During the Second World War the Nazis acquired vast amounts of gold to fund their regime and military aims. From countries they invaded/annexed they took: Approximately $71 million from Austria and Czechoslovakia prior to the outbreak of war $223 million from Belgium $193 million from the Netherlands £131 million from Continue Reading
mart
VJ Day – 14 August 1945
On 14 August 1945, Japan unconditionally surrendered ending WWII in the Pacific. This followed the dropping of atomic weapons by the United States. “Little Boy”, a 15 kiloton of TNT, uranium based bomb destroyed Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and was deployed by the B29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”. “Fat Man”, Continue Reading
The First Celebrity Superstar
Way before The Beatles, Elvis and Justin Bieber, in the 19th Century, Franz Liszt, a composer from a small Hungarian town became the first person to whom the label “celebrity”was attached. Lisztmania as it was described at the time, had all the hallmarks of what we would recognise as “-mania” Continue Reading
Pyramid workers paid in vegetables
Inscriptions inside the ancient pyramids in Egypt show that part of the workers pay was in beer, onions, garlic and radishes. It is estimated that it probably took 20,000 to 30,000 men, setting stones at a rate of one every two minutes, approximately 20 years to set the 2.3 million Continue Reading
Longest Time in Space
The astronaut who has spent the longest continuous time in space is Valeri Vladimirovich Polyakov who was aboard the Mir space station for 437 days 18 hours from 9 Jan 1994 to 22 March 1995. Gennady Ivanovich Padalka holds the record for the most time spent in space overall at 879 days Continue Reading
The Oldest Parliament
The oldest Parliament in the world is the Alþingi of Iceland which was founded in 930AD.
Jesse Owens and Adolf Hitler
Jesse Owens was a four-time gold medal winner in the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin. It is often said that Owens was snubbed by Adolf Hitler. This is not entirely accurate. On the first day of the Games, Hitler only congratulated German athletes. The Olympic officials insisted that he Continue Reading
Winston Churchill: The Few
On August 20, 1940, during the Battle of Britain, Winston Churchill made a speech to the House of Commons, honouring the bravery of and expressing gratitude to the airmen who prevailed. The most famous part of the speech is in the extract below: The gratitude of every home in our Island, in Continue Reading
Myth: George Washington’s Teeth
The first President of an independent United States, George Washington’s teeth were made from gold, ivory, lead and teeth extracted from animals and slaves. They were not wooden.
Myth: Mary Magdalene was a prostitute
It is not mentioned in the Bible that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. The myth has arisen from the connection of a “sinner” who is forgiven by Jesus (Luke Chapter 7) and the introduction of Mary Magdelene; Mary of Bethany (John Chapter 11); and a Mary “…from whom seven devils Continue Reading