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Mental_floss is marking 11/11/11 by posting lists of 11 things all day long! It’s also Veterans Day, so what better time to learn about some heroes that you might not otherwise know, like eleven women of various nations who served in World War II. One was Nancy Wake, a New Zealand native who was living in France when Germany invaded.
Wake immediately went to work for the French resistance, hiding and smuggling men out of France and ferrying contraband supplies and falsified documents. She was once captured and interrogated for days, but gave no secrets away. With the Nazis in hot pursuit, Wake managed to escape to Britain in 1943, and joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a British intelligence agency. After training with weapons and parachutes, she was airdropped back into France -as an official spy and warrior. Wake had no trouble shooting Nazis or blowing up buildings with the French guerrilla fighters known as maquis in the service of the resistance. She once killed an SS sentry with her bare hands.
Read what happened to Wake and ten others in this list of eleven at mental_floss. Link
It’s one thing to be a hero who kills hundreds of enemy soldiers in battle, but to become a hero without even using a weapon -now that’s impressive. Cracked has a great list of heroes who fought the good fight without ever handling a gun. Take, for example, Bill Millin who played bagpipes at the battle of Normandy.
So, he ordered his piper, Bill Millin, to go ashore on one of the main landing points for the invasion of Normandy and wail on a set of bagpipes. Once on the beach, Millin calmly walked up and down at the water’s edge, playing while carnage exploded and people died all around him….Millin later talked to some of the Germans who had been captured to ask why they never shot him, and discovered it was because they thought he had gone mad.
The other four fighters are just as impressive.
If superheros were to start their own nations, then these flags would be ideal ways for each of the respective heroes to display their pride in their respective countries. How many can you recognize?
This image is available as a print by creator Fabian Gonzalez.
Link Via Laughing Squid
When Spider-Man starts inspiring court rules and world-renowned chemists begin taking cues from Donald Duck, you know it’s time to look at the funny pages a little more seriously…
1. Superman Defeats the Ku Klux Klan
In the 1940s, The Adventures of Superman was a radio sensation. Kids across the country huddled around their sets as the Man of Steel leapt off the page and over the airwaves. Although Superman had been fighting crime in print since 1938, the weekly audio episodes fleshed out his storyline even further. It was on the radio that Superman first faced kryptonite, met The Daily Planet reporter Jimmy Olsen, and became associated with “truth, justice, and the American way.” So, it’s no wonder that when a young writer and activist named Stetson Kennedy decided to expose the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan, he looked to a certain superhero for inspiration.
In the post-World War II era, the Klan experienced a huge resurgence. Its membership was skyrocketing, and its political influence was increasing, so Kennedy went undercover to infiltrate the group. By regularly attending meetings, he became privy to the organization’s secrets. But when he took the information to local authorities, they had little interest in using it. The Klan had become so powerful and intimidating that police were hesitant to build a case against them. Struggling to make use of his findings, Kennedy approached the writers of the Superman radio serial. It was perfect timing. With the war over and the Nazis no longer a threat, the producers were looking for a new villain for Superman to fight. The KKK was a great fit for the role. In a 16-episode series titled “Clan of the Fiery Cross,” the writers pitted the Man of Steel against the men in white hoods. As the storyline progressed, the shows exposed many of the KKK’s most guarded secrets. By revealing everything from code words to rituals, the program completely stripped the Klan of its mystique. Within two weeks of the broadcast, KKK recruitment was down to zero. And by 1948, people were showing up to Klan rallies just to mock them.
2. Popeye Helps America Survive the Great Depression
Everyone knows Popeye’s secret. Whenever the cartoon sailor is on the verge of losing a fight, he squeezes open a can of spinach, pours the greens down his throat, and uses his supercharged muscles to pummel opponents. But fewer people know that the U.S. government is directly responsible for his dependence on canned vegetables.
In the 1930s, America was mired in the Great Depression, and the government was looking for a way to promote iron-rich spinach as a meat substitute. To help spread the word, they hired one of America’s favorite celebrities, Popeye the Sailor Man. It was a smart plan. In all of the comic strips to that point, Popeye’s superhuman strength had never been explained. But with the government’s campaign in place, Popeye was suddenly more than willing to share the secret to his strength. Sure enough, soon after Popeye took up spinach, American sales of the mighty veggie increased by one-third. Better still, American children rated it their third favorite food, right after turkey and ice cream.
