Having had a relaxing day doing what I like doing most; absorbing even more facts, trivia and obscure information, I thought I would share some of my new knowledge. So here are my ten facts for the day:
- Vladimir Putin, when trying to ensure his preferred candidate won the Ukrainian presidential election, sent some of his advisers. Amongst the tactics employed was to send a circus to wherever their main rival was speaking so that many people would go to the circus instead.
- The British Army have a beef sandwich with a two-year shelf life.
- If a British soldier was diagnosed with a STD during World War One that prevented him with fighting, he had his pay docked while he was recovering.
- Fray Bentos brand corned beef is named after the town in Uruguay where the beef was processed.
- During the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) the population of the various small states that make up modern-day Germany fell by 25-40% due to a combination of fighting, disease and famine.
- Wilhelm II of Germany (the Kaiser of World War One) sacked Otto von Bismarck, probably the greatest statesmen of the 19th Century, after Bismarck showed him a letter from Tsar Alexander III of Russia, which described Wilhelm as the equivalent of a spoilt brat.
- The British shipped 6,000 tonnes a day of hay and oats during 1917 from Britain to France to feed the horses.
- In Sweden everybody’s tax return is a matter of public record.
- China has lent Angola US$4bn to build new infrastructure with the loan repaid in oil.
- During the early stages of the current Afghanistan War, America’s local allies often rode into battle on horses while being supported by the most modern jet bombers.
Nick
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