26CIA's Organizational Sabotage Guide
In 1944, the CIA created a manual on sabotaging organizations. Among other things, it suggests "make speeches... at great length," "refer all matters to committees," "make committees as large as possible," and "insist on perfect work in relatively unimportant products."
27. Armed with a knife, United States Army soldier Roy Benavidez went to assist a 12-man Special Forces team, surrounded by 1,000 NVA soldiers, and provided cover fire. Having sustained 37 bayonet, bullet, and shrapnel wounds, they evacuated him after the battle. They presumed him dead and placed him in a body bag, only to find him alive later.
28. In the original script of Rocky V, Rocky is so beaten from his fight with Tommy that he rests his head on Adrian's lap while on the way to the hospital and dies. Stallone apparently wept when he wrote that scene.
29. Henry Ford is the only American mentioned favorably in "Mein Kampf." For his antisemitic writing, Ford also received the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest medal Nazi Germany bestowed upon foreigners.
30. The son of Warren Buffett, the sixth richest person in the world, thought that his dad's job was checking security alarm systems as a kid. He had no idea what his dad did for a living, and he had no idea that he was really, really rich.
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31Secret Military Unit Escapade
South Korea trained a secret military unit, Unit 684, to assassinate North Korea's leader. The unit recruited civilians to an island, where their harsh training resulted in the deaths of seven members. Desperate to escape, the unit revolted in 1971, killing 18 guards in the process of escaping to mainland South Korea.
32. In 2023, a 45-year-old Belgian man named David Baerten faked his own death but then showed up to his own funeral to teach his family a "life lesson." He was reportedly dismayed that his family had grown apart.
33. In 1945, two years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, the Boston Red Sox held a sham "tryout" for him and other black players. Red Sox management shouted racial slurs from the stands and humiliated the players. The Red Sox would eventually be the last MLB team to racially integrate.
34. Roger Waters fired Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright from the band during the production of the album "The Wall," but he continued to work as a salaried musician. Wright remained on salary for the album's elaborate tour and was thus the only member of the band to profit from it, which lost about £400,000.
35. George Washington had to borrow money to travel to New York City for his presidential inauguration. Despite owning 60,000 acres and 300 slaves, he had very little cash, and part of the reason he took the job was for the salary.
