamo fighting Mexico, died a Mexican citizen.

Jim Bowie.

Austria-Hungary created the Austro-Hungarian Air Service before airplanes were invented.

Two countries who lost their independance during WW2 never regained it. They are Danzig, between Prussia on one side and Poland on two(plus water on one) and Tannu-Tuvva, which was between Mongolia and the USSR. The Soviets annexed it in 1944, and it remains in Russian hands to this day.

Originally posted by Stefan Haertel
Jim Bowie.

And I'm pretty sure it was his brother, Rezin, who invented (and sold) the knives. Jim just put them to use famously.

Danzig was never a country per se. It was an open city run by the league of nations.

And I'm pretty sure it was his brother, Rezin, who invented (and sold) the knives. Jim just put them to use famously.

Dunno, the name just burned into my memory through a song by Donovan (and I am absolutely sure, in contrary to my father, that his first name wasn't David!).

Originally posted by Pariah


One thinks George W. Bush is the more deserving of a bullet than most Presidents. Let's hope the curse holds a little longer...

If you live it the USA that comment will probably get you some attention from the FBI, Let me know if you have any visitors come to your door or if you hear a "clicking" on your phone line :lol:

No, I'm not an American. I'm just as free to criticize your head of state as I am to denouce Kim Il-Song.

The grand war of Russia and Berwick- upon-Tweed

Due to an archaic law in Britain, the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed had to be mentioned in proclamations (England, Scotland and Berwick Upon Tweed formally...).

One such proclamation was of war against Russia (the Crimean War). During the signing of peace however, Berwick-upon-Tweed was not mentioned, technically meaning it was still at war.

In 1966 somebody must have pointed this out, for a formal peace treaty was finally signed. Mayor Knox of Berwick-upon-Tweed asked the Soviet official to "tell the Russian people they can sleep peacefully in their beds."

heres an interesting little fact- the Current Royal house of England claims descent from the Norse God Odin

As did every Scandinavian royal. Odin clearly got about a bit.

If you follow the generations back, you can estimate that Odin was alive and knobbing around the 2nd century AD. However the House of Windsor claims ancestry back even further down the Welsh line through Henry Tudor- to the Celtic hero-king Beli Mawr.

If you strictly follow the male line of descent back from Prince Charles, you end up with Egilmar I, Count of Oldenburg around 1100AD.

Originally posted by Wolfe Tone

Germany wasn't under control of the Nazi's in 1931. Hitler didn't become Chancellor until 1933.

Germany continued to oppose it when Hitler became Fuhrer. Eventually(I think in 1937), they withdrew their military advisors.

WWII never technically ended, since Japan and the Soviet Union never signed a peace treaty. I believe that Russia took all of the old USSR's treaty's, but if they didn't, the war would have ended on December 26, 1991, when Japan beat the USSR, as they ceased to exist after that date.

Austria declared independence from Austria-Hungary, and Russia declared independence from the Soviet Union.

All states in the United States that were once independent(California, Texas and Hawaii) use the same state flag that was once used as their old national flag.

The last Confederate general to surrender during the Civil War was a Native American.

Mexican troops crossed into the United States at least 23 times last year on accident.

In the USA, it is not banned by the constitution to enslave someone as a punishment for a crime.

Hawaii's flag has a union jack on it, even though Hawaii was never part of Britian. This is because the Queen of Hawai'i decided that Hawaii needed a national flag, so she combined the US, Britians and Frances flag.

Hawaii used to have the highest literacy rate of any country in the world.

The combined populations of New York City and Los Angeles(in modern times) is more than the entire Confederate States of America at any point in the Civil War.

There was a train chase during the Civil War. A Union train crossed into the South and sabotaged Confederate rail lines as it went. The Confederates started chasing it with a train of their own and eventually the Northern one was captured, but not before doing a heck of a lot of damage.

96% of trains were manufactured in the North on the onset of the Civil War.

I know the modern-day decendant of Robert E. Lee.

Only one person was ever born in Antartica. She was the daughter of some scientists.