But it wasn’t just spinach the government was endorsing. They were also pushing the merits of canned food. U.S. officials wanted Americans to know that cans were the perfect way to stock up on emergency rations.
While Popeye should be applauded for persuading a nation to eat its greens, he did mislead people a bit. The government’s enthusiasm for spinach was based in part on the calculations of German scientist Dr. E von Wolf, who’d discovered in 1870 that spinach contains iron. When calculating the results, he misplaced a decimal point, thereby making it “official” that spinach had 10 times more iron than it actually did. Not until years later were these figures rechecked. But by then, everyone was downing their spinach, hoping to be as tough as Popeye.
3. Captain Marvel Jr. Saves the Bad-Hair Day
more …
The blog named Let’s Get Jiggy with Civil War Dudes! features individual soldiers of the Civil War, highlighting their magnificent names, their accomplishments, and their manly facial hair. Pictured is Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox.
He lived during a time when mustaches could be mustaches, and not simply a means to mask a scrawny hipster’s weak chin and acne scars.
Behold the awesomeness of Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana, Bushrod Johnson, Absalom Baird, John Sappington Marmaduke, and others. All feature links to further information. Link -via Metafilter
Remember, remember the fifth of November… Oh yes, this is Guy Fawkes Day! In the 400 years that have passed since the Gunpowder Plot, a lot of the historical details of the story have become garbled in popular culture, and many people don’t know the story at all. But Guy Fawkes is not the only English folk hero. Oh you know King Arthur and Robin Hood, but have you ever heard the story of Jan Tregeagle?
Aside from having a hilariously awesome name, Jan Tregeagle was definitely a magistrate in the 17th century who was so much of a jerk that stories circulated claiming he made a pact with the devil. And murdered his wife. And that he supposedly rose to power by stealing an estate from an orphan.
Geekosystem has his story, as well as those of nine other folk heroes from English history. Link
You know them, you love them, but you might not know the complete background stories of your favorite science fiction authors, actors, and producers. John Farrier looked deep and saw that many of them were actual heroes, serving their countries in time of war. You know about Kurt Vonnegut’s war experience, as he wrote about it in Slaughterhouse Five, but others never mentioned their military stints. Find out about five of them at NeatoGeek. Link
There’s a spot above a rocky cliff at Sydney Harbour called The Gap. Since the 19th Century, countless people have ended their lives there. But Don Ritchie, who has lived at that location for fifty years, has made his life’s work to stand watch and invite people to choose life. According to the official count, he’s saved one hundred and sixty lives:
In those bleak moments when the lost souls stood atop the cliff, wondering whether to jump, the sound of the wind and the waves was broken by a soft voice. “Why don’t you come and have a cup of tea?” the stranger would ask. And when they turned to him, his smile was often their salvation.[...]
In his younger years, he would occasionally climb the fence to hold people back while Moya called the police. He would help rescue crews haul up the bodies of those who couldn’t be saved. And he would invite the rescuers back to his house afterward for a comforting drink.
It all nearly cost him his life once. A chilling picture captured decades ago by a local news photographer shows Ritchie struggling with a woman, inches from the edge. The woman is seen trying to launch herself over the side — with Ritchie the only thing between her and the abyss. Had she been successful, he would have gone over, too.
These days, he keeps a safer distance. The council installed security cameras this year and the invention of mobile phones means someone often calls for help before he crosses the street.
But he remains available to lend an ear, though he never tries to counsel, advise or pry. He just gives them a warm smile, asks if they’d like to talk and invites them back to his house for tea. Sometimes, they join him.
Link via Glenn Reynolds | Photo: AP/Jeremy Piper
History is full of events that would have ended quite differently if some previously unknown person (or animal, in one case) hadn’t seized an opportunity. Here are four such stories.
The slave you don’t mess with in Texas
Big Tex may owe its independence day to a small slave named Emily West. According to some sources, when Mexico’s General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna marched into the area in 1836, Emily noticed him leering at her.She dispatched another servant to warn the Texas army of Santa Anna’s battle plans and stayed behind to exploit the general’s weakness. On the morning of Sam Houston’s attack, she distracted Santa Anna between the sheets, leaving his army leaderless and ineffective against the much smaller Texan force. When Emily’s owner learned of her bravery and sacrifice, he freed her, and Emile (known as the Yellow Rose of Texas) lived out the rest of her life as a free woman.
