The first practical guided missile was actually a torpedo in the 1880s that was powered by wires getting pulled out the the back of it. It was designed by an Australian and used by the British for costal defense. Two steam engines on land would each pull a wire that was wrapped around drums in the torpedo which in turn would power the contra-rotating propellers. If you wanted the torpedo to change direction you would slow down one wire which in turn would slow down one of the propellers.

Wiki link

Here's a really good youtube video explaining how it worked.

The Magnificent Eleven is a series of Photographs by Robert Capa who went in on D-Day on Omaha beach in one of the early waves. He claimed he took 109 total photos, but a lab error burnt up all by 11 (though there is dispute on that fact).

His photos are some of the most iconic on D-Day:

agracer said:

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Maybe posted already, but the US Marines had more casualties on Iwo Jima than the Japanese did. Only battle the USMC has fought where this occurred.

USMC
Main battle phase:
6,821 dead
19,217 wounded
2 captured
2,648 fatigued
137 tanks destroyed
28,698 total

Japanese
Main battle phase:
17,84518,375 KIA/MIA
216 prisoners

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What's the Jap number supposed to be? 1.7 billion seems high.

The HMS Seraph was a submarine that served in several special missions during WWII. One of which was Operation Kingpin, which was to "secretly take aboard French General Henri Giraud, his son, and three staff officers for a meeting with Eisenhower in Gibraltar, with the intention to enlist the support of the pro-Vichy forces at Oran and Casablanca to the Allied cause. ...because Giraud flatly refused to deal with the British, and there was no US boat within 3,000 miles (4,800 km), HMS Seraph briefly became the "USS Seraph", flying the US Navy ensign...In the spirit of things the British crew affected American accents that they imitated from the movies. However, it fooled nobody including Giraud, who had been told of the deception by Wright.

Due to her special nature, when she was decommissioned in 1962, the conning tower and a torpedo loading hatch were preserved as a memorial at The Citadel in Charleston, South Caroline. Eisenhower's Deputy - General Clark- was aboard the ship during Operation Flagpole, which carried him to North Africa for secret negotiations with Vichy French officers. Clark was the President of the Citadel from 1954-1965.

This monument is the only shore installation in the United States where the Royal Navy ensign is authorised to be permanently flown by the British Admiralty. It flies alongside the US flag to commemorate Anglo-American cooperation during World War II.

Seraph also carried "The Man Who Never Was" - Operation Mincemeat.

At first glance I thought her arms were of a werewolf

True:

Quote:

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It was in fact the humble chilli which made Christopher Columbus, who discovered America, falsely believe that he had indeed found India. The legendary explorer and navigator had set out in his flagship Santa Maria in quest for the exotic spices in India. However, he mistook chilli for pepper because of its spiciness and heat. This must be the reason why Columbus called it the chilli pepper. Like the bell pepper and tomato, chilli too belongs to the Solanaceae family.

Fiery travels

Christopher Columbus, who set out from Spain in search of India, in 1492, is the first European to have encountered the chilli. When he returned to Spain, Columbus didn't forget to carry some of the chilli plants as well. In the beginning, chilli was mainly grown in the botanical gardens of the Spanish monasteries. Later, it was used in various dishes as a substitute for pepper. During those days, pepper had incredible trade value and was even used as currencies in many countries. Chilli, however, soon became the cheap substitute for the exclusive and expensive pepper. From Spain, the chilli then travelled to Italy and was hugely cultivated in Calabria, a southern Italian province. It was the Portuguese traders who introduced chilli to south Asia.

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There are over 1,000 mine fires burning in the world, most in China. Most are the result of coal seams running through the ground. In the US, the Comstock mine in Nevada has been burning since 1869. But the longest burning one seems to be at Burning Mountain in NSW Australia, which has been burning for over 6,000 years, only 100m below the surface. That fire is moving south at about 3 feet per year.

The last casualties of WW1 happened in 2014.

And yes, they can absolutely still explode. As recently as 2014, two construction workers in Belgium were killed when they disturbed an unexploded shell, technically making them the last casualties of WW1.

— The Critical Drinker (@TheCriticalDri2) January 12, 2025

Last, or latest?

I had posted earlier in the thread somewhere about the "Iron Harvest" in Belgium each year, averaging over 150 tons.

https://theworld.org/stories/2023/08/04/iron-harvest-belgian-team-unearths-unexploded-ammunition-wwi

Soil shrinks when dry, and swells when wet. Near the top, it also swells during a frost, if there is enough water and cold enough.

So imagine a big rock in a field. Every time the soil moves, a little soil is disturbed and sifts underneath the rock. Over time, the rocks tend to move up, as more and more soil sifts underneath.

Once they get high enough, yes, a plow can hit them and pull them the rest of the way up. But most plowing is in about the top 6 inches of soil.

CanyonAg77 said:

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Soil shrinks when dry, and swells when wet. Near the top, it also swells during a frost, if there is enough water and cold enough.

So imagine a big rock in a field. Every time the soil moves, a little soil is disturbed and sifts underneath the rock. Over time, the rocks tend to move up, as more and more soil sifts underneath.

Once they get high enough, yes, a plow can hit them and pull them the rest of the way up. But most plowing is in about the top 6 inches of soil.

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Murray M-i-l-f-ord would be proud of you

Fascinating! The far eastern reaches of Russia have always intrigued me. Some very remote places out there with interesting history attached.

Civil War surgery with chloroform could be tricky. Application of too much during surgery could be a death sentence in itself. That is why after surgery was complete, an attendant would start fanning the patient's face to increase their intake of oxygen and get them to wake up. If they took too long to wake up, more chloroform would be applied by a doctor but not to their mouth, rather to their scrotum. The quick evaporation of the chemical would cause an instant cold, causing the patient to suck in his breath. Sort of like jumping into a cold lake.

BQ78 said:

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Civil War surgery with chloroform could be tricky. Application of too much during surgery could be a death sentence in itself. That is why after surgery was complete, an attendant would start fanning the patient's face to increase their intake of oxygen and get them to wake up. If they took too long to wake up, more chloroform would be applied by a doctor but not to their mouth, rather to their scrotum. The quick evaporation of the chemical would cause an instant cold, causing the patient to suck in his breath. Sort of like jumping into a cold lake.

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so the first use of icy hot on the ballz