Page 129 - History Facts

Norway knighted a penguin.


Nils Olav, a king penguin, was adopted in 1972 to be the mascot of the Norwegian Guard. He is named after Majols Nils Egelien and former King of Norway King Olav. 

Since then, he has only moved up in ranks. In 1982, he became a Corporal. In 1987, he reached the rank of Sergeant. In 1993, he became a Regimental Sergeant Major, and in 2001, he became an Honourable Regimental Sergeant Major. 

Nils is often visited by Norway's armed forces and has received much regard and respect because of his outstanding service and good conduct. In 2005, Edinburgh Zoo was presented with a bronze statue of the penguin due to the esteem Nils has generated. 

2008, however, was the pinnacle of Olav’s career. That year, King Harald V knighted Nils Olav. The ceremony was lavish, and a crowd of several hundred joined 130 guardsmen as Nils received his knighthood. He reportedly was on his best behavior and stood proudly as he was knighted. 

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A German fighter pilot saved an Allied military pilot.


A year later, they were friends. Charles Brown was an American military pilot with the United States Army Air Corps who was stationed in Great Britain to bomb targets in Nazi Germany while Franz Stigler was a veteran fighter pilot with a record of 28 kills. 

Upon dropping bombs one day in 1943, Brown’s plane was ambushed by 8 German planes and an anti-aircraft fire. His plane and crew both sustained heavy damages, and soon enough Brown just blacked out. 

He awoke to the news that when Brown’s crippled plane was found by Franz Stigler, he could have pulverized it in a matter of seconds. But upon seeing the crew members trying to help their wounds, Stigler refused to fire and escorted the bomber to safety. 

They parted ways after the next year, and then reunited again, becoming fast friends and making television appearance together. It’s nice to know that even a war can’t always tear apart the basic goodness of people. 

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Ever wondered what the difference between a hobo, a bum, and a tramp are? Read on!


Today, the words are generally irrelevant by their original definitions and the homeless are typically just called homeless people or hobos. Today, we typically use “bum” to refer to a lazy, jobless person who lives at home, and use “tramp” as a denigrating term for a woman. 

The overarching term for these is “vagabond,” which we seldom hear at all now. By the proper definitions, though, a hobo is a worker with no home who goes from place to place looking for work. Hobos were typically the homeless people that would try to catch rides on trains. A bum, unlike a hobo, is a vagabond who rarely looks for work, or has very little worth ethic. 

A tramp is similar to a bum, but only works when forced to. Another interesting fact about hobos is the “Hobo code.” If you’ve seen Mad Men, you likely know about it already. 

During the Great Depression, hobos developed a code to mark homes or establishments one of many ways to tell other hobos if they should leave, should request work, could get free medical aid, etc. You can check out the Hobo code here: 

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During WW1, a German naval officer led his landing party on a 11000 km escape back to Germany after watching his ship sink in the Indian Ocean.


Von Mucke was the Executive Officer and First Lieutenant of the German Light Cruiser SMS Emden of the Imperial German Navy. The ship was very successfully as a commerce raider in the Indian Ocean on the autumn of 1914. 

On November, the ship’s captain dispatched Mucke to lead a 53 man landing party onto Direction Island to destroy wireless stations and the shore facilities. British wireless operators however, spotted the ship’s smoke on the horizon and responded by dispatching a wireless message stating that an unknown ship was approaching. 

The alert was heard, and the ship was encountered and defeated. Mucke and his landing party witnessed the demise from just 17 miles away and felt their hope sink along with their beloved ship. 

Over the next 6 monthes, Mucke led his command on one of the longest escapes ever recorded, over 11 000 km by land and sea, and lost only a total of 4 men; which seems tragic but was quite an accomplishment at the time. 

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Japan is constitutionally forbidden from participating in wars. There is no Japanese military.


To be fair, there are the Japan Self-Defense Forces, but those forces are only used for peacekeeping missions when deployed outside of Japan. Officially, the country has no military. 

Especially if you live in the United States, a country that spent between 1 and 1.4 trillion dollars on its military this year, this idea might seem really strange. Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution elaborates on the decision: 

ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. 

Italy has a similar clause in its constitution, but reserves the right to self defense in the event of an attack. You might be wondering how effective such a clause would be if Japan were ever attacked. Since World War II, shortly before the constitution was adopted, Japan has not gone to war or had the incentive to. 

That means for 65 years, Japan has proven that a military isn’t always necessary for settling international disputes. What’s interesting, though, is that Japan still allows other countries to have military bases on their soil. Japan is not unique in its lack of military. For the full list, check here.

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