Interesting Facts and Stories

The wingspan of a Boeing 747 is greater than the length of the first flight of the Wright brothers.

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Manchester City was the highest scoring team in the 1937/38 season in the Premier League with 80 goals.
Finished in the No. 21 and fell to second division . The previous year had been the champion.
 
The post mortem photo

The photograph of the dead was a practice that is born with almost the same picture (an August 19, 1839) in Paris, France, which then spreads rapidly to other countries.
Was to dress a recently deceased corpse with their personal clothes and participate in a final group portrait, with colleagues, friends, family or individual portraits.

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The why-then-these were not considered lurid images, may be due to the nascent social ideal in the Romantic era.
During this period, had a nostalgic vision of medieval themes, and death was thought to look more sentimental, reaching some seeing it as a privilege. wiki
 
The metro

The metro is world's longest of London, with 415 km, followed by New York with 368.

Next on the list are Tokyo meters (292.3 km), Seoul (287 km), Moscow (265.2 km), Madrid (226.5 km), Paris (212.5 km), and Mexico City (201.7 km).

In Africa there are only two cities with metro: Cairo and Tunis.

The Pyongyang metro in North Korea is the world's deepest. Dug 120 meters down into the earth.

The London Underground is the oldest. It was opened in 1863.

The subways of Moscow and Tokyo are the most used in the world, with 3200 million and 2700 million passengers a year respectively.

In the Shanghai subway system is the first magnetic levitation train in the world.
 
The chastity belt.

A chastity belt is a belt or pants made of iron, lockable, allegedly forced to use some women in the Middle Ages to avoid infidelity or sexual lapses.

The subject became popular in England in the nineteenth century thanks to a book whose content is described as "one of the most extraordinary things that have made male jealousy. "

The book describes how the object was used to ensure the fidelity of the ladies who were alone at home while husbands were brave to fight in the Crusades.

This is the most common view, but wrong.

The chastity belt can be used not only for a few hours at most a couple of days.
Otherwise, the woman victim to take him die of infections, abrasions and lacerations caused by contact with metal.

In fact, the chastity belt was used by women as a defense against rape, in times of quartering of soldiers during travel and overnight stays in inns.

The chastity belt is a much later invention of the Middle Ages, probably in the Renaissance.
 
Tyneham (UK)

Tyneham is a ghost village in south Dorset, England, near Lulworth on the Isle of Purbeck.
The village is situated northeast of Worbarrow Bay on the Jurassic Coast, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south of Wareham and about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of Swanage. It is part of the Lulworth Estate.

Tyneham is only accessible when the Lulworth Military Range is open to the public.

The military firing range is owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and is part of the Armoured Fighting Vehicles Gunnery School. Safety warnings about explosives and unexploded shells are posted at Mupe Bay by the MoD: visitors are advised to keep to official footpaths and abide to local site notices because tanks and armoured vehicles are used in this area.

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The village and 7,500 acres (30 km2) of surrounding heathland and chalk downland around the Purbeck Hills, were commandeered just before Christmas 1943 by the then War Office (now MoD) for use as firing ranges for training troops.

252 people were displaced, the last person leaving a notice on the church door:

"Please treat the church and houses with care; we have given up our homes where many of us lived for generations to help win the war to keep men free. We shall return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly."

This measure was supposed to be temporary for the duration of World War II, but in 1948 the Army placed a compulsory purchase order on the land and it has remained in use for military training ever since.

Though littered with scrap used as targets, and subject to regular shelling, the land has become a haven for wildlife as it has been free from farming and development.

In 1975, after complaints from tourists and locals, the Ministry of Defence began opening the village and footpaths across the ranges at weekends and throughout August. Many of the village buildings have fallen into disrepair or have been damaged by shelling and in 1967 the then Ministry of Works pulled down the Elizabethan manor house, though the church remains intact, and has a stained-glass window by Martin Travers. The church and school house have since been preserved as museums.

es.wikipedia
 
Alexander A. Drabik
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Sgt. Alexander A. Drabik (December 28, 1910 - September 28, 1993) was the first American soldier to cross the Rhine River into Germany.
Under heavy machine-gun fire, Drabik dashed across the Ludendorff Bridge near Remagen on March 7, 1945, while Germans tried desperately to detonate it.
For his heroism, Drabik was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Drabik later said: We ran down the middle of the bridge, shouting as we went. I didn't stop because I knew that if I kept moving they couldn't hit me. My men were in squad column and not one of them was hit. We took cover in some bomb craters. Then we just sat and waited for others to come. That's the way it was.

