|
Tiny Brontosaurus posted:The Spartans replied with a single word: "If." That reminds me of this bit An Army general when asked to surrender by the nazis replied quote:The reply was typed up, centered on a full sheet of paper. It read: A link on the story https://www.army.mil/article/92856 A pretty common fact, though. Sorry for the WW2 chat but it ties into this bit. Kind of a stretch in this thread but I think it's a funny story. The TV show Jericho (hasn't aged too well but a pretty good highly underrated show that I recommend watching) finished the first season before it was cancelled with that bit. The main character says that to the bad dude over the radio when asked to surrender. The real event was told as a story earlier by another character. An online community got together and mailed tons and tons of peanuts to the production company or whatever. Because of this they made another season and the first scene of the first episode of the next season has one of the main characters eating peanuts. Nostalgia4Dogges has a new favorite as of 23:42 on Oct 27, 2016 |
#
?
Oct 27, 2016 23:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 29, 2024 02:02 |
|
|
Nostalgia4Dicks posted:That reminds me of this bit I love that story, although I heard he didn't originally say nuts but something more graphically testicular, which was cleaned up in the legend.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2016 23:55
|
|
|
Tiny Brontosaurus posted:I love that story, although I heard he didn't originally say nuts but something more graphically testicular, which was cleaned up in the legend. "December 22, 1944 To the German Commander, Suck my dick you fuckman. The American Commander"
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 02:16
|
|
|
Yes, I received your letter, the one with the request for my surrender, and it made me feel... LIKE A PIECE OF poo poo!
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 02:21
|
|
|
Rutibex posted:It amazes me to this day that the world lets us hold on to all of this land. Canada has twice the land mass of the Roman Empire as its height. I mean honestly, if anyone wanted to take it we couldn't stop them Canada's security is based on a simple arrangement: you're right next to and best buds with the most ludicrously heavily armed nation in the history of mankind. If anyone seriously attempted to invade Canada, your southern neighbors would take over the defense and there's a good chance Canada would just become a dozen or so new stars on the flag afterwards. I'm not sure how many people would really notice the change, either. Geopolitical defense by allying with the biggest military superpower of the age: it worked for the Gauls and it works for you.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 03:34
|
|
|
Yeah, you know that once the southern US gets blighted by global warming and that, sweet, sweet permafrost starts to open up Canada will be given the option of willingly entering the union or forcibly getting annexed.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 03:46
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:Canada's security is based on a simple arrangement: you're right next to and best buds with the most ludicrously heavily armed nation in the history of mankind. If anyone seriously attempted to invade Canada, your southern neighbors would take over the defense and there's a good chance Canada would just become a dozen or so new stars on the flag afterwards. No I'm pretty sure the queen would save us.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 04:09
|
|
|
Rutibex posted:No I'm pretty sure the queen would save us. She will. "They're all yours now, Americans. Treat them well."
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 04:17
|
|
|
Speaking of contemporary first world country invasions don't forget the Falkland Islands war was a thing that happened. Tons of quirky historical facts surrounding that mess
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 05:35
|
|
|
Ooh, these are fun historical plans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Plan_Red https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_Scheme_No._1 Drawn up in the 1920's just in case the U.S. and Canada went to war. The Canadian plan was a surprise temporary invasion to buy time for British help.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 05:42
|
|
|
Phyzzle posted:Ooh, these are fun historical plans: Oh that's really cool! I'd heard of the U.S. "color" War Plans, but I didn't realize that Canada had it's own contingency plan (and formulated before the U.S. plan too!) I wanted to post this on my last lovely post, but the forums went down, so here it is instead. Most English speakers are at least familar with the phrase London Bridge, and the associated nursery rhyme about it. But it turns out there have actually been closer to 3+ "London Bridges." My favorite one is "Old" London Bridge, commissioned by King Henry II, which in sketches actually show that not only was it a transit bridge, but was wide and sturdy enough to support houses and other buildings being constructed upon it. This was a concept that was utterly foreign to me and I thought was a cool example of most pre-modern cities basically using whatever space they could get their hands on for building. Also, "New" London Bridge, which the nursery rhyme is about, actually still exists. It was moved brick for brick to Arizona of all places. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 06:01
|
|
|
iirc the guy in Arizona who bought it thought he was getting Tower Bridge.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 06:10
|
|
|
Baron Corbyn posted:iirc the guy in Arizona who bought it thought he was getting Tower Bridge. And his legend lives on anytime someone says "I have a bridge to sell ya"
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 06:32
|
|
|
Wasn't there a Canadian politician following ww1 who wanted the peace treaty to give them lands from the USA for some reason?