The soldier who took out an entire army
During the war of Spanish succession, the French army had nearly taken the citadel at Turin, in present-day Italy.But then an undistinguished Italian soldier named Pietro Micca devised a clever plan. In the tunnel where the French had made their breach, Micca armed a mine, lured the French closer, and then blew himself up along with his enemies. The event turned the tide of the battle and, ultimately the war. It’s now thought that Micca didn’t intend to sacrifice himself, but there’s a museum in Turin named after him anyway.
The beverage vendor who helped Buddha reach Enlightenment
Before achieving Enlightenment, Siddhartha Gautama explored the extremes of hedonism and asceticism. For the latter, he meditated alone in a cave for 40 days and emerged nearly dead from starvation. Upon seeing him, a local village girl named Sujata approached Siddhartha and offered him some milk and rice pudding. The meager sustenance gave him the energy to walk to the tree under which he meditated and achieved Enlightenment. Although the story is likely apocryphal, it’s possible that Sujata was the most important beverage vendor in history.
The mole that made a mountain
When William of Orange and his wife assumed the English, Irish, and Scottish thrones in 1689, the Jacobites labored to overthrow him and restore the House fo Stuart. But what a gang of ornery Scotsmen couldn’t accomplish, one proud ittle mole did. Legend has it that a clump of dirt created by the rodent’s burrow tripped William’s horse, throwing the rider off and shattering his royal collarbone. As he tried to recover, William caught pneumonia and eventually died. Amazingly, the mole’s hard work was not forgotten. For years, the Jacobites continues to toast the “Little Gentleman in Black Velvet” who helped eliminate their nemesis.
Image credits: Flickr user TakenByTina, Flickr user el patojo, and Wikipedia user Mikiwikipikidikipedia.
The article above, written by Graeme Wood, appeared in Scatterbrained section of the Mar – Apr 2008 issue of mental_floss magazine (the excellent “The Future of Sex” issue!). It is reprinted here with permission.
Don’t forget to feed your brain by subscribing to the magazine and visiting mental_floss‘ extremely entertaining website and blog today!
Cracked has five fascinating stories of regular Joes who rose to the occasion wikth a spur-of-the-moment decision to take action. Some risked life and limb to save others, and then there’s Scot Halpin, who lived every young musician’s dream at a concert in 1973.
After 70 minutes of playing, Keith slumped over his drums. A cold shower and shot of cortisone later, and he was back on stage… where he quickly passed out again. Noticing the conspicuous lack of bitchin’ drum solos, Pete Townsend asked if there was anyone in the crowd who could play drums.
Scot Halpin, 19, hadn’t played the drums for nearly a year. Nonetheless he bravely stepped up and… stood by while his friend screamed, “He can play!” The concert promoter took notice, and, after a shot of brandy (with a conspicuous lack of tranquillizer chaser) Scot found himself on stage, behind the drums, playing for The Who.
Link -via Gorilla Mask
While I was on vacation this Christmas, I was lucky enough to grab the newest article of Rolling Stone and read “The Legend of Master Legend.” I haven’t read anything so funny in a long time.
I highly recommend reading this brilliant article that details the exploits of real life superheroes. Their main focus is on the man on the right in the photo, his name is Master Legend and he makes his own weapons to fight crime. And he give socks to homeless people to help fight staph infections.
While their hearts are in the right place, I have to believe there’s less insane ways to save the world. Still, it’s hard to resist adoring their great stories:
There was the time Master Legend and the Ace shut down a crack den; the drug kingpin they put out of business; the money Master Legend forcibly retrieved from a thief who stole from a handicapped Vietnam vet; and the recent mission when the Justice Force had to “put the stomp on a child molester and his gang of crackheads.” They had a plan, but things went awry when Master Legend’s brother was captured in the thick of battle by the child molester, whom they call Tree Man Roy.
UPDATE: For more pictures and a touch more info from the author of the article itself, be sure to visit this link.
