PYF Historical Fun Fact: (USER LOSETH POSTYNG PRIVILYGES FOR FOUR AND TWENTY HOURS)

The Something Awful Forums > Main > Post Your Favorite: Carefully Curated > PYF Historical Fun Fact: (USER LOSETH POSTYNG PRIVILYGES FOR FOUR AND TWENTY HOURS)

ContinuityNewTimes: Dec 30, 2010; Я выдуман напрочь

BravestOfTheLamps posted:

The star-and-crescent was the symbol of the House of Osman (Ottoman). It became a symbol of Islam in the mid-20th century.

Ironically, it's of pagan origin, representing ancient Turkic gods.

The star and crescent was one of the symbols of Byzantium dating back to pre-roman times

# ¿ Nov 13, 2015 23:58

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 17:52

ContinuityNewTimes: Dec 30, 2010; Я выдуман напрочь

Full circle

# ¿ Nov 13, 2015 23:59

ContinuityNewTimes: Dec 30, 2010; Я выдуман напрочь

Mr Havafap posted:

Aw c'mon thread, don't die..

My favorite historical fact: siege of Paris (1870-71) and ballooning.

So Napoleon III was embarrassingly enough taken prisoner by the Prussians, game over, right?

Not quite, the city of Paris went "gently caress 'im, we're a République now and we'll keep up the fight" and were soon encircled. The city was heavily fortified at the time so not as absurd as it would seem today. Plus they had time to move various industries and ca 400 k troops inside the walls (not food though, see separate chapter on eating dogs, cats, rats and every animal in the zoo).

Left the challenge of communicating with the outside world. Not by telegraph though, the Prussian found and cut the cable.
Cans with mail were dropped in the Seine, which would hopefully be found (none were), and I'm sure semaphores, fireworks and spiritism were on the table.

Someone suggested balloons.

In the end some 65 balloons carrying a total of 164 passengers would eventually make the trip from Paris to wherever they landed, I think I remember the Prussians ~~not catching a single one~~ catching only 5, and of course carrier pigeons who would make return trips to the besieged city (they were definitely off the menu).

Also after the siege of Paris the French government shot or deported several thousand Parisians because Adolphe Thiers was a shithead

# ¿ Dec 19, 2015 08:33

ContinuityNewTimes: Dec 30, 2010; Я выдуман напрочь

Hogge Wild posted:

Well, he was the main guy behind the first assault rifle.

He was a Mexican arms designer??

# ¿ Dec 29, 2015 01:05

ContinuityNewTimes: Dec 30, 2010; Я выдуман напрочь

Tias posted:

Try a bit harder, will you? The dude literally left his kid to die in a prison camp, and his wife shot herself in the head after he humiliated her repeatedly in front of guests.

how about you stick to oi music and leave politics to the grown ups? Heh

# ¿ Jan 1, 2016 12:52

ContinuityNewTimes: Dec 30, 2010; Я выдуман напрочь

Dalris Othaine posted:

Speaking of Charlemagne, he's basically the reason that Ecclesiastical Latin exists.

Dude was Emperor (or whatever, let's not quibble) and really getting into this whole "Christianity" thing. Holidays, divine rights, life everlasting? Great! But he was incredibly concerned that if people were pronouncing the old Latin prayers wrong, then God wouldn't be able to understand them, and everyone would go to Hell or whatever current dogma said would happen. So he established schools and such to teach the proper way to read and write Latin, so everyone (and ideally himself) could get in on that.

The twist?

Charlemagne couldn't read Latin.

You can probably imagine how well that went.

And for a fun fact that's much less likely to have been accidentally made up by me () the Pope has his own Twitter account @Pontifex. He tweets in English and Latin.

Charlemagne couldn't read at all. He was a dumb illiterate motherfucker.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2016 09:18

ContinuityNewTimes: Dec 30, 2010; Я выдуман напрочь

Tasteful Dickpic posted:

Well yeah. That's what scribes are for, man!

He tried! The story i choose to believe because gently caress him is he slept with his study materials under his head so it'd be absorbed and he wouldn't be a dumb idiot anymore.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2016 09:22

ContinuityNewTimes: Dec 30, 2010; Я выдуман напрочь

steinrokkan posted:

Heh, this fucker conquered half of Europe and established the political divisions of the continent for the better part of a millennium... What a retard!

The political divisions of Europe: not retarded

# ¿ Jan 3, 2016 09:57

ContinuityNewTimes: Dec 30, 2010; Я выдуман напрочь

Charlemagne hosed his kids, and also europe

# ¿ Jan 3, 2016 09:58

ContinuityNewTimes: Dec 30, 2010; Я выдуман напрочь

Comrade Koba posted:

Looks like someone bought Empress Irene an account.

If that was true at least I'd have a legitimate imperial title, unlike Karl :agesilaus:

# ¿ Jan 3, 2016 12:43

ContinuityNewTimes: Dec 30, 2010; Я выдуман напрочь

Mans posted:

And yet he was one of the brightest military minds of the time with such a great focus on building a stable and lasting state and logistics behind it that probably weren't seen for centuries before or after in europe.

It's always weird how Charles V came before Charles II :V

Charlemagne: good at breaking things, possibly forever!

# ¿ Jan 3, 2016 22:19

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 17:52

ContinuityNewTimes: Dec 30, 2010; Я выдуман напрочь

Rad Gravity posted:

Yeah gently caress him for breaking the peaceful European community of the eight century

I'm sure the Saxons and Lombards appreciated his peacemaking

# ¿ Jan 3, 2016 22:35

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