Early in his military career, he distinguished himself by rescuing 120 recruits who had become lost on the California desert

Drabik was killed in an auto accident in 1993, en route to a reunion of his unit.-

ibiblio.org
es.wikipedia
 
Louis said:
Google rents out goats. Yes you read that right. It rents goats from a company called California Grazing to help cut down the amount of weeds and brush at Google HQ, in Mountain View, Santa Clara County, California.

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The operation of 200 goats (plus herder and a border collie) is kind to the environment, and as Google puts it: “A lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers.”

http://mashable.com/2010/06/19/10-google-facts/
Click to expand...

Well they use goats instead of sheep so that no one will sneak off for a quick one...

that would be a bestialty of a problem otherwise..
 
Zenji Abe, a japanese pilot.

Zenji Abe, one of the pilots who bombed Pearl Harbor, was born in 1916 in a small mountain village in Yamaguchi.-

The day of the attack, Abe got up at three o'clock .- For such an important mission, he and his comrades wore his dress uniform under the guise of an aviator.

After writing a letter to his wife and left in his locker, he visited a Shinto altar and performed his prayers. He joined the rest of his teammates for breakfast and receive the final report of the attack.

Throughout the ship resounded with the roar of jet engines warming up on the flight deck.

A quarter of an hour took the 167 units of the second wave to take off six ships and line up in battle formation.

A considerable feat, testimony to the skill of these pilots, who had strictly forbidden the airline radio contact with the boat.

In view of forced silence, the aircraft flew in close formation, making eye contact as possible with hand signals and facial gestures.

Among the aircraft wings, which were squads from nine to nine, there was more than a meter away .- Each squadron flew at different altitudes to avoid turbulence from the propellers.

"Mine was on the highest point and delayed the surge, which had a good view of all those in front. I felt proud, like a shepherd leading his sheep." His memories of the attack itself focuses on how well the Americans were recovered after the initial surprise, 30 minutes before they arrived.

As the leader was down to two of his colleagues before he could swoop in on the USS Arizona.

Three bombers were killed following him under intense antiaircraft fire. Back, with many of their dead comrades and saw the damage of the aircraft, the stark reality of war hit him and threw over it the shadow of doubt on the conflict.

Abe took part in five other actions in World War II .- The last one was in a no-return mission to bomb the naval battle group number 58 in the U.S..

His attack would make it beyond the point of return, unable to return to his ship by the lack of fuel, would have to make an emergency landing somewhere near the point of attack.

After locating the fleet, three aircraft carriers surrounded by a score of ships sailing in concentric defensive gave his squad the order to attack at the same time throwing his equipment into a tailspin by a hail of flak.

Recovered height and waited for his companions .- At that time, several fighters were launched against him, but avoided by hiding behind the clouds. With their fuel running low, he managed to land on the tiny island of Rota (in the Western Pacific, 32 miles from Guam).

Of the 430 aircraft that participated in the attack, only 30 saved. On August 15, 1945, Abe was surrendered to U.S. troops.

After the war, lost contact with their former comrades in arms. Later, in 1991, to mark the 50 anniversary of the attack, was invited to attend the commemorations organized by the U.S. Pearl Harbor Association.

His desire for forgiveness led him to form the Japanese Friends of Pearl Harbor .-

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Make a list of survivors who at that time numbered about 80, and went to visit each of them to explain what he was doing.

Participated in acts of reconciliation, helping to heal some deep wounds that were opened during those days.

Abe died on April 6, 2007.-
 
The mausoleum of Marshal.

In early March 1945, while the grip of the Soviets closed around Berlin, the wife of E. Rommel received a letter dated March 7 from the "Generealbaurat fur die Gestaltung der deutschen Kriegerfriedhofe (Engineer inspector general of the Organization of German War Graves Commission) .- It was told:

"The Führer has ordered us to erect a monument to the late Field Marshal Rommel and we have invited several sculptors to submit designs .-
Enclose some .-
At this time it would be possible to erect a monument or provide transportation .- We can only prepare the model .-
We believe that the Marshal should be represented by a lion .-
An artist has designed an expiring lion, another lion plañente, another a lion about to pounce on jump ...
Personally I prefer this design, but if you prefer a lion expiring, you can be .-
The base can be prepared quickly because we have a special authorization from the Minister Speer .-
Currently as a general rule can not be stone monuments .- But in this special case can proceed immediately to the construction and delivery ... "

Mrs. Rommel never answered this letter .-

In the tomb of Rommel retain the ashes rises a simple cross .- The cremation was ordered by the Gestapo to suppress evidence of the suicide of Rommel .-
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Charles Osborne (April 2, 1894 - May 1, 1991) had the hiccups for 69 years. An outside source estimated that Osborne hiccuped 430 million times.
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Osborne died on May 1st 1991, 11 months after his hiccupping stopped.
 