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 07:57
|
|
|
Greatbacon posted:Yeah, you know that once the southern US gets blighted by global warming and that, sweet, sweet permafrost starts to open up Canada will be given the option of willingly entering the union or forcibly getting annexed. When we've used up all our fossil fuels and fracked ourselves dry our greedy eyes will turn North.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 08:58
|
|
|
Tiny Brontosaurus posted:And his legend lives on anytime someone says "I have a bridge to sell ya" According to the wiki link Greatbacon posted, both he and the guy who sold it to him have denied this was the case. I choose to believe that's an attempt to save face cos it's funnier that way.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 09:06
|
|
|
Baron Corbyn posted:According to the wiki link Greatbacon posted, both he and the guy who sold it to him have denied this was the case. I choose to believe that's an attempt to save face cos it's funnier that way. That's really the best approach to history, imo. I've been to that bridge. There's a whole goofy Ye Olde Englande kitsch area built up around it, which is really incongruous with the hordes of Arizona State spring breakers the town caters to.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 09:11
|
|
|
Solice Kirsk posted:"December 22, 1944 Pretty much what happened when the magazine Private Eye was sued for libel: quote:In the case of Arkell v. Pressdram (1971), the plaintiff was the subject of an article relating to illicit payments, and the magazine had ample evidence to back up the article. Arkell's lawyers wrote a letter which concluded: "His attitude to damages will be governed by the nature of your reply." The magazine responded: "We acknowledge your letter of 29th April referring to Mr J. Arkell. We note that Mr Arkell's attitude to damages will be governed by the nature of our reply and would therefore be grateful if you would inform us what his attitude to damages would be, were he to learn that the nature of our reply is as follows: gently caress off."
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 11:00
|
|
Phyzzle posted:Ooh, these are fun historical plans: You know what would be cool is a book or blog that shows you the battle plans prior to the battle, or the overall strategies for war prior to the war, and then the actual results and how these plans played off each other. It sort of gets done for most of the big ones, everyone has heard of the Maginot line, but not always in such great depth. It'd be fascinating to see a whole bunch of really well explained comparisons of just how differing sides evaluated the situation in the fog of war (or in the theoretical stages before the war) and how that worked out.
|
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 11:30
|
|
|
Greatbacon posted:Oh that's really cool! I'd heard of the U.S. "color" War Plans, but I didn't realize that Canada had it's own contingency plan (and formulated before the U.S. plan too!) In Canada we call them the "colour" plans.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 11:52
|
|
|
System Metternich posted:Hitler met Roller again in 1934, when he invited him to the chancellery in Berlin and told "with great mirth" the story of young Hitler not mustering the courage to enter great Professor Roller's office. So the key, when time travel exists, is to go back in time and drag Hitler into the office to meet this guy. Nah. Killing him when he's homeless in Vienna is a lot easier.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 12:02
|
|
|
bean_shadow posted:So the key, when time travel exists, is to go back in time and drag Hitler into the office to meet this guy. Convince Henry Tandey to pull the trigger. Foil kid Hitlers rescue by Johann Kuehberger. Take him on some diversion that keeps him from the river. Or, for the stealthiest solution, knock on his parents door at just the right time to prevent his conception. Platystemon has a new favorite as of 14:38 on Oct 28, 2016 |
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 12:09
|
|
|
Nostalgia4Dicks posted:Speaking of contemporary first world country invasions don't forget the Falkland Islands war was a thing that happened. Tons of quirky historical facts surrounding that mess Well, you need the Falklands. For strategic sheep purposes.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 12:35
|
|
|
Solice Kirsk posted:"December 22, 1944 During the 1600s, the Ottoman Empire was getting their asses kicked by the Zaporozhian Cossacks. Still, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire sent a letter demanding that the cossacks cease resisting and submit to his rule. This was the cossack's reply: quote:Zaporozhian Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan! Russian painter Ilya Repin heard a copy of the original letter read aloud at a party and was inspired to create one of his most famous works. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 14:20
|
|
|
Platystemon posted:Or, for the stealthiest potion, knock on his parents door at just the right time to prevent his conception. British comedian / host Stephen Fry wrote a book about going back in time and poisoning the water and making it so the men in Hitler's town, like Hitler's father, became sterile and Hitler was never conceived. So it turns out a worse dictator comes into power, as that particular moment in time was a perfect storm for producing dictators. ETA: The book is called Making History and here's Fry talking about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Uom7-WKeZA
