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  • During the Rape of Nanking, Indiana native Minnie Vautrin and the staff at her missionary college used a combination of diplomacy and deception to save more than 10,000 women and children from the wrath of the invading Japanese army.


    (thanks to Ha Jin's novel Nanjing Requiem for this stunning revelation- in China she is still famous as The Goddess of Mercy, while in America she is all but unknown)
    https://www.facebook.com/authorpatriciacorrell/

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    • Not quite WW2 trivia, but how about Band of Brothers trivia?

      -Almost all the main actors were cast because of their close physical resemblance to the real-life soldiers they were portraying.

      -Despite what was suggested in the third episode, Pvt. Albert Blithe did not die in 1948. Fellow Easy Company Currahee veterans had thought that Blithe did not recover from his neck wound and had died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1948. He in fact recovered and served several tours in Korea and Taiwan. He died in 1967; due to kidney failure.

      -The actors endured a grueling ten day boot camp where they learned the basics, from how to wear a uniform and stand at attention, to sophisticated field tactics and parachute jump training. The average day was 16 hours long, beginning at 5:00 a.m., rain or shine, with strenuous calisthenics and a three-to-five-mile run, followed by hours of tactical training, including weapons handling and jump preparation.

      -By the third episode of shooting, the special effects department had used more pyrotechnics than were used in the entire production of Saving Private Ryan

      -In "Day Of Days" when the company first attacks the German gun position at Brecourt, there appears to be some kind of cinematic error when it looks as though an American soldier throws a grenade and it explodes upon hitting a fleeing German soldier. Grenades don't explode on contact; they have timed fuses. However, this actually happened: 'Buck Compton' had been an All-American catcher for UCLA and threw that grenade at the enemy with no arc and it exploded as soon as it struck.

      -Damian Lewis (Dick Winters) showed up for his audition with a really bad hangover, having been partying heavily the night before and only having three hours sleep.

      -A heavy day of filming required up to 14,000 rounds of ammunition

      -"Currahee" is the American aboriginal Cherokee Indian equivalent for "Stands Alone". The original members of the 506th were trained at Currahee Mountain Georgia. "Currahee" was the cry of the 506th paratroopers as they cleared the door on their first jump, and it continued to be their cry when in combat.

      -During the actors' ten day "Basic Training" they were required to stay in character at all times. The only exception was the "Officers" were treated just as poorly as the "Enlisted" by the training cadre.

      -The 10-part miniseries features 500 speaking roles.

      -David Schwimmer portrays Capt. Herbert M. Sobel, and filmed his scenes while on hiatus from Friends. In that TV series, his on-screen father is portrayed by Elliott Gould, who in A Bridge Too Far portrayed Col. Stout, a character based on Col. Robert F. Sink, and Sobel's direct superior officer.

      -During the liberation of Eindhoven in episode 4, the real Pvt. Edward "Babe" Heffron can be seen in one of the shots. He is sitting down and waving a Kingdom of the Netherlands flag.

      -More than 2,000 extras worked on the miniseries during the course of production

      -The village (Carentan), which became 11 different European cities and villages, was 12 acres - the size of nine American football fields.

      -Captain Dale Dye (USMC Ret.), the series military advisor, also had a main supporting role as Colonel Robert F. Sink.

      -All of the 1,200 civilian costumes were authentic vintage clothing.

      -Joe Liebgott (portrayed by Ross McCall) is portrayed as a Jew in the miniseries, and based on his name, appearance, and utter hatred of the Germans his fellow members of E Company all believed that he was Jewish, but in reality, Liebgott was a Roman Catholic, the son of Austrian immigrants. He was apparently aware that his fellow troopers assumed he was Jewish but never bothered to correct them as he found it amusing.

      -In the series, Joe Liebgott (Ross McCall) states that he wants to go home after the war and run a taxi service. In real life, Liebgott was a barber by trade. This is reflected in the first episode's opening montage of the paratroopers getting ready for the D-Day jump, where Liebgott can be briefly seen shaving another soldier's head.
      "That's too bad. Hospitals aren't fun to fight through."
      "What IS fun to fight through?"
      "Gardens. Electronics shops. Antique stores, but only if they're classy."