Columbos a Venitian, helped to destroy the Venitian Rep.

Wilmer McLean was an American farmer whose home was located near Manassas Junction along the banks of Bull Run in Virginia. The first battle of the American Civil War, 1st Bull Run or 1st Manassas, was literally fought in his front yard. After the battle, he decided to find a new place for his family "where the war would never reach them." He bought a two-storey brick house in a small village of no strategic value in central Virgina called Appomatox.

When in early April 1865 General Robert E. Lee decided to surrender his forces, the negotiations were to be held in Appomatox. Lee sent an aide, Col. Charles Marshall, into the town to find a suitable space. There Marshall encountered McLean, who offered the use of his house. The war which began in McLean's front yard ended in McLean's front parlor.

Sims: Stand Watie, right?

Originally posted by Smellincoffee
Sims: Stand Watie, right?

think so. that name sound right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
in the Confederate States of America, it was illegal to import slaves from anywhere except the USA.

the word white is not mentioned anywhere in the Confederate constitution.

Originally posted by sims2789

The slang word "hooker," which means prostitute, was gotten from the US civil-war general Joseph T. Hooker. He hired prostitutes for his army to keep up troop morale. They started being called, "Hooker's girls" which was eventually shortened to "hooker." The name stuck.

The Union's General Burnside had a big pair of lamb chops growing on the side of his face. So distinctive were they that the word 'side burn' came from him.

Sir Robert Menzies (aka 'pig iron Bob) sold miilions of tonnes of metals to the Japanese prior to 1941 only to have it returned in the form of bombs, bullets etc when Australia went to war with Japan.

Hitler and Stalin were both choir boys. :D

Hitler and Stalin were both abused as childern. Once, as punishment for running away, Hitler was beaten by his father into a coma for several days. Stalin was beaten so much that he urinated blood.

Napoleon was born in Corsican.

Hitler was born in Austria-Hungary.

The guy on the $10 dollar bill was Jamacan.

Caligula was known to coat his food in gold, and drink melted pearls.

Evidence of Patatoes in Indonesia traded from South America across the Pacific has been found.



I watch food network too much......

George Washington was not the first President of the United States.

Adolf Hitler´s father was born as Alois Schicklhuber. Heil Schicklhuber. There was also inbreeding in his familiy. We know the result. He was also never German Presiden nor he won any free election.
Death penalty is abolished in Art. 102 of the German constitution (Grundgesetz GG). In the constitution of the ferderal state of Hessen however there is death penalty. Nevertheless because of Art. 31 GG there are no executions. Several attempts to delete this archaic Hessish Article failed.
One war lasted only 30 minutes. Does anyone know which war this was?
Cleopatra also drunk pearls.
The batlle of Tanga in German East Africa in 1914 was won beacause of bees. When the British invaded Tanga they made several big mistakes. They lost over 1000 men, the Germans only 68. However when the battle was nearly over the Germans did not have any ammo for their old rifles and few MGs. Because of the battle sound and the bullets which hit their nests the agressive African bees in the trees attacked the British which destroyed their peace. So the British had to retreat. One British soldier got an order because of heroic deeds during an air strike! Although the British press blamed the Germans to use war bees it was their own idea to attack. Patriotic bees.
Only once since the Spanish Armada drove through the Channel a big enemy fleet attempted to cross the Channel- and succeeded although the British were warned. In 1942 the German operation Cerberrus, where the BBs Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and the CA Prinz Eugen drove through the Channel with escort vessels. One British DD one MTB and dozens of British planes got lost (the British never admitted the loss of that ship, because it was risen and reused- but with much more money than a new DD would have cost). The German ships returned to their homeport safety. No ship was damaged becauseof British fire although both BBs were mined but not out of action.

That´s all for now.

Adler

Alder: Wasn't it something to do with a British was against Madagasgar or something? The other leader refused to bow to British gunboat diplomacy so they declared war, shelled his capital and 30 minutes later he surrendered ending the war.

