During the Battle of the Wilderness, a fistfight between a Union and Confederate soldier caused a ceasefire, as both sides stopped fighting to watch the scuffle. The Union soldier lost and was taken prisoner. The battle then resumed.
When France was occupied by the Germans…
When France was occupied by the Germans in 1940, Citroen was forced to produce vehicles for the Nazis. They chose to move the fill line on their oil dipsticks lower, causing the trucks to seize under stress from low oil.
Adolf Hitler’s personal chauffeur…
Adolf Hitler’s personal chauffeur and close confidant, Emil Maurice, was Jewish. He was also one of the founding members of the SS. After uncovering of his Jewish heritage, Hitler declared that he was an ‘honorary Aryan’ and prevented him from being expelled from the SS by Himmler.
Japan’s rail workers use…
Japan’s rail workers use pointing-and-calling, a system of associating one’s tasks with physical movements and vocalizations to prevent errors. It is known to reduce workplace errors by up to 85 percent, according to one 1996 study.
Sir Alec Guiness hated his role…
Sir Alec Guiness hated his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: “Apart from the money, I regret having embarked on the film,” calling the dialog “lamentable.” An autograph seeker told him he’d seen the movie over 100 times; he gave him an autograph on the condition he never see the movie again.
The terms “upper case” and “lower case”…
The terms “upper case” and “lower case” originated from the common layouts of drawers, called cases, used to hold movable type for letterpress printing. Capitol (or majuscule) letters were stored in the upper case; smaller (or minuscule) letters, in the lower case.
There is a village in India whose…
There is a village in India whose main export are men. This village prepares men to become bouncers for nightclubs and bars. They do so by having a 2 hour workout in the morning, followed by a 2 hour workout in the afternoon, in combination with high-protein food.
Oral tradition in Kenya tells…
Oral tradition in Kenya tells that 20 shipwrecked Chinese sailors washed up on shore in the 15th century and were given permission to settle and marry into local tribes. DNA tests conducted by China’s government in 2002 on one of the supposed descendants and found that she was of Chinese descent.
When French explorers…
When French explorers thought they were the first Europeans to ever reach some historical Afghan caves in the 1930s, they were surprised to find a text inscribed on the wall saying: “if any fool this high samootch explore, know Charles Masson has been here before”.
7/11 is named after their…
7/11 is named after their ‘new’ hours of 7am-11pm which were unprecedented in 1946, and they didn’t experiment with 24-hour stores until 1963.