History

PCs in the 80s and 90s often had a "Turbo" button which when pressed would counterintuitively slow down the processor speed to allow compatibility with older games designed for slower processors. November 27, 2020

Only around 2000 people attended Genghis Khan's funeral. They were then killed by the army in order to never reveal the location of his tomb. That army was later killed as well by Khan's funeral escort. November 21, 2020

In 1917 when Shackleton found rescue from a doomed expedition he took to the Antarctic in August, 1914, he asked how the war turned out. The answer was "the war isn't over. Millions are dead. Europe is mad. The world is mad." November 21, 2020

When Germany invaded Belgium in World War I, King Albert I took personal command of the Belgian Army. He led his army for 4 years, fighting alongside his troops, while his wife, Queen Elisabeth, worked as a nurse at the front. His 12 year-old son, the Crown Prince, also fought in the ranks November 17, 2020

Dwight D. Eisenhower wanted to attend his son John's graduation from West Point, but was unable to do so because he was "a bit too busy with work." On graduation day - June 6, 1944 - the elder Eisenhower was overseeing the Allied invasion of Normandy. November 12, 2020

Wartime psychoanalysts correctly predicted of Hitler that: As the war turns against him, his emotions will intensify and will have outbursts more frequently. His public appearances will become much rarer, because he's unable to face a critical audience November 8, 2020

When the Union abandoned a fort in Florida, they left behind a single soldier as caretaker. When the Confederacy marched on the fort, the lone soldier refused to surrender without a receipt for the fort. He received one, and the fort was taken without a shot fired. October 16, 2020

The US may have adopted the metric system if pirates hadn't kidnapped Joseph Dombey, the French scientist sent to help Thomas Jefferson persuade Congress to adopt the system. May 24, 2019

During WWI, cotton was in high demand for the manufacture of uniforms and explosives. For bandages, doctors turned to using sphagnum moss. It can hold up to 22 times its own weight in liquid -- twice as absorptive as cotton. The moss is also antiseptic, making the surrounding environment acidic May 2, 2019

Check out Doug Hegdahl, a POW during the Vietnam War, who memorized the names, dates of capture, method of capture and personal details of 256 fellow POWs to the tune of "Old MacDonald Had A Farm." He can still recite it to this day. April 19, 2019

Check out May Bradford, a Red Cross volunteer during WWI who wrote over 25,000 letters and notes, an average of 12 a day, for wounded soldiers who were too ill or too uneducated to write to their family. She also sat with the injured and dying and considered herself to be a surrogate mother to them. April 4, 2019

The German military manual states that a military order is not binding if it is not "of any use for service," or cannot reasonably be executed. Soldiers must not obey unconditionally, the government wrote in 2007, but carry out "an obedience which is thinking.". April 3, 2019

Genghis Khan exempted the poor, teachers, artists, and lawyers from taxes, encouraged literacy, and established freedom of religion across his empire. He also forbade the selling of women and the hunting of animals during their breeding season. April 2, 2019

When Robert E Lee and the Confederate army surrendered, Union soldiers saluted them and gave them rations (the confederate soldiers were starving). Normally victorious armies would taunt defeated ones, but Ulysses S Grant respected the Confederates and ordered that they be treated well. March 27, 2019

The Pearl Harbor memorial development had slowed to a halt, only for Elvis to jump in and contribute 50,000 dollars through his "Aloha from Hawaii" benefit concert. March 11, 2019

India's army reportedly spent six months watching "Chinese spy drones" violating its air space, only to find out they were actually Jupiter and Venus. March 6, 2019