I could be wrong admitedly, I'm going on something I recall reading in a Victor annual 15 years ago :D

Originally posted by pomsa
George Washington was not the first President of the United States.

Care to explain?

Originally posted by Pirate


Care to explain?

some people believe that the president of the Continental Congress was the first president of the USA. i don't know hhis name, though.

Because of the Articles of Confederation, George Washington was (according to himself) the ninth president.

edit: too late

Originally posted by privatehudson
Alder: Wasn't it something to do with a British was against Madagasgar or something? The other leader refused to bow to British gunboat diplomacy so they declared war, shelled his capital and 30 minutes later he surrendered ending the war.

I could be wrong admitedly, I'm going on something I recall reading in a Victor annual 15 years ago :D

I think this is the war you're talking about. Taken from Nicholas Hobbes Essential Militaria :

The shortest ever war: In 1896 a usurper seized the throne of Zanibar for precisely 45 minutes. A naval bombardment from three British warships destroyed the Sultan's palace and the usurper fled.

From the same book, and my nomination for stupidest war ever:

Postage Stamps When Bolivia issued a postage stamp featuring a map of its territory that included the disputed border region of Gran Chaco, Paraguay responded by issuing a larger stamp, including Chaco in its own map. The stamps became bigger and bigger until the two sides came to blows in 1932.

the Brittish & Belgian Royal families are actually German.

The Dutch East Indian Companie was founded by fled citizens of Antwerp (Belgium)

Originally posted by Kan' Sharuminar


From the same book, and my nomination for stupidest war ever:

Postage Stamps When Bolivia issued a postage stamp featuring a map of its territory that included the disputed border region of Gran Chaco, Paraguay responded by issuing a larger stamp, including Chaco in its own map. The stamps became bigger and bigger until the two sides came to blows in 1932.

My nomination for the stupidest war ever goes to a war fought in the 20th century between 2 central American countries. Both were vying for a position in the upcoming world cup and after the second match war broke out over the result. I'm a bit shady on exact details or even the names of the countries and I think the war didn't even last a week.

I think it was Nicaragua and Guatemal or Honduras. This was the soccer war.
In 1942 the British CL Trinidad was off Norway in a battle with German DDs. She launched a torpedo but this torpedo returned and hit the own ship! She was heavilied damaged and was brought to Murmansk where auxiliar repairs were made. Then she wanted to return to UK when German recce planes detected her. Due to heavy bombarments she was finally scuttled. Because of her own torpedo.
I heard about a battle in South America where cheese was fired out of the cannon because they had no ammo. It was in the 19th century and they won this battle. And no there were no Swiss ;).
In 1943 the USAAF made a shuttle bombing from UK to Russia. This was new for the Luftwaffe so they decided to follow the bombers with an own strategic bomber from Breslau. The He 177 Greif followed them and gave the coordinates of their Russian airfields to the German Command. The US commander was warned by the Russians to protect his planes instead of making them ready for take off, but he said the Germans lacked the possibility and courage to attack them. In this very night over 200 German bombers visited him and his men. Also the bomb stores were hit so they couldn´t rearm. At the next morning they flew back to England. This time no German fighter was seen, but the FlaK shot a few times. Only one plane got lost: the only recce plane with photos of German air bases and damages of the attack. At leat 117 US planes got lost, additional 3 Russian night fighters which were shot down by German bomber gunners.
In 1944 the US Navy wanted to make an invasion of a Japanese held island. But a Taiphoon came and Adm. Halsey gave order to drive through it. 3 US DD were lost, 7 carrier and one Iowa class BB heavily damaged. A storm could harm the US fleet much more than the Japanese navy, which was in their harbours.

Adler

Ossric: I understand where you're coming from with your comments on the British royal family, but given that our nearest fully german (ie born there) king or queen was I think either George II or III who died sometime around 200 years ago. Beyond that the nearest we then come is Albert, Victoria's husband. Whilst the name of the current family was once german the family is now firmly British in recent roots and nationality.