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 14:36
|
|
|
The 1930s really was a time for "strong men" to rise to power. It doesn't seem unreasonable that another would have taken his place, especially in Weimar Germany.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 14:56
|
|
|
Greatbacon posted:Oh that's really cool! I'd heard of the U.S. "color" War Plans, but I didn't realize that Canada had it's own contingency plan (and formulated before the U.S. plan too!) One of those populated medieval bridges still survives in Florence: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponte_Vecchio
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 15:11
|
|
|
We like to project horrible periods in history onto "great men" because it absolves us of having to take responsibility. Hitler is dead, but Germany still exists. We can't blame the German people in general, and still get along. Hell, IG Farben (the corporation responsible for a lot of the logistics of the holocaust) still operates to this day. If you buy some Bayer Aspirin you are buying drugs from the same company that mass produced Zyklon-B.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 15:13
|
|
|
Hardcordion posted:During the 1600s, the Ottoman Empire was getting their asses kicked by the Zaporozhian Cossacks. Still, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire sent a letter demanding that the cossacks cease resisting and submit to his rule. This was the cossack's reply: and this was the original letter: Sultan Mehmed IV to the Zaporozhian Cossacks: As the Sultan; son of Muhammad; brother of the sun and moon; grandson and viceroy of God; ruler of the kingdoms of Macedonia, Babylon, Jerusalem, Upper and Lower Egypt; emperor of emperors; sovereign of sovereigns; extraordinary knight, never defeated; steadfast guardian of the tomb of Jesus Christ; trustee chosen by God Himself; the hope and comfort of Muslims; confounder and great defender of Christians - I command you, the Zaporogian Cossacks, to submit to me voluntarily and without any resistance, and to desist from troubling me with your attacks. --Turkish sultan Mehmed IV
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 15:20
|
|
|
^^ yeah it really works best as a reply to the original letter, how they poo poo on every single one of his titles ^^Rutibex posted:We like to project horrible periods in history onto "great men" because it absolves us of having to take responsibility. Hitler is dead, but Germany still exists. We can't blame the German people in general, and still get along. Hell, IG Farben (the corporation responsible for a lot of the logistics of the holocaust) still operates to this day. If you buy some Bayer Aspirin you are buying drugs from the same company that mass produced Zyklon-B. No, I'm not absolving anybody, I'm saying that world politics at the time were all about "great men". It's been coming back again in the western world rececntly. It's just been less so in other periods/places. I guess another way of putting it is that "great men" are always "wanted" but there are times where it's easier for them than others.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 15:22
|
|
|
Rutibex posted:We like to project horrible periods in history onto "great men" because it absolves us of having to take responsibility. Hitler is dead, but Germany still exists. We can't blame the German people in general, and still get along. Hell, IG Farben (the corporation responsible for a lot of the logistics of the holocaust) still operates to this day. If you buy some Bayer Aspirin you are buying drugs from the same company that mass produced Zyklon-B. Haha holy poo poo
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 15:27
|
|
|
And they're planning a merger with Monsanto 
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 15:29
|
|
|
Snapchat A Titty posted:The 1930s really was a time for "strong men" to rise to power. It doesn't seem unreasonable that another would have taken his place, especially in Weimar Germany. That's true, but it's a characteristic of dictatorships that their specific nature is strongly dependent on the ruling strongman in question. The Third Reich wasn't possible without Hitler trying to assert his own ideas of what a German state should be like. If it hadn't been Hitler, but, say, Ludendorff as Chancellor (not that this would have been all that likely, seeing that Ludendorff crashed and burned when he tried to be elected president in 1925, but let's just use him as an example), then his government would have acted very differently from Hitler's (Ludendorff was rabidly anti-Catholic, for once). And while it's appealing to see Weimar as a failed state from the get-go, current research says that at least in latter half of the 1920s things weren't looking as bad and might have as well worked out! If the stock market crash of 1929 hadn't been, then Weimar might still have lived. Even afterwards the failure of democracy was likely, but not inevitable. Things rarely are in history.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 15:29
|
|
|
