Jimmy Stewart Flew Combat Missions
Before becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Jimmy Stewart served in the U.S. military during World War II. He reportedly had to gain weight before being accepted for service and eventually flew 20 combat missions.
Hitler, Stalin, Freud and Trotsky Were All in Vienna at the Same Time
In 1913, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky and Sigmund Freud were all living in Vienna. According to the Reddit discussion, several lived within walking distance of one another, although there is no evidence that they ever met.
The British Government Accidentally Had a Very Bad Pet Policy
In 1939, around 400,000 cats and dogs were reportedly killed by their owners amid fears about food shortages during World War II. The episode became known as the British pet massacre and remains one of the stranger stories from the beginning of the war.
The Third Deadliest War in History Was Started by a Religious Leader
The Taiping Rebellion in China lasted from 1850 to 1864 and resulted in an enormous death toll. Its leader, Hong Xiuquan, believed he was the younger brother of Jesus and sought to overthrow the Qing dynasty and establish a new religious state.
A Giant Squid Was Reportedly Responsible for a Death
After the British ship Britannia sank, survivors reported that a giant squid attacked their raft and pulled one man underwater. The story was initially dismissed as unbelievable, but an injured lieutenant reportedly had scars that marine experts considered consistent with a giant squid attack.
Some Phones Originally Had No Way to Ring
The earliest telephones did not have a ringing mechanism to alert owners that someone was calling. According to the thread, it took another year or two after the first telephone systems appeared to develop a practical way of producing an audible alert.