(unfortunately) :p

Indeed Queen Elizabeth could get a German passporte without big problems. Thaks to the German Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz from 1913. But if you say she was a German she wouldn´t be very amused... As well as many English. Sometimes Britain seems to be the same for Germany what Siberia is for Russia ;). This was a small joke from a Prussian Kraut so take no offence;)!
The British house Windsor changed the name from the German Sachsen- Coburg und Gotha in WW1. When Willhelm II. heard about that he loughed and asked whether they had to play now The funny wifes of Sachsen Coburg and Gotha instead of Windsor (don´t know the real name of the comedy by Shakespeare at this very moment. sorry). In the 90s the name of that comedy was also a right description of the Royal family ;).

Adler

You uhmm don't fancy taking the whole lot back by any chance do you? ;)

Robert E. Lee, general-in-chief of the Confederate armies that fought to maintain the institution of slavery in the U.S., freed his own slaves, having found that, "slavery is a moral and political evil in any society, a greater evil to the white man than the black."

Issac Newton's only recorded utterance while he was a member of Parliament was a request to open the window.

Twenty percent of U.S. Presidents were born in the same state. Virginia. Nearly forty percent were born in either Virginia or Ohio: eight in Virginia, seven in Ohio.

Charles Cornwallis was an MP for almost 12 years without ever speaking. He voted 3 times, none of those motions passed, and one called for the colonies to be given their independence. That was in 1772.

The V sign, with the palm facing inwards, may have its origins in war. It is said that on the eve of the battle of of Agincourt in 1415 the French threatened to chop off the 'bow fingers' (first and second fingers) of every English archer.
At dawn next day the victorous English extended the same two fingers in a mocking gesture.
During WW2 a V sign, with the palm facing outwards, was used by Winston Churchill as a victory symbol

S.O.S:
Contrary to popular notion, the letters S.O.S. do not stand for "Save Our Ship" or "Save Our Souls". They were selected to indicate a distress because, in Morse code, these letters and their combination create an unmistakable sound pattern.

Originally posted by gael
The V sign, with the palm facing inwards, may have its origins in war. It is said that on the eve of the battle of of Agincourt in 1415 the French threatened to chop off the 'bow fingers' (first and second fingers) of every English archer.
At dawn next day the victorous English extended the same two fingers in a mocking gesture.
During WW2 a V sign, with the palm facing outwards, was used by Winston Churchill as a victory symbol

I've heard this same story about the chopping off of fingers at Agincourt, but I heard it was the origins of the "finger" or flipping the bird, not the V sign. In fact, I think it was R. Lee Ermy who said it on Mail Call. *shrug*

Originally posted by rilnator


My nomination for the stupidest war ever goes to a war fought in the 20th century between 2 central American countries. Both were vying for a position in the upcoming world cup and after the second match war broke out over the result. I'm a bit shady on exact details or even the names of the countries and I think the war didn't even last a week.

Also from the same book I have ;) . From the heading 'Poor Reason's for War,' funnily enough

Anywho, it was the Soccer War between Honduras and El Salvador when the latter scored a last minute winning goal in a World Cup playoff. Don't know how long it lasted, but it left 3000 dead and 6000 wounded.

And they think English hooligism is bad :p

Originally posted by AngryGerbil


I've heard this same story about the chopping off of fingers at Agincourt, but I heard it was the origins of the "finger" or flipping the bird, not the V sign. In fact, I think it was R. Lee Ermy who said it on Mail Call. *shrug*

'Flipping the bird' goes all the way back to ancient Greece and Rome.

no, what happened is when the british archers won a battle, they yelled at the french soldiers.. they said "Pluck you!" and put the V fingers outwards.. and it turned into #@$ you, and to a middle finger.. dunno why.. also ****, was an abbreviation for manure when soil in Britains colony wasnt good ro something, they wrote S.H.I.T. on their ships to get through canals docks etc.

"Reno, Nevada is west of Los Angeles, California."