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      • Baby opossums are so small you could fit 20 of them on a teaspoon....

        (God bless QI)
        The Copyright Monster has made me tell you that my avatar is courtesy of the wonderful Alice XZ.And you don't want to annoy the Copyright Monster.

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        • Quoth Kit-Ginevra View Post
          Baby opossums are so small you could fit 20 of them on a teaspoon....

          (God bless QI)
          I LOVE QI! Any time Jimmy Carr is on, I'm guaranteed to choke laughing at least once
          "That's too bad. Hospitals aren't fun to fight through."
          "What IS fun to fight through?"
          "Gardens. Electronics shops. Antique stores, but only if they're classy."

          Comment


          • Fun fact: In NSW (my soon-to-be actual state), there are the following types of "alternative" schools:

            -Ananda Marga (I like to think of this as "Hindu/Hare Krishna Lite": they share some elements, but they're not a religious per se, more a self-help thing. While they encourage yoga, meditation and so forth, the oddity is that they actively discourage things like onions and garlic because "They affect the nervous system." Seriously)

            -A "Dalton Plan" school (I have no idea what this is, or how it works. It's NOT religious though, it's meant to be some way of allowing children to explore projects independently while still studying the curriculum from memory)

            -Exclusive Bretheren School (they tend to segregate themselves slightly from the community, but not to the point of the Amish.)

            -Hare Krishna.

            -FOUR bilingual schools that are not linked to a belief system (a French lycee and Italian and Japanese schools too, along with German. The other schools are Armenian/Assyrian and are also run with a reliigous stance)

            -Sathya Sai (another spiritual school of sorts, sort of akin to Hare Krishna, but the schools don't encourage the spiritual side as much)

            -Scientology. Yes. This exists. They claim to use the "methods" but not hte actual teachings. I have yet to see how effective this actually is.
            The best professors are mad scientists! -Zoom

            Now queen of USSR-Land...

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            • Fun factoid: in an episode of Sailor Moon (the anime), Usagi gets an English test back. If you look closely on the English test, there is a line written (in English) about how one of the directors went to a red-light district, picked up a girl/prostitute and discovered they were a MTF transsexual!

              On top of that, the same line actually got past the censors when they dubbed the series! (Probably because they'd used the terms "Nanpa" and "new-half" and the dubbers assumed that it was just dummy text )
              Last edited by fireheart; 05-19-2014, 01:02 AM.
              The best professors are mad scientists! -Zoom

              Now queen of USSR-Land...

              Comment


              • Anime stuff? How about some Hayao Miyazaki trivia?

                -He is sometimes called the "Walt Disney of Japan", but he hates that title.

                -Frequently makes references to nature, ecology, and pollution by humankind in his films, such as "My Neighbor Totoro", "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind", "Princess Mononoke", and "Spirited Away".

                -Graduated from Gakushuin University with a degree in political science & economics (1963).

                -Allows no more than 10% of footage in his films to be computer generated.

                -For a long time many of his films were not available in America following the original poor English language version of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, which cut roughly 20 to 30 minutes of time, changed character names and diluted the film's themes. Miyazaki was so upset over this poor handling that he refused to give the distribution rights to anyone who did not agree to follow a more strict translation of the Japanese dialogue and not remove any scenes. Walt Disney Studios eventually agreed to these terms and have been steadily releasing his films ever since, including a new English language version of Nausicaä that restores the lost footage and plays at its proper length.

