#1
In WWI, the Germans converted it into a warship, while also modifying it to look like the British ocean liner RMS _Carmania_. The idea was to cruise around in disguise, ambushing British shipping.
On its first such cruise, it ran into the real RMS _Carmania_ - which the British had secretly converted into a warship, with the idea of cruising around ambushing German shipping.
In the ensuing battle, the real _Carmania_ sank the fake one.
People have been claiming to see animals raining from the sky since the days of early civilization. There have been reports of showers of rats, fish, jellyfish, even snakes. While they aren't entirely incorrect, meteorologists and climatologists say it's a bit more complicated than the sky literally "raining" creatures.
It doesn’t “rain” frogs or fish in the sense that it rains water, explains the Library of Congress (LOC) site. What the experts mean is that frogs and fish don't vaporize into the air before a rainfall.
"However, strong winds, such as those in a tornado or hurricane, are powerful enough to lift animals, people, trees, and houses," the site adds. "It is possible that they could suck up a school of fish or frogs and 'rain' them elsewhere."
#2
On July 26th 2013, one day before the 60th anniversary of the Korean War a statue of Sgt. Reckless was unveiled at the National Museum of the Marine Corps along with a lock of her tail hair at the base of the statue. The statue's plaque includes a quote from Sergeant Harold Wadley, who served in battle alongside Sergeant Reckless: "The spirit of her loneliness and her loyalty, in spite of the danger, was something else to behold. Hurting. Determined. And alone. That's the image I have imprinted in my head and heart forever." In addition, there are 5 other monuments to Sgt. Reckless around the US as well as another at Yeoncheon Gorangpogu History Park near the Outpost Vegas battlefield.
#3
The best thing? He was just a private citizen in Spain, who started the whole fraudulent spy business entirely on his own initiative.
“I’ve seen small ponds literally emptied of their water by a passing tornado. So, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for frogs (or other living things) to ‘rain’ from the skies,” says Professor Ernest Agee from Purdue University.
Instead of actual rain, many scientists believe that something called tornadic waterspouts may be responsible for frog and fish rainfalls. A tornadic waterspout is basically a tornado that forms over land and travels over the water. They aren't as strong as land-based tornadoes, which can reach up to 310 miles per hour.
But tornadic waterspouts can pack quite a punch, reaching up to 100 miles per hour.
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#5
At the time, syphilis was incurable and horrific. Syphilis takes a long time to destroy the patient, and it ravages their body and mind along the way, while also making them a vector to infect others. It had been known for some time that a high fever could cure syphilis if it came at the right time. But how do you summon a high fever on demand? Wagner-Jauregg did it by intentionally infecting the patient with malaria.
Malaria was incurable, but could be treated with quinine for minimal side effects. Even if the malaria fever ended the patient, losing one's lifeI over a single night was far more humane than the years-long degradation of the Black Lion.
Wagner-Jauregg's treatment became a historical oddity before long, when penicillin was discovered to be a much less invasive cure for syphilis.
#6
Adopted as a cub, he was trained to carry ammo crates, as he could carry much more than a man could. The men liked to wrestle with him, and he was even taught to salute. He like to drink beer, smoke... or eat cigarettes, and drink coffee.
Imagine being a new recruit and your superior officer is a bear.
The LOC site explains that like a tornado, a mature waterspout consists of a low-pressure central vortex surrounded by a rotating funnel of updrafts.
"The vortex at the center of these storms is strong enough to 'suck up' surrounding air, water, and small objects like a vacuum. These accumulated objects are deposited back to earth as 'rain' when the waterspout loses its energy," the site further states. "Most of the water seen in the funnel of a waterspout is actually condensate — moisture in the air resulting from the condensation of water vapor."
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While animal rainfalls are largely attributed to waterspouts, at least one expert believes the sometimes a strong gust of updraft wind could also do the trick.
According to Doc Horsley from Southern Illinois University, any unusually powerful updraft could lift small organisms or organic material into the sky during a storm. And what goes up must come down...
"An updraft is a wind current caused by warm air from high pressure areas near the earth rising into cooler, low-pressure areas in the atmosphere. Because the cooling causes water in the air to condense, updrafts play an important role in cloud formation and storm development," explains the LOC site.
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Basically, two Italian city-states, Modena and Bologna, were already bitter political rivals (Ghibellines vs. Guelphs). Their tensions were high, and then Modenese soldiers stole a wooden bucket from a well in Bologna’s public square.
Bologna demanded the bucket back. Modena said no.
A war broke out.
#12
sounds like a meme but it’s an actual chapter in history and somehow no one ever lets australia forget it.
It once rained frogs in Kansas City in 1873. And it hailed frogs in Dubuque, Iowa on June 16, 1882. Scientists back then concluded the Kansas incident must have been caused by a tornado or other land-based storm. And the Iowa one by a powerful updraft, which made the frogs freeze before releasing them.
While there've been no confirmed reports of it ever raining cats and dogs anywhere, it does seem plausible that animals can indeed fall from the sky.
#13
#14
Then he made the soldiers collect seashells as "war trophies" to bring back to Rome.
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#19
If you’re unsure why this is unusual, check where Baltics is.
The whole story is filled with hilarious details demonstrating how bad Russia’s army was.
#20
Virginia has asked for it back many times.