System Metternich posted:That's true, but it's a characteristic of dictatorships that their specific nature is strongly dependent on the ruling strongman in question. The Third Reich wasn't possible without Hitler trying to assert his own ideas of what a German state should be like. If it hadn't been Hitler, but, say, Ludendorff as Chancellor (not that this would have been all that likely, seeing that Ludendorff crashed and burned when he tried to be elected president in 1925, but let's just use him as an example), then his government would have acted very differently from Hitler's (Ludendorff was rabidly anti-Catholic, for once). And while it's appealing to see Weimar as a failed state from the get-go, current research says that at least in latter half of the 1920s things weren't looking as bad and might have as well worked out! If the stock market crash of 1929 hadn't been, then Weimar might still have lived. Even afterwards the failure of democracy was likely, but not inevitable. Things rarely are in history. Yeah, of course. Thorvald Stauning (Denmark) and Roosevelt were other "strong men" but they favored social democratic ideas.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 15:46
|
|
|
Rutibex posted:We like to project horrible periods in history onto "great men" because it absolves us of having to take responsibility. Hitler is dead, but Germany still exists. We can't blame the German people in general, and still get along. Hell, IG Farben (the corporation responsible for a lot of the logistics of the holocaust) still operates to this day. If you buy some Bayer Aspirin you are buying drugs from the same company that mass produced Zyklon-B. and ibm helped with the holocaust: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 15:50
|
|
|
Snapchat A Titty posted:^^ yeah it really works best as a reply to the original letter, how they poo poo on every single one of his titles ^^ Events like Trump are happening for a reason and I think it's important to see why and deal with it instead of having Trump lose and ignoring how he came to power in the first place. Same with Hitler or Stalin. Seeing the environments where they emerged and avoiding them or fixing it instead of thinking Hitler was an isolated incident.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 15:59
|
|
|
Rutibex posted:We like to project horrible periods in history onto "great men" because it absolves us of having to take responsibility. Hitler is dead, but Germany still exists. We can't blame the German people in general, and still get along. Hell, IG Farben (the corporation responsible for a lot of the logistics of the holocaust) still operates to this day. If you buy some Bayer Aspirin you are buying drugs from the same company that mass produced Zyklon-B. "We cant trust these people so we should destroy the most influential of them and disperse the rest to the uninhabitable wilderness." How's the afterlife working for you, Comrade Stalin?
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 16:06
|
|
|
bean_shadow posted:Events like Trump are happening for a reason and I think it's important to see why and deal with it instead of having Trump lose and ignoring how he came to power in the first place. Same with Hitler or Stalin. Seeing the environments where they emerged and avoiding them or fixing it instead of thinking Hitler was an isolated incident. Yeah def. better to prevent that milieu than treat its symptoms.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 16:27
|
|
Rutibex posted:We like to project horrible periods in history onto "great men" because it absolves us of having to take responsibility. Hitler is dead, but Germany still exists. We can't blame the German people in general, and still get along. Hell, IG Farben (the corporation responsible for a lot of the logistics of the holocaust) still operates to this day. If you buy some Bayer Aspirin you are buying drugs from the same company that mass produced Zyklon-B. I live in Berlin and the Bayer building here is like 500 metres from my house. They also kept it up, a few decades ago they were consciously giving HIV to haemophiliacs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contaminated_haemophilia_blood_products http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bayer-sold-hiv-risky-meds/ Not because they wanted to, necessarily, it was just that there was a bunch of money at stake. Presumably they also didn't want to murder a shitload of jews, gypsies, homosexuals, physically/mentally disabled people, etc.. there was just a bunch of money in it. A subsidiary of theirs HC Starck was also heavily criticised for financing the war in the Congo by buying dirty tantalum. A Bayer pesticide is also implicated in bee die-offs, I think. What happened to that "List of controversies" that most big entities have on wikipedia? Do they no longer do that?
|
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 16:57
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 29, 2024 02:02 |
|
|
Hell, just look at the poo poo Nestlé or Coca Cola are doing right now, I suppose their managers also don't go "Excellent, all according to plan" whenever they gently caress up some third world country some more, it's just that they want to/have to maximise profits and minimise expenses  afaik Bayer didn't acto "consciously" though throughout the whole HIV blood products debacle, but instead didn't use a heat treatment on parts of the blood it was using to render the viruses inactive for a variety of reasons (not enough blood plasma to keep up supply of the treated product, doctors initially preferring the old stuff and offical agencies taking their time with authorising the new products). They knew that some of their medicine might (!) be contaminated, but financial and other reasons made it impractical to "sanitise" it beforehand to be sure. I don't know if that's better or worse than consciously selling HIV-contaminated products
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2016 17:22
|
|