                -Two of his title characters have been voiced by Batman actors in the English language adaptations of his films. Michael Keaton provided the voice of Porco Rosso in "Porco Rosso" while Christian Bale provided the voice of Howl in "Howl's Moving Castle"

                -He and animator Isao Takahata had wanted to do an animated version of Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking. This dated back to 1971, when Miyazaki and Takahata prepared to do an animated film called "Pippi Longstocking, the Strongest Girl in the World" ("Nagakutsushita no Pippi, Sekai-ichi Tsuyoi no Onna no Ko"). They traveled to Sweden and not only did extensive research (he scouted the area of Visby in Gottland, where "Pippi Longstocking" was filmed), but met Lindgren in person to discuss the project with her. After their meeting with Lindgren, their permission to complete the project was denied and the project was canceled. Among what remains of the project are beautiful watercolored storyboards by Miyazaki himself. Since then, Miyazaki based many of his young heroines on Pippi Longstocking, especially Mimiko in "Panda! Go Panda!".
                "That's too bad. Hospitals aren't fun to fight through."
                "What IS fun to fight through?"
                "Gardens. Electronics shops. Antique stores, but only if they're classy."

                Comment


                • Speaking of Studio Ghibli, the only movies they've modified were Spirited Away (slight dialogue changes) and Pom Poko (the changing of "raccoon testicles" to "raccoon pouches")
                  The best professors are mad scientists! -Zoom

                  Now queen of USSR-Land...

                  Comment


                  • Jaffa Cakes are defined in law as cakes, not biscuits. Unsurprisingly this is down to tax - chocolate covered biscuits are defined as a luxury item (and therefore attract VAT, a type of tax) whereas chocolate cake is not.
                    A PSA, if I may, as well as another.

                    Comment


                    • Quoth crazylegs View Post
                      Jaffa Cakes are defined in law as cakes, not biscuits. Unsurprisingly this is down to tax - chocolate covered biscuits are defined as a luxury item (and therefore attract VAT, a type of tax) whereas chocolate cake is not.
                      And they proved it in court by showing that cakes go hard when stale and biscuits go soft.

                      Stale Jaffa cakes are like mini frisbee shurikens
                      "...Muhuh? *blink-blink* >_O *roll over* ZZZzzz......"

                      Comment


                      • Quoth SongsOfDragons View Post
                        And they proved it in court by showing that cakes go hard when stale and biscuits go soft.

                        Stale Jaffa cakes are like mini frisbee shurikens
                        Excuse me?!? You ALLOW jaffa cakes to go stale?!? I don't think I can ever speak to you again!
                        A PSA, if I may, as well as another.

                        Comment


                        • Weird, random trivia bits:

                          -The reason that artificial banana flavoring doesn't taste like bananas is because it is based on the Gros Michel Banana, a species that went extinct in the 1960's due to a banana disease.

                          -Despite all the romanticist stories about it, the Pony Express was only in operation for 2 years.

                          -US eggs would be illegal to sell in Britain because they are washed. British eggs would be illegal to sell in the US because they are unwashed.

                          -The stickers that supermarkets use on fruit are edible (by requirement). Even the glue is food based.

                          -Micro-gravity is known to cause severe flatulence.

                          -A Fish Called Wanda is the only movie with a recorded death by laughter (although an argument could be made for Who Framed Roger Rabbit as well)

                          -When Ozzy Osbourn left Black Sabbath, Michael Bolton auditioned to replace him.

                          -"Graffiti" is actually the plural of the word; the singular is "Graffito."

                          -Had the Titanic actually struck the iceberg head on instead of trying to go around it, it would have had a much higher chance of survival, and could have avoided sinking.

                          -The melody for the USA National Anthem is based on an old English drinking song.

                          -Considered one of the more offensive games ever made, the Atari featured a game called Custer's Revenge. The objective of the game was to avoid arrows falling from the top of the screen while raping a Native American woman tied to a post.

                          -There is a high school in Jacksonville, Florida named after Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first ever Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. The school still bears its name to this day.

                          -Cookie Monster's real name is Sid. The Pringles Man's real name is Julius.

                          -For most of us, our earlobes and nipples are perfectly aligned.

                          -There is a desk in the US Senate called "The Candy Desk." It's filled with exactly what you think it's filled with.

                          -India has a mascot named "Mr. Poo," a talking and dancing pile of crap that encourages people not to defecate in public.

                          -Collectively, as of 2014, the "Gangnam Style" video has wasted over 15,400 years worth of time on YouTube.

                          -Oxford University is older than the Aztec Empire.

                          -Continuum was an HIV/AIDS denial magazine that ceased publication in 2001...after all of its editors died of AIDS-related sicknesses.

