26SMS Emden
In World War 1, a German ship (SMS Emden) made its way to a British colony about 1700 km off the tip of India. The captain of the ship was surprised when he was welcomed. No news of the war had reached the colony. The ship was repaired and restocked, and in thanks, the captain had a local’s boat fixed.
27. When World War 1 began, it was compulsory for all British officers to have a mustache. Poignantly, that edict was revoked in October 1916, because the new recruits were so young that some could not rustle up more than a thin, mousey streak.
28. During World War 1, French commander Joseph Joffre employed professional car racer Georges Boillot to drive him around the conflict zone at blazing speeds.
29. In World War 1, glow worms were gathered and used in lamps to light the trenches. Also, due to their extreme ability to detect particles in the air, slugs were used to detect gas attacks. If the slugs closed their breathing spires and contracted, troops would know to put on their gas masks.
30. During World War 1, French prostitutes with severe cases of syphilis charged higher rates than uninfected prostitutes, because soldiers infected with syphilis were removed from the front line.
Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31Lake Malawi battle
The first battle of World War 1 consisted of a British ship firing a single shot at a German ship on Lake Nyasa (now Lake Malawi) in Africa, and taking the captain "prisoner." The two captains had been drinking buddies for years, and weren't about to let the war ruin it.
32. During World War 1, 'f*cking’ and ‘bloody’ were used as palliatives, so that the order to ‘get your f*cking rifles’ was recognised as considerably less urgent than the order to ‘get your rifles.’
33. During World War 1, all Army recruits underwent intelligence testing, which became the largest mass testing that had ever been attempted. By the end of the war close to 2 million soldiers had been tested. As a result of the tests roughly half of the recruits were classified at or below the level of “moron.”
34. John Monash was an Australian World War 1 general who was so good at organizing battles and overseeing the wellbeing of his troops that during the Battle of Hamel in 1918, he managed to arrange the delivery of hot meals to troops, even up to the front line.
35. During World War 1, the Ottoman government murdered over 1,500,000 Armenians living in their empire. The event coined the word "Genocide". The Armenian Genocide is the second most-studied case of genocide after the Holocaust.