I don't understand this one. :confused:

Los Angeles is on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, while Reno is more than 150 miles inland. In general terms you would say that Los Angeles must be west of Reno. But the way the coastline curves toward the east as you move south puts the coast (and thus Los Angeles) at a more eastern longitude than Reno.

Related to that is if you cross the river due SOUTH from Detroit, Michigan you end up in Canada.

On 15 April 1912 the SS Titanic sunk on her maiden voyage and over 1,500 people died. Fourteen years earlier a novel was published by Morgan Robertson which seemed to foretell the disaster. The book described a ship the same size as the Titanic which crashes into an iceberg on its maiden voyage on a misty April night. The name of Robertson's fictional ship was the Titan.

Rather spooky thought, don't you think? :eek:

WWII ended on December 26, 1991, since Japan and the USSR never signed a formal peace treaty, although the USSR did annex the Kuril Islands and the southern half of Sakhalin Island. However, Japan "beat" the USSR when their government collapsed on that day after Christmas.

Strange-but-real organizations:

The Institute of Totally Useless Skills
The International Association of Sand Castle Builders
National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Mushrooms
Cookie Cutter Collectors Club
International Correspondence of Corkscrew Addicts

:lol: :lol: :rotfl: :lol: :lol:

2nd one isnt so weird.....

napoleon was not short, he had the average height of the time

I honestly think the National Association for Sand Builders isnt weird... I have seen some kickass Sand Castle's, and there are lots of competitions held aorund the world..

The descendants of the Mughals are'nt too far away from the Red Fort.... they live in a slum in Old Delhi.

Tipu Sultan, the native ruler of Mysore state, ( of which Bangalore was but a small town), was the first Indian ruler to use congreve rockets against the British and rather successfully in the Mysore Wars. Ironically, Bangalore now also houses India's aviation and Space Research industries.

The Dravidian culture can be traced back to the Mesopotamian cultures like Sumeria and Babylonian. An astounding similarity is the ritual marriage of the Mountain goddess and the Moon God, something which can be seen even today in South Indian temples.

Christianity arrived in India before it did in Britain and France.

Clive the founder of the British Empire in India and thus the rest of the world, was a lowly clerk when he came to India and was so depressed that he tried to commit suicide. The gun did'nt work when he put it to his head and pressed the trigger, but showed no signs of defect when normally tried.

Originally posted by allhailIndia

Christianity arrived in India before it did in Britain and France.



That's a highly contentious point. There is a school of thought that Joseph of Arimethea visited Britain and France, and that the first Christian church building was at Glastonbury in Somerset.

Given the trade routes, that's not a far-fetched theory. Certainly by the time of the Diocletian persecutions (c. 300AD) Britain produced a staggering 10,000 Christian martyrs.

Originally posted by pomsa
George Washington was not the first President of the United States.

More on this: In 1781 (I think) George Hanson was elected by the Congress under the articles of Confederation "President of the United States of America in Congress Assembled." Among other things, the Congress under his lead adopted the eagle as the National Seal.

He also, notably, recieved a written letter from George Washington, which congragulated "His Excellency, on aquirring the most important post in America."

The Argentine cruiser General Belgrano, sunk by a British submarine during the Falklands War in 1982 survived the Pearl Harbor attack in '41, being the USS Phoenix at that time.

Okay, not jaw-dropping, just curious...

In january 1794, a Dutch fleet, was captured by... French hussars.
Why is it funny? Because the fleet wasnot in port, but at sea.
Some said the hussars captured it after a charge, but it's probably legend. I think it was more peaceful.

Originally posted by sims2789
well, here we go...

California is the only state to rebel against the government alone(1848). I heard that in 1850 we declared independence, but withdrew our claim 3 months later after feeling that we had made our point, but that source is questionable.

The guy on the $10 bill is from Jamaca.

Nazi Germany originally oposed Japans invasion of China in 1931. The USA and Germany both sent military advisors to China. The US also sent air support(The Flying Tigers).

The Mughal Empire and the United States co-existed.

The Confederate Army wasn't segregated. Some 50,000 blacks fought for them, 13,000 in combat roles. By the end of the war, however, they had created all-black units.