                          -During the 18th century, the price of admission to an English zoo was three half-pence. You could also bring a dog or cat as payment, they would be fed to the lions.

                          -The movie which currently holds the record for usage of the word "fuck" is a documentary, appropriately titled "Fuck." It's used 857 times, averaging over 9 times per minute.

                          -The reason that we have the term "movie trailers" is because they used to be shown after the movie, not before. Thus, "previews" would now be more accurate.

                          -The child songs "The Alphabet Song," "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," and "Baa Baa Black Sheep" all use the same tune - one which was originally written by Mozart.

                          -Harvard discovered at one point that three books in its library were bound in human flesh.

                          -Nintendo is so wealthy, they could lose $250 Million every year and still remain solvent until 2052.

                          -75% of the world's known tornadoes occur in the United States.

                          -A single US Aircraft Carrier contains an air force more powerful than 70% of the countries in the world.

                          -When properly sealed in a glass container, honey will not rot or spoil, and can be consumed thousands of years afterward.

                          -A survey in Oregon once discovered that panhandlers outside a Wal-Mart were making more money than the workers inside.

                          -There is a metal band called "Hatebeak" whose lead singer is an African Gray Parrot.

                          -Anywhere between 1-10% of people from European descent are either immune or resistant to HIV/AIDS.

                          -Betty White is literally older than sliced bread.

                          -Nearly all koalas have chlamydia.

                          -The University of Phoenix requires a Masters Degree in order to teach there, but if you received your Masters from the University of Phoenix, they do not consider you qualified enough.

                          -When television studios play the movie Groundhog Day, the customary joke is to play the same commercials during every single commercial break in order to fit the theme.

                          -Bee hives have "Undertaker Bees" who remove the corpses of dead drones from the hive, leaving them at least 50 feet away.
                          "That's too bad. Hospitals aren't fun to fight through."
                          "What IS fun to fight through?"
                          "Gardens. Electronics shops. Antique stores, but only if they're classy."

                          Comment


                          • Quoth crazylegs View Post
                            Excuse me?!? You ALLOW jaffa cakes to go stale?!? I don't think I can ever speak to you again!
                            SongsOfDragons didn doodn nit. A lower form of pseudo-life (AKA Barrister) abandoned the Holy Jaffa cakes to go stale.
                            I am not an a**hole. I am a hemorrhoid. I irritate a**holes!
                            Procrastination: Forward planning to insure there is something to do tomorrow.
                            Derails threads faster than a pocket nuke.

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                            • And now for some Minecraft stuff:

                              - In Area 11's song "Minecraft Christmas", there is mention of the server seed '68954012663'. This is an actual seed that will spawn you in a snowy taiga biome.

                              - Digging a one-by-one hole down to bedrock level and filling said hole with TNT blocks on your way back up will, when set off, result in a crater that may or may not drop all the way down to the Void.

                              - In every jungle temple you come across, the hidden treasure room will always be behind or adjacent to the wall of levers.

                              - When using the portal gun mod, you can send yourself to the Moon. However, you will instantly die upon entry and the portal there will continue to suck up everything that gets close to it.

                              - If you see a tree that has cobwebs on it, dig around it. There's a spider spawner, but also a chest of loot.

                              - Though chickens, cows, and such are normally peaceful mobs, those that are exposed to Taint will be hostile.

                              - Void glitches can actually be quite useful. They tend to expose where all of the good ores and such are so, if you're playing multiplayer, you can direct a friend where to dig.
                              Last edited by firecat88; 05-20-2014, 04:57 AM.
                              "Things that fail to kill me make me level up." ~ NateWantsToBattle, Training Hard (Counting Stars parody)

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                              • And the second sweariest movie, with the most instances of the F words used is Wolf Of Wall Street, with 544 instances.

                                -Anywhere between 1-10% of people from European descent are either immune or resistant to HIV/AIDS.
                                This is thought to be because of their ancestors having lived through the black plague.
                                My Guide to Oblivion

                                "I resent the implication that I've gone mad, Sprocket."

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