Interesting Facts and Stories

Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940) was the tallest person in history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. Wadlow is sometimes known as the Alton Giant or Giant of Illinois because he was born and grew up in Alton, Illinois.-
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Wadlow reached 8 ft 11.1 in height and weighed 439 lb at his death at age 22. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone. He showed no indication of an end to his growth even at the time of his death.-
 
I don't care what anyone sez, Orwell was prescient. And while he didn't get the date correct, he surely had the concept down.
 
On the night 8th november 1944, Halifax LK901 took off from Sandtoft, Lincs, on a night cross-country training exercise.- At around 2355 hrs the aircraft broke up in mid air after the pilot lost control in cumulus nimbus clouds and came down in the area of Glenshee Post Office, Glenshee (Scotland).-
An investigation into the loss of the aircraft by the RAF found no evidence to indicate defects in engine or airframe prior to break up.- Two fuel tanks burnt on impact.- They concluded that the aircraft disintegrated due to uploading in cu cloud when aircraft was out of control. Severe static had been experienced for about one hour prior to break up.-

Six of the seven men onboard were Australian and were taken to Montrose Sleepyhillock Cemetery for burial. - The other member was buried in Enfield, Hertford Road Cemetery.-

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Graves of the six australians at Sleepyhillock

from archieraf.co.uk
 
Many consumer products get their names from Greek mythology.- Nike sneakers are the namesake of the goddess of victory, for example, and the website Amazon.com is named after the race of mythical female warriors. Many high school, college and professional sports teams (Titans, Spartans and Trojans, for instance) also get their names from mythological sources.-
 
Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the USAF based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II.- Their mission was to stem the flow of oil to the German war machine from the Ploesti refineries. -

The mission resulted in "no curtailment of overall product output", and so was unsuccessful.-

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This mission was one of the costliest for the USAAF in the European Theater, with 53 aircraft and 660 aircrewmen lost. It was the worst loss ever suffered by the USAAF on a single mission, and its date was later referred to as "Black Sunday".- Five Medals of Honor and numerous Distinguished Service Crosses were awarded to Operation Tidal Wave crew members.-

During Operation Tidal Wave, the most highly decorated military mission in U.S. history, 177 B-24s took off on an 18-hour, 2,400 mile round trip mission to destroy the largest of the Nazi-held oil refineries at Ploesti, 30 miles north of Bucharest, Rumania.

This day, Aug. 1, 1943, would end with five U.S. Airmen, including Col. John R. Kane, Col. Leon Johnson, Lt. Col. Addison Baker, Maj. John Jerstad and Lt. Lloyd "Pete" Hughes awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery.- Three of them were posthumously.-
 
I had the pleasure to know one of these pilots, my Buddy;s Da. He was a heck of a man and I loved him dearly. He had a heart attack while his son and I were on 2 week summer exercise at Camp Roberts & Hunter-Liggett (Ca.) with the Ca. Army National Guard (40th ID), we came within half a day of going AWOL to drive home to see him in the hospital. Fortunately, he took a turn for the better and he sent word we were 'NOT' to come see him until summer camp was over. That saved us each a couple of stripes for sure. I have a pic of him sitting by the nose wheel of his B-24 in North Africa, but it is packed away in storage and won't see the light of day until we return to Ca.
I'll post it then.
 
More than two decades before he became the seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson faced off against Charles Dickinson, a lawyer regarded as one of the best shots in the area, in Logan, Kentucky.-

The proud and volatile Jackson, a former senator and representative of Tennessee, called for the duel after Dickinson described his wife Rachel as a bigamist, referring to a legal error in her 1791 divorce from her first husband.-

On May 30, 1806, the two men met with pistols in hand, standing 24 feet apart in accordance with dueling custom.- After the signal, Dickinson fired first, grazing Jackson’s breastbone and breaking some of his ribs.- Jackson, a former Tennessee militia leader, maintained his stance and fired back, fatally wounding his opponent.-

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It was one of several duels Jackson was said to have participated in during his lifetime, the majority of which were allegedly in defense of Rachel’s honor.-
 
Agent Orange was a powerful mixture of chemical defoliants used by U.S. military forces during the Vietnam War to eliminate forest cover for North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, as well as crops that might be used to feed them.-

The U.S. program of defoliation, codenamed Operation Ranch Hand, sprayed more than 19 million gallons of herbicides over 4.5 million acres of land in Vietnam from 1961 to 1972.- Agent Orange, which contained the chemical dioxin, was the most commonly used of the herbicide mixtures, and the most effective.-

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This photo show some C-123 aircraft spraying liquid defoliant on a suspected Viet Cong position in South Vietnam, september 1965. The four specially equipped planes covered a 1,000-foot-wide swath in each pass over the dense vegetation.

The program's goal was to defoliate forested and rural land, depriving guerrillas of cover; another goal was to induce forced draft urbanization, destroying the ability of peasants to support themselves in the countryside, and forcing them to flee to the U.S. dominated cities, thus depriving the guerrillas of their rural support and food supply.-

It was later revealed to cause serious health issues--including tumors, birth defects, rashes, psychological symptoms and cancer--among returning U.S. servicemen and their families as well as among the vietnamese population.-


topsecretwriters
historychannel
wiki
 
It was later revealed to cause serious health issues
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The truth is that the manufacturers knew of the risks associated with it's use, but kept that fact a secret (didn't want to interfere with the millions of $$ to be made). The manufacturers (Monsanto & Dow) eventually settled out of court, and set up an 180 million dollar payout to Veterans with claims. A pittance that has long since been distributed with many Vets (myself included) never receiving a penny. I personally suffer from two diseases linked to exposure, Ischemic Heart disease and diabetes, and I knock on wood when anyone mentions the cancers associated with exposure.
My exposure occurred in several ways. Patrolling through areas that had been defoliated, drinking water from streams that passed through contaminated areas, and on one occasion, having C-123s spraying new area while we were patrolling there, they flew right over us as they were spraying. I guess if I wanted to find proof that karma exists, I need look no further than this experience.
 
Louis said:
Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was a soldier for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.-

He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City but was captured by the British and hung.-

He is probably best remembered for his purported last words before being hanged: "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country."-
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I've heard that quote before, never who said it.
Is he the same guy who said "I don't care what you day about me, but I will defend with my life your right to say it." ?
 
On may 4, 1990, in USA, Jesse Tafero (convicted of murder of Florida Highway Patrol officer Phillip Black and Donald Irwin, a visiting Canadian constable and friend of Black) is executed in Florida after his electric chair malfunctions three times, causing flames to leap from his head.-

Tafero's death sparked a new debate on humane methods of execution. Several states ceased use of the electric chair and adopted lethal injection as their means of capital punishment.-
 
.. I'm sure the two constables wouldn't have cared less if his head caught fire ...
 
Dan Magnusson said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustaf_II_Adolf

did you know that this guy actually threaten Wiena after the Battle of Breitenfielt *spelling*

The swedes had revulotionary tactics and guns....
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Yep. Sweden was a power back in the 1600's and played a real influence in the Thirty Years War. Part of my History Honours thesis was on it. Well worth a read if you find a good text on the period, just try to keep up with forces switching sides and the family trees. :confused:
 
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