Elizabeth "Betty Wall" Strohfus
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Mrs. Elizabeth Bridget “Betty Wall” Strohfus audaciously served her nation during WWII as a Women Air force Service Pilot (W.A.S.P.).
She served from 1943 until the W.A.S.P. were disbanded in December, 1944. Piloting eight different aircraft including the B-17, B-26, P-39, and her favorite the AT-6, she flew anti-aircraft training missions against US Army ground and bomber forces, towed aerial targets, and even instructed male cadets in the skill of instrumental flight.

Her critical efforts not only prepared and trained soldiers and airmen for war, but also freed male pilots to remain in combat.

Strohfus was born in Faribault, Minnesota on November 15, 1919, number five of six children. Shortly after high school graduation, a member of the local Sky Club first introduced her to flight. After an exhilarating flight in a Piper Cub, she was hooked. Strohfus volunteered at the Club completing odd jobs for a chance to fly with the members. When one of the 15 members of the all-male Sky Club enlisted, she was asked to join. Borrowing $100 from the local bank, she paid the dues and began the flight lessons.
It was at the Club she read a notice from the military asking for women pilots interested in assuming duties to free male pilots for overseas combat. Quickly obtaining the minimum 35 flight hours, she applied. At the minimum of 5’3” with the help of socks, Strohfus passed the physical and began her training at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas in 1943. As one of only 1,800 women accepted out of 25,000 applicants, out of whom 1,074 graduated. Strohfus received her wings in the first class of 1944, the ninth class overall.

While most of the graduates went on assignments ferrying aircraft, Strohfus volunteered to fly pursuit aircraft and was stationed at Las Vegas Army Airfield. There she towed targets behind a B-26 for fighter target practice. She was also qualified for missions in the P-39. Responding to a call for instrumental instructors, she was accepted and sent back to Avenger Field for instruction. After receiving her instructor certification, she returned to Las Vegas to teach instrument flight to male cadets.

Strohfus continued at Las Vegas until the W.A.S.P. was disbanded on December 20, 1944.

After the war, she applied to Northwest Airlines but they were not hiring women pilots so worked for a time as an aircraft communicator. After several other jobs, she returned to Faribault where she married and raised a family. She placed all her memorabilia in a box, retiring the memories to a closet. In 1972, after her first husband passed and her children left for college, she moved to Boston where she worked for the American Cancer Society until 1979.

While there, strohfus was central in lobbying congress for the recognition of W.A.S.P. as veterans. The law was passed and signed in 1977 that allowed the Secretary of Defense to declare in 1979 that service in the W.A.S.P. was active military service and those serving were veterans. Not ready to stop inspiring, since 1991, “Betty Wall” has traveled to 22 states telling her story to thousands of people, primarily schoolchildren. She is a member of the Ninety Nines, Confederate Air force and in 2001 was inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame. Elizabeth Strohfus currently lives in her hometown of Faribault, Minnesota.

Betty was most recently honored for her contribution to aviation at the Gathering of the Eagles at Maxwell Air force Base in Montgomery, Alabama in 2009 and was presented a Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, DC in March, 2010.

Today at 91, Betty believes she has a story to tell and through Women in Aviation Presentations continues to share her message of “Be the best you can be and follow your dreams.”

mnlegion.org
 
The U-118

SM U-118 was a type UE II mine laying submarine of the Imperial German Navy and one of 329 submarines serving with that navy during World War I.

SM U-118 was commissioned on 8 May 1918, following construction at the AG Vulcan Stettin shipyard in Hamburg. It was commanded by Herbert Stohwasser and joined the I Flotilla operating in the eastern Atlantic. After about four months without any ships sunk, on 16 September 1918, SM U-118 scored its first hit on another naval vessel. About 175 miles (282 km) north-west of Cape Villano, U-118 torpedoed and sank the British steamer Wellington. Early the following month on 2 October 1918, U-118 sank its second and last ship, the British tanker Arca at about 40 miles (64 km) north-west of Tory Island.

With the ending of hostilities on 11 November 1918 came the subsequent surrender of the Imperial German Navy, including SM U-118 to France on 23 February 1919.-

Following surrender U-118 was to be transferred to France where it would be broken up for scrap. However, in the early hours of 15 April 1919, while it was being towed through the English Channel towards Scapa Flow, its dragging hawser broke off in a storm. The ship ran aground on the beach at Hastings in Sussex at approximately 12:45am, directly in front of the Queens Hotel.

