Interesting Wikipedia articles?
Discussion
glazbagun said:
Something I read every so often- HMS Dreadought, a ship which made all others obsolete overnight and started an arms race.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dreadnought_(190...
Also the only battleship ever to sink a submarine (outside of the Steven Segal masterpiece 'Under Siege' )https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dreadnought_(190...
glazbagun said:
Amazingly, she only served for sixteen years.
Quite an incredible period for arms expenditure- with each subsequent class getting bigger, heavier and more costly, with some of the later Dreadnoughts in service for as little as 7-8 years before being decommissioned and scrapped after the Washington Naval Conference in the early 1920s. Dreadnought herself was arguably obsolete within a few years of being launched, such was the pace of development at the time.They were the ultimate super-weapons of the period though, every nation wanted/needed them, but the risk of losing them was such that they were barely used for their intended purpose. As Churchill famously described Admiral Jellicoe (while in charge of the British Grand Fleet during WW1); 'He was the only man on either side who could lose the war in an afternoon'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown
The events at Jonestown constituted the greatest single losses of American civilian life in a deliberate act until the incidents of September 11, 2001.[147]
The events at Jonestown constituted the greatest single losses of American civilian life in a deliberate act until the incidents of September 11, 2001.[147]
glazbagun said:
Robert Smalls, born a slave in Confederate America and hired out by his master, stole a ship and piloted it to the Union. He helped persuade Lincoln to let blacks fight for the union, was given a share of the price for the ship he comandeered and, after serving as a captain in the Union navy, bought his former masters house post-war. Then he ran for congress and won a seat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smalls
I am surprised there was room on the boat for his massive, massive balls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smalls
Returning to buy your old masters house, and then allowing his widow to live in it has a certain amount of class as well.
Mao's many months of mango madness
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_Zedong#.22Mango_...
The article on the Cultural Revolution is very interesting - very hard to believe it all happened in 'modern' times.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_Zedong#.22Mango_...
The article on the Cultural Revolution is very interesting - very hard to believe it all happened in 'modern' times.
robmarshh said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown
The events at Jonestown constituted the greatest single losses of American civilian life in a deliberate act until the incidents of September 11, 2001.[147]
I'd never heard of that.The events at Jonestown constituted the greatest single losses of American civilian life in a deliberate act until the incidents of September 11, 2001.[147]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen%27s_rule
Populations raised in hot climates have longer limbs than those from cold climates.
Populations raised in hot climates have longer limbs than those from cold climates.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Pujol_Garcia
Juan Pujol Garcia was a double agent who was awarded both the German Iron Cross and the Member of the British Empire award
Juan Pujol Garcia was a double agent who was awarded both the German Iron Cross and the Member of the British Empire award
Veeayt said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Pujol_Garcia
Juan Pujol Garcia was a double agent who was awarded both the German Iron Cross and the Member of the British Empire award
There's a very good novel based on what he got up to: The Eldorado Network by Derek Robinson. By all accounts the true story was no less crazy than the fiction... Juan Pujol Garcia was a double agent who was awarded both the German Iron Cross and the Member of the British Empire award
uncinqsix said:
There's a very good novel based on what he got up to: The Eldorado Network by Derek Robinson. By all accounts the true story was no less crazy than the fiction...
Double Cross by Ben Macintyre is well worth a read too, as are his two other books in this series (Agent ZigZag and Operation Mincemeat).I found out (through reading the above) that one of WW2's finest spies (Eddie Chapman - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Chapman) landed his parachute only a few miles from our house in Littleport, Cambridgeshire. I drive past the spot most days!
Hooli said:
robmarshh said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown
The events at Jonestown constituted the greatest single losses of American civilian life in a deliberate act until the incidents of September 11, 2001.[147]
I'd never heard of that.The events at Jonestown constituted the greatest single losses of American civilian life in a deliberate act until the incidents of September 11, 2001.[147]
Nuclear Football
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_football
The Norwegian Rocket Incident
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_rocket_inc...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_football
The Norwegian Rocket Incident
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_rocket_inc...
glazbagun said:
Something I read every so often- HMS Dreadought, a ship which made all others obsolete overnight and started an arms race.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dreadnought_(190...
Amazingly, she only served for sixteen years. The first 50 years of the 20th century must really have been a terrible time to live in Europe.
The driving force behind Dreadnought was Admiral Fisher who had started his naval career on board HMS Victory - as in Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dreadnought_(190...
Amazingly, she only served for sixteen years. The first 50 years of the 20th century must really have been a terrible time to live in Europe.
dub16v said:
Double Cross by Ben Macintyre is well worth a read too, as are his two other books in this series (Agent ZigZag and Operation Mincemeat).
I found out (through reading the above) that one of WW2's finest spies (Eddie Chapman - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Chapman ) landed his parachute only a few miles from our house in Littleport, Cambridgeshire. I drive past the spot most days!
Fixed that link for you. Interesting article. I found out (through reading the above) that one of WW2's finest spies (Eddie Chapman - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Chapman ) landed his parachute only a few miles from our house in Littleport, Cambridgeshire. I drive past the spot most days!
LiquidGnome said:
Not sure if this has been done already...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyatlov_Pass_inciden...
The Dyatlov Pass incident was an event that took the lives of nine hikers in mysterious circumstances on the night of February 2, 1959 in the northern Ural Mountains. The name Dyatlov Pass refers to the name of the group's leader, Igor Dyatlov.
It has, I think that one was covered in the first couple of pages.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyatlov_Pass_inciden...
The Dyatlov Pass incident was an event that took the lives of nine hikers in mysterious circumstances on the night of February 2, 1959 in the northern Ural Mountains. The name Dyatlov Pass refers to the name of the group's leader, Igor Dyatlov.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_E-4
US Airborne Command Center, makes Air Force One look a bit simple...
US Airborne Command Center, makes Air Force One look a bit simple...
As he has just sadly passed away: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Brown_(pilot)
Proper, old school British hero and all round top chap. RIP.
Proper, old school British hero and all round top chap. RIP.
WreckedGecko said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_E-4
US Airborne Command Center, makes Air Force One look a bit simple...
My reading is that all of these planes are Air Force One, except they only have that name when the Prez is on board. US Airborne Command Center, makes Air Force One look a bit simple...
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff