History Facts

  It is said that ancient Roman gladiators began their custom of fighting to their end- as a source of entertainment during.. funerals for important Roman people. The event started out from slaves fighting each other for entertainment- to trained fighters in arenas fighting for entertainment and fame. Gladiators were also treated as celebrities or boxers, if you were to look at it from a modern perspective.

  Simo Hayha served as a sniper for Finland when they were defending against the Soviet Union during WW2.  While other snipers were reportedly shot and detected easily for peeking out when using their rifle, Hayha upgraded his rifle with an iron sight for better efficiency. He was also known for putting snow in his mouth to prevent the frosty breath from giving his position away.  Although he was shot in the face and critically wounded on one day, he was saved by his comrades and was comatose till a day after the war ended or so.

  In the 1970s, an upset Soviet fighter pilot was going through a bad time in life- so he decided to steal a MIG-25 Foxbat, which was still being developed in secret. Once he had taken off from the runway, he made it to a neutral civilian airport with just very little fuel and asked for political asylum in exchange for the jet.

  Cher Ami was a homing pigeon who served the Allied Forces in the First World War. Born in England, he was sent to serve the 'Lost Battalion' on the Western Front where, on one occasion, the battalion was pinned down by advancing German forces and also being hit by friendly artillery strikes. During the fight, Cher Ami was sent out with a message to stop the artillery strikes on their position- and was also heavily wounded by shrapnel hitting him in the chest. Eventually, he bravely flew back to base and brought them the message while being badly wounded. Although his message told the base about his battalion's current condition- and saved their lives, Cher Ami had his leg amputated and was severely weakened by the wounds from which he eventually succumbed.

  In July 1917, a dog was seen roaming around the campus of Yale University where coincidentally U.S. soldiers were conducting training drills. He was spotted by one such American soldier, named Corporal James Robert Conroy, who developed a fondness for him and adopted him as "Stubby." From then, Stubby joined him to serve in the First World War and was really helpful to all his friends in the Army. He was now Sgt. Stubby. After the war ended, Stubby was awarded many medals as shown in the image above. But, a general apparently complained about sharing a medal with a dog- and they were taken away.

  After J. Robert Oppenheimer's first nuclear tests (nicknamed the Trinity tests), the United States conducted a second test for their nuclear weapons. But this time in the Marshall Islands- and on an old retired warship from both World Wars- named the U.SS Nevada. Luckily, the warship survived the impact of the nuclear tests on it. Unfortunately, a few years later or so, it was decommissioned after it was finally sunk during a naval training exercise.

  During the last decades of the Soviet Union, they sent and deployed troops to stabilise the communist government in the region of Afghanistan. The Soviets had expected this war to be a push-over and an easy fight- but, it turned out to be disastrous for the Soviet Union. Some people would even say that this was like Vietnam for the Soviets.

  After the Second World War ended, some old warplanes of the Luftwaffe- or, the German Air Force, were given to new owners. These old warplanes and, sometimes even tanks, were given to the Israeli pilots and soldiers.

  On November 26, 2008 Brave commandos from the Indian National Security Guard led by Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan could save all hostages in the Hotel Taj, Mumbai- during the deadly 26/11 attacks. Unfortunately, Major Unnikrishnan was fatally wounded during this rescue mission.

  The A-10 Thunderbird "Warthog" was the U.S.'s most deadly bomber and warplane due to its GAU "Avenger" minigun attached to its front. But, the surprising thing about its gun was that it was made by the same company that makes washing machines. (General Electric)