Initially there were attempts to displace the stricken vessel; three tractors tried to refloat the submarine and a French destroyer attempted to break the ship apart using its cannons. These attempts however were unsuccessful and the proximity of the submarine to the public beach and Queens Hotel dissuaded further use of explosive forces.

The wreck of the submarine immediately became a popular tourist attraction with thousands of visitors to Hastings that Easter flocking to see the beached vessel. The vessel was put in charge of the local coastguard station and the Admiralty allowed the Town Clerk of Hastings to charge a small fee for people to climb on the deck of the submarine. This continued for two weeks, during which time the town collected almost £300 which helped fund an event to welcome the town's troops returning from the war.

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Two members of the coastguard, chief boatman William Heard and chief officer W. Moore, were tasked with showing important visitors around inside the submarine. The visits however were curtailed at the end of April when both men became severely ill. It was thought that rotten foodstuffs in the submarine were causing the problems however, despite the visits being discontinued.

The illnesses became worse, and attempts to save the men were unsuccessful. Mr Moore died in December 1919 and Mr Heard in February 1920. Surgeons at Mr Heard’s inquest on 16 February said that at first they thought he had pneumonia but then decided he was suffering from the inhalation of a very pungent and noxious gas, possibly chlorine. His death was caused by two large abscesses, on the brain and right lung, resulting from the gas. Mr Heard, aged 47, lived at the Marine Parade Coastguard station with his wife Elizabeth, and had been in the service for 20 years.

The U-118 was sold for scrap, and from October to December 1919 was cut up and mostly removed, although it is believed that the keel is still lying under the beach.

en.wiki
 
In the seventeenth century, in Chester, England, the sheriff hired a goldsmith to make a silver trophy for a horse race.
The first work he did was unacceptable, so he had to make another which was also unsatisfactory, so did a third.
To not waste the 3 trophies, shared between first, second and third.
Hence the custom.
 
A story of american civil war ...

Major General Benjamin "The Beast" Butler - (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893)
During the American Civil War, he served as a major general in the Union Army.
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One of the major problems that confronted by Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler on his occupation of New Orleans in April of 1862, was the abuse his soldiers endured from patriotic Confederate women. Bitterly resentful of the Union occupation, whenever any of Butler's men were present they would contemptuously gather in their skirts, cross streets, flee rooms, cast hateful glances, or make derisive comments. Some sang spirited renditions of "The Bonnie Blue Flag" and other Confederate songs, or spat on soldiers' uniforms, while teaching their children to do the same. One woman emptied a chamber pot on Capt. David C. Farragut from her window shortly after the mayor surrendered the city to him.

The women hoped their actions would force a retaliatory incident serious enough to incite paroled Confederates to revolt against the occupation troops. Butler's men showed remarkable restraint against the insults, but he realized that it was only a matter of time until one of them, pressed too far, would arrest some female belligerent. Undoubtedly the men of New Orleans would attempt a rescue, and Butler feared his small force would be overcome. He dealt with the problem on May 15 by issuing General Orders No. 28, carefully worded to be self-enforcing:

" As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subjected to repeated insults from the women (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans, in return for the most scrupulous noninterference and courtesy on our part, it is ordered that hereafter when any female shall, by word, gesture, or movement, insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States, she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation."

Except for a few isolated incidents, the insults stopped abruptly when the women learned they would be treated as common whores for demeaning a man wearing a U.S. army uniform. A few who persisted were arrested and imprisoned on Ship Island, notably Mrs. Philip Philips, who was confined from 30 June until mid-September for laughing when the funeral procession of a Federal officer was passing her house.

The "Woman's Order" provoked criticism throughout the Confederacy and in Europe from people who considered his proclamation an unpardonable affront to womanhood. In defense of the order he emphasized the restraint his soldiers had shown civilians in New Orleans. Nevertheless, the infamous order excited indignation and personal animosity toward Butler. Many felt his nickname, "Beast" Butler, was well deserved.

Immediately upon learning of General Orders No. 28, John T. Monroe, Mayor of New Orleans, wrote a scathing letter to General Butler decrying the order. Strangely, almost as soon as it was written, Monroe retracted it and issued an apology. However, one who did not issue an apology was Jefferson Davis. President Davis issued a "Proclamation" branding Butler and his officers as nothing more than outlaws that would be hanged if captured.
 
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