The slang word "hooker," which means prostitute, was gotten from the US civil-war general Joseph T. Hooker. He hired prostitutes for his army to keep up troop morale. They started being called, "Hooker's girls" which was eventually shortened to "hooker." The name stuck.


texas!! it was allso its own nation for over 10 years!!

and nazi germany didnt exist in 1931

Yeah, but Texas didn't rebel against the US (Atleast until the civil war). They actually asked be annexed right after their independance, but they were declined entry for awhile because they didn't want another slave state.

VC: It may not have, but Hitler was definately on his way to supreme power by then. If I recall right from 10 years ago when I studied the subject in 1931 the nazi party were a big element (if not the biggest) in the reichstag.

The Nazis were in 1931 the bigges fraction and had a negative majority with the communists, so Hindenburg as president had to rule with emergency laws. However, Germany was still a democracy. And despite all difficulties Hitler could have been avoided even in 1933. Only 1 year later the NSDAP would have been bancrupted, because having not so much money. Then Hitler would have been only a small remark in history books as a crazy guy who wanted to become president. But the fate was another...

Adler

Originally posted by Pirate
Los Angeles is on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, while Reno is more

Related to that is if you cross the river due SOUTH from Detroit, Michigan you end up in Canada.


When using the Panama Canal to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific, you travel northWEST to southEAST.

The Mayor of New York wanted the city to secede from the Union when the southern states began to. He invisioned NY as a neutral port, able to trade with North and South alike.

Originally posted by DBear



When using the Panama Canal to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific, you travel northWEST to southEAST.

It's the only place in the world where you can see the sun rise over the Pacific and set over the Atlantic. I was there last summer on a misions trip and saw it set on the Atlantic, but our hotel wasn't on the coast, so I didn't see it rise. :(

WWWeasel, you are incorrect for two reasons. 1) The sun appears to travel east to west, not west to east. 2) Panama backs onto the Pacific, but not the Atlantic, the Caribbean being in the way.

Originally posted by MattII
WWWeasel, you are incorrect for two reasons. 1) The sun appears to travel east to west, not west to east. 2) Panama backs onto the Pacific, but not the Atlantic, the Caribbean being in the way.

1) Because of the way the isthmus (sp?) curves, part of the Pacific is actually to the EAST of the Atlantc/Caribbean, so from the canal region, the sun appears over the Pacific and sets on the Atlantic side.

2) The Caribbean Sea is an extension of the Atlantic Ocean.

Panama is shaped kinda like this:
_
_Atl / \_
\__/ Pac

The first submarine in South Asia was the PNS Ghazi or the ex-USS Diablo. However, it was lost in an accident in the 1971 War off Vizag.

The last Mughal Emperor was a contemporary of Abe Lincoln;)

St.Thomas' cemetery can be found in South India, don't know the exact place, but it is definitely much earlier than 300 AD

Mentioned this before, but a pillar in what is now Delhi, opposite to that of the more famous Qutub Minar, is made of iron....and has not rusted for 1700 years despite being fully exposed to the elements throughout the time.

The city we now know as Delhi is actually the 7th layer built over 6 other cities, ranging back to Indraprastha, the capital of the Pandavas in the Ramayana.

There are more bald eagles in the Canadian province of British Columbia than in the entire US.
There are more Muslims in India than there are people in Pakistan.
When the Falkland War began, a British single, "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie, was no.1 in the Argentinan charts. Just a year before, several hundreds of thousands of Argentinan fans cheered to the British national anthem being played at the end of a number of Queen concerts in and outside of Buenos Aires.

Originally posted by rilnator


My nomination for the stupidest war ever goes to a war fought in the 20th century between 2 central American countries. Both were vying for a position in the upcoming world cup and after the second match war broke out over the result. I'm a bit shady on exact details or even the names of the countries and I think the war didn't even last a week.

errrr......the war was because of border conflicts and other sovereign problems, it was not the result of the soccer match itself :rolleyes: