Yes it really happened

[Aardvark]

Do people with Alzheimer's forget they mentioned it in the last four posts in a row

[jackspratt]

Mentioned what, Aardy?

[Doodoo]

1
*The Queen does not take selfies
*She does not wear new shoes. She has employees to wear new shoes until they are worn in
*She has no Social Media outlets i.e. Twitter (Like sone people have and are fixated by it)

2
WW1
Lord Kitchener at the begining of the war knew he needed a large force and asked for 100,000 extra men.. Within 5 months 2,000,000 men had volunteered
The trenches on the German side some reaching 40 feet below ground provided a great defence

3
SNOW Lucan Ontario Canada

This is why to live in Thailand

A record snowfall, a.k.a., "snowmageddon," occurred from Dec. 4-8, 2010, affecting Huron and Middlesex counties in southern Ontario. A total of 177 cm of snow fell during a 102-hour period - it snowed on 98 of those hours.

177 Centimeters = 69.6850394 Inches

[Doodoo]

1

Arguably the most famous heavy bomber of World War II, the Avro-built Lancaster bomber undertook some of the most dangerous and complex missions yet encountered by the RAF. Primarily a night bomber but frequently used during the day too, the Lancasters under Bomber Command flew some 156,000 sorties during the Second World War, dropping 609,000 tons of bombs. Among these bombs was the famous ‘bouncing bomb’ designed by British inventor Barnes Wallis, a payload that would lead the Lancaster to remain famed long after 1945. We takes a look inside an Avro Lancaster to see made it so successful.

2
Space Suits

Of the original 18 Space Suits developed in 1974 at a cost of $15 to $22 Million a piece only 4 Suits remain ready for use. Originally to be used for only 15 years.
The new xEMU Suit is in development to be ready for 2024 and so far $250,000,000 has been invested by NASA

3

Moon Landing 1969
Special Flag
The American flag planted on the moon by the Apollo 11 crew was likely purchased at a Houston Sears store by a NASA secretary.
Serious 60s Computing
The Apollo Guidance Computer weighs 70 pounds yet was less powerful than today's smartphones.

Ain't No Fake
In 2015, University of Oxford physicist David Robert Grimes, Ph.D., developed a mathematical model determining that if the U.S. moon landings were faked by the government, an estimated 411,000 people would have been in on the hoax and at least one person would have leaked the conspiracy within 3 years and 8 months.
Rocket Goes Boom
The Saturn V rocket that launched Apollo 11 burned through 203,400 gallons of kerosene fuel and another 318,000 gallons of liquid oxygen to lift the spacecraft just 38 miles into the sky.

No Hoax Here
Sorry, hoax theorists: NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera took photos of the six American flags left on the moon. Five are standing; Apollo 11's was knocked down by takeoff thrust.

[Doodoo]

1


Were any high up Nazis captured by the Soviets? If so, what happened to them?”

No high up Nazi political or military leaders were captured by the Soviets.

The highest German military top ranking captured by the Soviets was the Wehrmacht Generalfeldmarschall Friedrich Paulus, commander of the German 6th Army that was defeated at Stalingrad. His ranking given him by Hitler during the Stalingrad battle, was the highest possible in the German military.

Paulus surrendered with his staff 31. January 1943 to the Soviets.
No German Generalfeldmarschall had ever before been captured by the enemy. A great Soviet prestige and morale victory.

Paulus was kept a Soviet POW under comfortable conditions and was treated well.

He was sent to the Nuremberg trials under Soviet custody in 1946 to witness against the Nazi political and military leaders.
As he did.
He focused his court testimony on how the Nazi political and military leadership planned the Barbarossa attack of the Soviet Union in 1941 as a conquest and extermination invasion campaign. And his role in this.
His testimony suited the Soviet Nuremberg indictment procedure perfect. And was especially compromising to Herman Göring, Alfred Jodl and Wilhelm Keitel.
Göring committed suicide. Jodl and Keitel received a death penalty and were hanged.

Paulus was released in 1953, was offered and chose to settle in Dresden in the communist DDR Germany where he lived till his death in 1957. He used these last years of his life to write his war memoirs about particularly the Stalingrad battle. His unfinished war memoirs were published after his death

2

Has a nuclear-powered submarine ever fired a torpedo at another vessel in combat?

Yes - To date, the only Nuclear Powered Submarine to shoot warshot torpedoes at an enemy target in combat was the British Royal Navy’s HMS Conqueror (S-48), which sank the Argentine Navy’s Light Cruiser ARA General Belgrano on May 2, 1982, during the Falkland Islands War between Britain and Argentina in 1982, one month following Argentina’s invasion of the Falkland Islands. Though the Falklands are only There were just over 1,000 crew and civilians aboard the Belgrano;

The Belgrano was an old U.S. Brooklyn-class light cruiser (ex-USS Phoenix (CL-46)) built for the U.S. Navy in the 1930’s and later sold after WWII to Argentina in 1951. Prior to her sale, she had survived Pearl Harbor and had earned 9 battle stars in the Pacific Theatre during WWII.

HMS Conqueror’s CO used 3 1927-era Mk 8 torpedoes (old pre-WWII, non-homing) instead of the modern Mk 24 Tigerfish homing torpedoes they were also carrying. While I’ve never been found an answer (or been given a reply to my questions to my RN counterparts) there’s been no specific, straight answer as to why he used such old weapons, the only theory / story floated to date is that there may have been “reliability issues” with the Mk 24’s at the time.

Conqueror’s torpedoes were all shot towards the Belgrano’s port side; the first torpedo blew the ship’s bow off, and the second struck between the stern and amidships, just outside of the ship’s protective armor. The third torpedo missed, though it’s believed to have struck one of the Belgrano’s escorts at the end of its run due to an impact felt by the escort’ s crew and hull damage consistent with a torpedo impact (without detonation). It is believed that the second torpedo may have killed around 275 crew after it pierced the hull and then exploded in the Aft Machinery Room, due to the impact location close to Mess areas.

3
What happened to the German soldiers captured by Russia?

They were mostly used to fix things they broke during the war until about mid-1950s. Some notorious war criminals were hanged, common officers and men were assigned to different infrastructure projects, factories and farms to replace the labor lost in wartime.

Due to their ginormous numbers they immediately became a part of the local demographics and weren’t even heavily guarded most of the time, some better laborers were paid for their work and allowed to rent and live outside their camps.

They weren’t completely free men though. If one was caught near a bus or train station or worse outside of a location he was assigned to the fugitive was returned to the owners and stripped of many liberties. Repeated offenders were moved to worse jobs or actually imprisoned.

A total number of runaways wasn’t high. About 11,500 out of 3,5 million ever tried to escape and 10,500 of them were caught.

[Doodoo]

1
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter of World War II, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built,[4] all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation's main production facilities at Buffalo, New York.

P-40 Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps gave the plane, and after June 1941, the USAAF adopted the name for all models, making it the official name in the U.S. for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the original P-40, P-40B, and P-40C, while the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants.

P-40s first saw combat with the British Commonwealth squadrons of the Desert Air Force in the Middle East and North African campaigns, during June 1941.[5][6] No. 112 Squadron Royal Air Force, was among the first to operate Tomahawks in North Africa and the unit was the first Allied military aviation unit to feature the "shark mouth" logo,[7][8] copying similar markings on some Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine fighters.

The P-40's lack of a two-speed supercharger made it inferior to Luftwaffe fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in high-altitude combat and it was rarely used in operations in Northwest Europe. However, between 1941 and 1944, the P-40 played a critical role with Allied air forces in three major theaters: North Africa, the Southwest Pacific, and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Italy. The P-40's performance at high altitudes was not as important in those theaters, where it served as an air superiority fighter, bomber escort and fighter-bomber. Although it gained a postwar reputation as a mediocre design, suitable only for close air support, more recent research including scrutiny of the records of individual Allied squadrons indicates that this was not the case: the P-40 performed surprisingly well as an air superiority fighter, at times suffering severe losses, but also inflicting a very heavy toll on enemy aircraft.[10] Based on war-time victory claims, over 200 Allied fighter pilots – from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, the US and the Soviet Union – became aces flying the P-40. These included at least 20 double aces,[11] mostly over North Africa, China, Burma and India, the South West Pacific and Eastern Europe. The P-40 offered the additional advantages of low cost and durability, which kept it in production as a ground-attack aircraft long after it was obsolete as a fighter.

2

The Bosporus or Bosphorus (/-pər-, -fər-/; Ancient Greek: Βόσπορος Bosporos [bós.po.ros]; also known as the Strait of Istanbul; Turkish: İstanbul Boğazı, colloquially Boğaz) is a narrow, natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in northwestern Turkey. It forms part of the continental boundary between Europe and Asia, and divides Turkey by separating Anatolia from Thrace. It is the world's narrowest strait used for international navigation. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and, by extension via the Dardanelles, the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, and by the Kerch Strait, the sea of Azov.

Most of the shores of the strait, except for those in the north, are heavily settled, straddled by the city of Istanbul's metropolitan population of 17 million inhabitants extending inland from both coasts.

Together with the Dardanelles, the Bosporus forms the Turkish Straits.

[Doodoo]

1

The Raid on Los Baños in the Philippines, early Friday morning on 23 February 1945, was executed by a combined U.S. Army Airborne and Filipino guerrilla task force, resulting in the liberation of 2,147 Allied civilian and military internees from an agricultural school campus turned Japanese internment camp. The 250 Japanese in the garrison were killed. It has been celebrated as one of the most successful rescue operations in modern military history. It was the second precisely-executed raid by combined U.S.-Filipino forces within a month, following on the heels of the Raid at Cabanatuan at Luzon on 30 January, in which 522 Allied military POWs had been rescued.[1]:4 The air/sea/land raid was the subject of a 2015 nonfiction book, Rescue at Los Baños: The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid of World War II, by New York Times bestselling author Bruce Henderson.[2] The history of the airborne rescuing force, the 11th Airborne Division, is covered in the 2019 book, When Angels Fall: From Toccoa to Tokyo, the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II by author Jeremy C. Holm.
Great Great story from WW2 that should be researched nore . Info on You Tube for viewing Rescue at Dawn The Los Banos Raid Documentary


2
Jimmy Stewart
Not a War movie, but remember this the next time you watch “It’s A Wonderful Life.”
Just months after winning his 1941 Academy Award for best actor in “The Philadelphia Story,” Jimmy Stewart, one of the best-known actors of the day, left Hollywood and joined the US Army. He was the first big-name movie star to enlist in World War II.
An accomplished private pilot, the 33-year-old Hollywood icon became a US Army Air Force aviator, earning his 2nd Lieutenant commission in early 1942.
With his celebrity status and huge popularity with the American public, he was assigned to starring in recruiting films, attending rallies, and training younger pilots.
Stewart, however, wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to fly combat missions in Europe, not spend time in a stateside training command. By 1944, frustrated and feeling the war was passing him by, he asked his commanding officer to transfer him to a unit deploying to Europe. His request was reluctantly granted.
Stewart, now a Captain, was sent to England, where he spent the next 18 months flying B-24 Liberator bombers over Germany. Throughout his time overseas, the US Army Air Corps' top brass had tried to keep the popular movie star from flying over enemy territory. But Stewart would hear nothing of it.
Determined to lead by example, he bucked the system, assigning himself to every combat mission he could. By the end of the war he was one of the most respected and decorated pilots in his unit.
But his wartime service came at a high personal price.
In the final months of WWII he was grounded for being “flak happy,” today called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
When he returned to the US in August 1945, Stewart was a changed man. He had lost so much weight that he looked sickly. He rarely slept, and when he did he had nightmares of planes exploding and men falling through the air screaming (in one mission alone his unit had lost 13 planes and 130 men, most of whom he knew personally).
He was depressed, couldn’t focus, and refused to talk to anyone about his war experiences. His acting career was all but over.
As one of Stewart's biographers put it, "Every decision he made [during the war] was going to preserve life or cost lives. He took back to Hollywood all the stress that he had built up.”
In 1946 he got his break. He took the role of George Bailey, the suicidal father in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The rest is history.
Actors and crew of the set realized that in many of the disturbing scenes of George Bailey unraveling in front of his family, Stewart wasn’t acting. His PTSD was being captured on filmed for potentially millions to see.
But despite Stewart's inner turmoil, making the movie was therapeutic for the combat veteran. He would go on to become one of the most accomplished and loved actors in American history.
When asked in 1941 why he wanted to leave his acting career to fly combat missions over Nazi Germany, he said, "This country's conscience is bigger than all the studios in Hollywood put together, and the time will come when we'll have to fight.”
This holiday season, as many of us watch the classic Christmas film, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” it’s also a fitting time to remember the sacrifices of Jimmy Stewart and all the men who gave up so much to serve their country during wartime. Something many of his ilk, did not do

[Doodoo]

1

It is likely that the explanation of the term lazy Susan has been lost to history.[2][3][4] Folk etymologies claim it as an American invention. According to lore, Thomas Jefferson invented the device, which was known as a "dumbwaiter" for his daughter Susan. Regardless of the origins of the name, by 1917 it was advertised in Vanity Fair[5] as "Ovington's $8.50 mahogany 'Revolving Server or Lazy Susan'"[6] but the term's use predates both the advertisement and, probably, the country.]

A mahogany George III dumbwaiter (c. 1780), auctioned for $3,900 by Christie's in London on 20 Jan. 2010[4]
Part of the mystery arises from the variety of devices that were grouped under the term "dumb waiter" (today written dumbwaiter). An early 18th-century British article in The Gentleman's Magazine describes how silent machines had replaced garrulous servants at some tables[and, by the 1750s, Christopher Smart was praising the "foreign" but discreet devices in verse. It is, however, almost certain that the devices under discussion were wheeled serving trays similar to those introduced by Thomas Jefferson to the United States from France, where they were known as étagères. At some point during or before the 3rd quarter of the 18th century, the name dumb waiter also began to be applied to rotating trays. (Jefferson never had a lazy Susan at Monticello, but he did construct a box-shaped rotating book stand and, as part of serving "in the French style", employed a revolving dining-room door whose reverse side supported a number of shelves. By the 1840s, Americans were applying the term to small lifts carrying food between floors as well. The success of George W. Cannon's 1887 mechanical dumbwaiter popularised this usage, replacing the previous meanings of "dumbwaiter".

The lazy Susan was initially uncommon enough in the United States for the utopianist Oneida Community to be credited with its invention. They employed the devices as part of their practice of communalism, making food easily and equally available to residents and visitors at meals. An American patent was issued in 1891 to Elizabeth Howell for "certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Waiting Tables". Howell's device ran more smoothly and did not permit bread crumbs to fall into the space between the lazy Susan and the table.

The rotating serviette at "Penates", the estate of Russian painter Ilya Repin at Kuokkala. Made in 1909 by Finnish carpenter Ikahainen.[13]
Despite various folk etymologies linking the name to Jefferson and Edison's daughters, the earliest use of these "serviettes" or "butler's assistants" being called a lazy Susan dates to the 1903 Boston Journal:

John B. Laurie, as the resuscitator of "Lazy Susan", seems destined to leap into fortune as an individual worker. "Lazy Susan" is a step toward solving the ever-vexing servant problem. She can be seen, but not heard, nor can she hear, she simply minds her business and carries out your orders in a jiffy.

Laurie was a Scottish carpenter who made his "lazy Susan" to the personal specifications of a Hingham-area woman. Unfortunately he presented this gift to her too late, which caused her to unleash an abusive tirade upon Laurie. When she finally asked him for the price, he "told her it wasn't for sale, though of course it is".[15] The name was repeated in a 1911 Idaho Statesman article – which describes it as "a cousin to the 'curate's assistant', as the English muffin stand is called" – and again in the 1912 Christian Science Monitor, which calls the "silver" lazy Susan "the characteristic feature of the self-serving dinner table". By the next year, the Lima Daily News described an Ohioan "inaugurat[ing] ... the 'Lazy Susan' method of serving".[18] Henry Ford used an enormous one on his camping trips in the 1920s to avoid bringing a full contingent of servants along with his guests.In 1933, the term was added to the Webster's Dictionary.

Unusually, the 1916 American Cookery describes the device as a German invention:

There is a table arrangement used much in Germany, which has now found its way to America, though it is still by no means common. The German frau calls it "Lazy Susan", but it is entirely different from our product used for salt and pepper shakers. Its only point of similarity is the swivel upon which it turns. The one which joys my heart is of mahogany, and it turns automatically at the slightest touch. It contains seven china dishes, six of which are trapezoids, the center one being octagonal. The trapezoids fit about the center octagon, forming a perfect whole.

By 1918, Century Magazine was already describing the lazy Susan as out of fashion,[21] but beginning in the 1950s its popularity soared once again after the redesign and reintroduction of the lazy Susan by George Hall, an engineer, soy-sauce manufacturer, and partner in popular San Francisco-area Chinese restaurants (Johnny Kan's and Ming's of Palo Alto), and the rotating tray became ubiquitous in Chinese restaurants and was used in homes around the globe.[22] The decline in America's domestic service sector after World War I and its collapse following World War II,[23] combined with the post-war Baby Boom, led to a great demand for them in US households across the country in the 1950s and 1960s. This popularity has had the effect, however, of making them seem kitsch in subsequent decades.



2
Without question. Operation Underworld shortened the war.

“On the afternoon of February 9, 1942, smoke billowed over Manhattan’s west side as a fire consumed SS Normandie, a huge French luxury liner being converted into an American World War II troop transport. Although witnesses reported sparks from a worker’s acetylene torch started the blaze, many feared Nazi saboteurs were to blame, particularly in light of the arrest of 33 German agents in the Duquesne Spy Ring only months earlier. In the inferno’s wake, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence became so concerned about enemy spies operating along New York’s waterfront that it enlisted a most unlikely partner in the war effort—the Mafia.”

“In March 1942, with the recruitment of Fulton Fish Market kingpin Joseph “Socks” Lanza, Naval Intelligence officers launched the top-secret “Operation Underworld.” Lanza agreed to furnish union cards to agents operating undercover in the market and aboard coastal fishing fleets. Authorities were particularly concerned that pro-fascist sympathizers of Germany’s top ally, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, lurked among the Italian immigrants who worked as longshoremen in New York.”

“However, Lanza explained that their cooperation could be secured by the imprisoned mobster Charles “Lucky” Luciano, who still wielded absolute power on the docks even after six years behind bars. With his top aide Meyer Lansky acting as an intermediary, Luciano agreed to assist the government and ordered his capos to act as lookouts and report any suspicious activity. Luciano’s contacts even assisted in the Allies’ 1943 amphibious invasion of Sicily by providing maps of the island’s harbors, photographs of its coastline and names of trusted contacts inside the Sicilian Mafia, who also wished to see Mussolini toppled.”

“Still, with between 20 and 40 years left on his sentence, Luciano filed a petition for executive clemency on May 8, 1945—the same day World War II ended in Europe. Ironically, the man who had prosecuted the mobster a decade earlier, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, pardoned Luciano in January 1946 due to his assistance in the war effort and ordered him deported to his native Italy.”

“The ultimate effectiveness of “Operation Underworld” has been questioned, but no other ships suffered the same fate as Normandie for the duration of World War II.”

[Doodoo]

1
In 1941, a Soviet KV-2 tank held off the 6th Panzer Division.
The Germans had nothing to disable the beast.

There were only six Soviet soldiers in the tank, defending themselves against an entire division.

During the day, the Germans used tanks and explosives to try to disable the tank. But nothing happened. The Soviets still defended against the Germans fiercely.

The Germans were forced to wait until nightfall, hoping to get closer to the tank. So when the sun went down, a German sapper squad snuck near to the tank. They planted a bunch of explosives. Afterwards, the tank responded with machine gun fire.

The Germans ran back and detonated the explosives. NOTHING. The tank was still operational, and the 6 Soviets were still fighting back.
The Germans decided to use their tanks to confuse the Soviets. Multiple tanks bounded far from the KV tank, each alternating positions. As the Soviets in the KV tank started to engage the German Panzers, the Germans managed to sneak their 88mm anti aircraft gun closer.

The Germans fired at the tank.

NOTHING.

11 more shots were fired.

STILL NOTHING.

The Germans drew the gun closer while the Panzers were distracting the KV-2. Finally, another shot was fired which became the final blow The tank’s armor gave in to the antiaircraft gun. The 13th round penetrated the KV, killing the 6 Soviets inside.
The Germans retrieved the six bodies from the burning tank.

They grabbed the Soviet Union flag, and buried the six soldiers with full military honors.
The bodies were buried with their names (sixth one couldn’t be identified).

The bodies were saluted, 21 rounds were fired, and the bodies were laid to rest with their flag. The flag they fought for. The graves were marked, and the bodies were later exhumed, and given back to their families.

This may not seem so common today. But I guarantee you, god forbid we ever have such a bloody conflict on this earth again, and we’re fighting through all kinds of terrain, I’m sure some units will bury their enemy.

Like in WWI, fighting would be halted during WWII. This was not because of Christmas Truce, but because each side wanted to give themselves time to bury their fallen comrades.

Because things were halted and sometimes hasty, soldiers would bury their fallen enemies on multiple occasions.

2
Graphene is an allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of atoms arranged in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice. The name is a portmanteau of "graphite" and the suffix -ene, reflecting the fact that the graphite allotrope of carbon consists of stacked graphene layers.[4][5]

Each atom in a graphene sheet is connected to its three nearest neighbors by a σ-bond, and contributes one electron to a conduction band that extends over the whole sheet. This is the same type bonding seen in carbon nanotubes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and (partially) in fullerenes and glassy carbon.These conduction bands make graphene a semimetal with unusual electronic properties that are best described by theories for massless relativistic particles.[2] Charge carriers in graphene show linear, rather than quadratic, dependence of energy on momentum, and field-effect transistors with graphene can be made that show bipolar conduction. Charge transport is ballistic over long distances; the material exhibits large quantum oscillations and large and nonlinear diamagnetism.[8] Graphene conducts heat and electricity very efficiently along its plane. The material strongly absorbs light of all visible wavelengths, which accounts for the black color of graphite; yet a single graphene sheet is nearly transparent because of its extreme thinness. The material is also about 100 times stronger than would be the strongest steel of the same thickness.

Photograph of a suspended graphene membrane in transmitted light. This one-atom-thick material can be seen with the naked eye because it absorbs approximately 2.3% of light.[10][9]
Scientists have theorized about graphene for decades. It has likely been unknowingly produced in small quantities for centuries, through the use of pencils and other similar applications of graphite. It was originally observed in electron microscopes in 1962, but only studied while supported on metal surfaces.[4] The material was later rediscovered, isolated and characterized in 2004 by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov at the University of Manchester, who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for their research on the material. High-quality graphene proved to be surprisingly easy to isolate and dispersion of graphene in water, was achieved for creating conductive patterns and bio-interfacing.

The global market for graphene was $9 million in 2012,with most of the demand from research and development in semiconductor, electronics, electric batteries and composites. In 2019, it was predicted to reach over $150 million by 2021.

The IUPAC (International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry) recommends use of the name "graphite" for the three-dimensional material, and "graphene" only when the reactions, structural relations or other properties of individual layers are discussed. A narrower definition, of "isolated or free-standing graphene" requires that the layer be sufficiently isolated from its environment, but would include layers suspended or transferred to silicon dioxide or silicon carbide.

[Doodoo]

1
What was the fate of the 100,000 French prisoners left behind during Napoleon's retreat from Moscow?

Russians didn’t really know what to do with all of those Frenchmen, as POW camps had not been invented yet. It was a major headache for the government and a catastrophe for the prisoners themselves. Many of them were killed by the Russian peasants who saw Frenchmen as the unholy bringers of the Apocalypse (basically, Mongol hordes 2.0). Peasants were even buying prisoners from soldiers to kill as many as possible, as they saw the eradication of the Frenchmen as their sacred Christian duty.

Many of the survivors died from illnesses and harsh climate, although the government tried to supply them with appropriate clothing and money for food. But they were sent to various regions of Russia to be guarded by local authorities, and Frenchmen were dying on the way en masse.

Poles, Spaniards, and Portuguese were treated separately. Poles were accepted into Russian military service (a large chunk of modern Poland was part of Russia at the time), as long as they were ready to pledge their allegiance to the Tsar, while the others were sent to Spain through Britain, to fight Frenchmen at home. They had their own misadventures in Spain, but that’s another story and not mine to tell.

Among the Frenchmen, about 30 thousand eventually returned home, while the rest who survived all the hardships settled in Russia. At first, they were forced to help the locals with the reconstruction (for example, they were cleaning up Moscow after the disastrous fire caused by the war), and later they were doing whatever.

French was a very popular language at the time in Russia, and many Frenchmen became teachers and instructors. Famous Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov had a French tutor as a boy. That man was originally a French officer, one of the prisoners. Some former prisoners even joined the Russian military service.

The last former French POW died in Russia in 1894, allegedly at the age of 126. He was a former officer who became a teacher of French and fencing in the city of Saratov, 850 km from Moscow.

2
Creation of the National Hockey League (NHL) — November 26, 1917
The
National Hockey League (NHL) was created on November 26, 1917, at a meeting at the Windsor Hotel in Montréal after the dissolution of the National Hockey Association (NHA). That year, four teams suited up: the Montreal Canadiens, the Montreal Wanderers, the Ottawa Senators, and the Toronto Arenas.

[Doodoo]

There’s a scene in Goldfinger, the third James Bond movie, where Bond lures Auric Goldfinger into a bet by wagering a bar of “lost” Nazi gold. It’s unclear if this is supposed to hint that Goldfinger has a Nazi past. In any case, the German actor who played him did.
When the nation of Israel discovered this, it banned the film. Two months later, it lifted the ban after confirming that Fröbe had helped a Jewish woman and her son during World War II.
Before Goldfinger, Gert Fröbe had mostly appeared in German films like 1958’s It Happened in Broad Daylight, in which he played a child murderer. He landed the role of Goldfinger opposite Bond star Sean Connery despite not being able to speak English. As a result, almost all of his lines in the movie are dubbed by the English actor Michael Collins. Even so, Fröbe and the film earned critical praise when it premiered in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1964. It was a commercial success as well, and is still one of the highest-grossing Bond films, adjusting for inflation.
Goldfinger was initially popular in Israel, too, when it debuted there in the fall of 1965. Then in December, the London Daily Mail ran a story about Fröbe with the headline, “Of course I was a Nazi!” It’s not clear how the subject of his Nazi past came up, but Reuters reported that a journalist had asked Fröbe—who was playing the Nazi general Dietrich von Choltitz in an upcoming film—whether Fröbe would’ve made the same decision as Choltitz to refuse Adolf Hitler’s order to burn Paris.

Whatever the reason, Fröbe told the press he’d joined the Nazi Party in 1929 when he was 16 and then later helped a Jewish woman during the war. Fröbe said he’d grown up in the depressed Saxony coal mining village of Zwickau, and become a Nazi because he thought Hitler could improve the economy, according to the German newspaper Der Spiegel. Even then, the Nazis’ promise of economic prosperity that Fröbe found so appealing was anti-Semitic; Hitler blamed Jewish Germans for the country’s economic woes and sought to uplift “Aryans” at Jewish people’s expense.
Screening films that might contain former Nazis was already a concern in Israel, which was why it banned many German-language films until 1967. When West German film started up again after the war, “all the cinematographers, all the directors, all the editors, all the stars had played some kind of role in the Third Reich,” says Tobias Hochscherf, a media professor at the Kiel University of Applied Sciences in Germany. So even by the early 1960s, most German films “were made with stars or actors from the Third Reich.”
Israel responded to Fröbe’s admission by banning Goldfinger and all of his upcoming movies, including Is Paris Burning?, the film in which he would portray Choltitz. In addition, the Ministry of Justice said that if Fröbe visited Israel, it might prosecute him as a former Nazi Party member, the Jewish Telegraph Agency reported.
But Israel lifted the ban only two months later, in February 1966. The Israel Film Censorship Board made the decision after receiving evidence that Fröbe had left the Nazi Party in 1937, two years before Hitler invaded Poland, sparking World War II. There were also reports that his conscription as a Nazi soldier later in the war was “a punishment for helping to distribute anti-Nazi pamphlets,” according to the Jewish Telegraph Agency.

Another factor was that Fröbe’s claim about helping a Jewish woman during the war seemed true. After Israel banned Fröbe’s films, a Jewish man named Mario Blumenau told the Israeli Embassy in Vienna that Fröbe had helped Blumenau and his mother obtain a version of food stamps during the war. “I think he was a decent person, but not a hero,” Hochscherf says of Fröbe’s actions.

In addition, The New York Times reported that several film producers made appeals to Israel to lift the ban. Many Israelis wanted to see Goldfinger, then an internationally popular feature, and Hochscherf notes that public demand may also have contributed to the decision to bring the movie back to Israel.
Fröbe’s Nazi past is not the only controversial aspect of Goldfinger. Before its American premiere, a U.S. censor threatened to ban the the movie over a dispute about “Pussy Galore,” the name of Honor Blackman’s character.
In the decades since the film’s release, Bond’s behavior has also received criticism, particularly his treatment of women and sexual assault of Galore. Despite all the controversy, Goldfinger remains one of the most famous movies in the Bond franchise. After all, it contains one of the most recognized quotes in film history—spoken by Goldfinger, mouthed by Fröbe and voiced by Collins: “No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die.”
2
Norwegian Roald Amundsen becomes the first explorer to reach the South Pole, beating his British rival, Robert Falcon Scott.
Amundsen, born in Borge, near Oslo, in 1872, was one of the great figures in polar exploration. In 1897, he was first mate on a Belgian expedition that was the first ever to winter in the Antarctic. In 1903, he guided the 47-ton sloop Gjöa through the Northwest Passage and around the Canadian coast, the first navigator to accomplish the treacherous journey. Amundsen planned to be the first man to the North Pole, and he was about to embark in 1909 when he learned that the American Robert Peary had achieved the feat.mundsen completed his preparations and in June 1910 sailed instead for Antarctica, where the English explorer Robert F. Scott was also headed with the aim of reaching the South Pole. In early 1911, Amundsen sailed his ship into Antarctica’s Bay of Whales and set up base camp 60 miles closer to the pole than Scott. In October, both explorers set off—Amundsen using sleigh dogs, and Scott employing Siberian motor sledges, Siberian ponies, and dogs. On December 14, 1911, Amundsen’s expedition won the race to the Pole and returned safely to base camp in late January.
Scott’s expedition was less fortunate. The motor sleds broke down, the ponies had to be shot, and the dog teams were sent back as Scott and four companions continued on foot. On January 18, 1912, they reached the pole only to find that Amundsen had preceded them by over a month. Weather on the return journey was exceptionally bad—two members perished—and a storm later trapped Scott and the other two survivors in their tent only 11 miles from their base camp. Scott’s frozen body was found later that year.After his historic Antarctic journey, Amundsen established a successful shipping business. He later made attempts to become the first explorer to fly over the North Pole. In 1925, in an airplane, he flew within 150 miles of the goal. In 1926, he passed over the North Pole in a dirigible just three days after American explorer Richard E. Byrd had apparently done so in an aircraft. In 1996, a diary that Byrd had kept on the flight was found that seemed to suggest that the he had turned back 150 miles short of its goal because of an oil leak, making Amundsen’s dirigible expedition the first flight over the North Pole.
In 1928, Amundsen lost his life while trying to rescue a fellow explorer whose dirigible had crashed at sea near Spitsbergen, Norway.

[Doodoo]

Canada and what helped to shape it

1

Discovery of insulin — 1922
In January 1922, Fredrick Banting and Charles Best, researchers at the University of Toronto, and their supervisor, John James Rickard Macleod, injected a diabetic patient with the hormone insulin for the first time in an attempt to control his blood sugar levels. This discovery earned Banting and Macleod the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923.

2

Canada adopts the metric system — 1971
Because the metric system was being used almost everywhere in the world, the Canadian government modified the Weights and Measures Act in 1971. The gradual abandonment of the British imperial system met with some resistance from the public. Nevertheless, Environment Canada began relaying temperatures in Celsius and precipitation in millimetres from the Anik satellite on April 1, 1975. Provinces converted their road signs to kilometres in the fall of 1977, and gas started selling by the litre in 1979.


3

Beginning of the Canada Pension Plan — 1966
Lester B. Pearson's government adopted a law creating the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to replace a portion of Canadian workers’ income during retirement or when they are unable to work. In Quebec, workers are covered by a parallel program called the Québec Pension Plan (QPP).

4

Creation of a national health care program — 1966
In 1966, the federal government adopted the Medical Care Act, which provided for the creation of a national health care program that guarantees every Canadian resident access to medical and hospital care, no matter their income.

5

Introduction of employment insurance — 1941
After unemployment rates skyrocketed during the 1930s, Canada developed a national employment insurance program to ensure national prosperity and stability after the war.

6

Spanish flu — 1918
One of the most devastating epidemics of all time reached Canada in September 1918, brought by soldiers returning from the Great War in Europe. Despite being called the Spanish flu, it is believed that the epidemic started in the northern United States before being brought to Europe by American troops. The illness was catastrophic for many families and presented significant socio-economic challenges. Some 50,000 Canadians lost their lives.

Canada's population 8.1 Million

[Doodoo]

1

A BRINJAL (Get ready for the defintion I surely didnt know it)


Eggplant (US,[1] Australia,[2] New Zealand, anglophone Canada), aubergine (UK,[3] Ireland, Quebec, and most of mainland Western Europe) or brinjal (South Asia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Solanum melongena is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.

Most commonly purple, the spongy, absorbent fruit is used in several cuisines. Typically used as a vegetable in cooking, it is a berry by botanical definition. As a member of the genus Solanum, it is related to the tomato, chili pepper, and potato, although they are new world and the eggplant, like nightshade, is old world. Like the tomato, its skin and seeds can be eaten, but, like the potato, it is usually eaten cooked. Eggplant is nutritionally low in macronutrient and micronutrient content, but the capability of the fruit to absorb oils and flavors into its flesh through cooking expands its use in the culinary arts.

It was originally domesticated from the wild nightshade species thorn or bitter apple, S. incanum,[5][6][7] probably with two independent domestications: one in South Asia, and one in East Asia.[8] In 2018, China and India combined accounted for 87% of the world production of eggplants.

2

In Greek mythology, Styx (/ˈstɪks/; Ancient Greek: Στύξ [stýks]) is a deity and a river that forms the boundary between Earth and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the center of the underworld on a great marsh, which sometimes is also called the Styx. According to Herodotus, the river Styx originates near Pheneus.[1] Styx is also a goddess with prehistoric roots in Greek mythology as a daughter of Tethys, after whom the river is named and because of whom it had miraculous powers.

3

First POW WW2
U Boat 39 captured September 14 1939 The Captain was not released until 1947 after 7.5 years in captivity

[Doodoo]

1

Midget Sunmarines WW2
An interesting article far too long for here. If you have the time and interest

German midget submarines of ww2


2

Life Expendancy


1900 world average[37] 31
1950 world average[37] 48
2017 world average[38] 72.2

[Doodoo]

1

Never heard of it? Well the reason would be
The Brewster SB2A Buccaneer was a single-engined mid-wing monoplane scout/bomber aircraft built for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Navy between 1942 and 1944. It was also supplied to the United States Army Air Forces and United States Marine Corps.


The SB2A was developed for the US Navy, and also ordered in large quantities by the Dutch, French, and British Governments. The Dutch order was later taken over by the US Navy and the French order by Britain. An Australian order was cancelled before any of the type were delivered. The Buccaneer was underpowered and poorly constructed, and all of its operators considered it to be unsuitable for combat. SB2As were used as target tugs by the RAF and US Navy, trainers by the USMC, and "hacks" by the USAAF. Many of the completed aircraft were scrapped without entering service, and the type is considered by historians to have been among the worst of World War II.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP1FUrW ... E8v9otgVSA

2

For those, who do not know them, they are former Zimbabwean cricketers Henry Olonga and Andy Flower. They are international cricketers who played Cricket world cup 2003.

The year was 2003. Under the administration of dictator Robert Mugabe, the country of Zimbabwe faced a huge turmoil and became a land of human rights abuse (especially against White people).

Both Andy flower and Olonga decided they need to act as responsible citizens of Zimbabwe. It was Andy who came up with the idea to oppose the government and asked Olonga whether he is ready to do one of the craziest things ever. Olonga is the first Black Zimbabwean cricketer and one white-one black combination will send a strong message. Olonga agreed.

They strived for liberty and freedom of common people. They finally decided to use the 2003 World Cup to achieve their objectives and to show the world, what is really happening in Zimbabwe. In their opening match against Namibia, this happened
Wearing of Black Tape.

They earlier released a statement that the black color is to ‘Mourn for the death of Democracy’ in Zimbabwe.

Before the match, both Olonga and Andy released this message to the press under the topic ‘Mourn for the death of democracy’

In all the circumstances, we have decided that we will each wear a black armband for the duration of the World Cup. In doing so we are mourning the death of democracy in our beloved Zimbabwe. In doing so we are making a silent plea to those responsible to stop the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe. In doing so, we pray that our small action may help to restore sanity and dignity to our nation

Before the match, when Vince Hogg, administrator of the Zimbabwean Cricket Union was terrified and asked Andy and Olonga, ‘Do you know the consequences of doing a thing? the response given by Andy was iconic: “Do you know the consequences of us not doing anything?”

Both men, especially Olonga knew what his actions mean to him.

Olonga was bashed by all politicians and some called him as not a true Zimbabwean and as someone who has black skin and a white mask". He was ridiculed and was charged with treason, that will guarantee you immediate death by the Zimbabwean laws of that time.

As per Henry’s autobiography, ‘Blood, sweat and treason’, he recalled, the only way that he can save himself is Zimbabwe should beat Pakistan in the final match on group stage so that they can enter super 8, that will happen on South Africa. It will give an opportunity for both players to sneak out of Zimbabwe. But beating Pakistani team is almost next to impossible for Zimbabwe, even when they do have players like Flower brothers.

To their fortune, it rained and Zimbabwe gained entry to next stage through net run rate. Despite Henry managing to escape, the government ordered to kick him out of team bus in the middle of the journey. He was left with no clothes and no money in a foreign land. Henry’s girlfriend broke up with him after receiving numerous threats.

Henry and Andy finally settled in England. Olonga is yet to return to his homeland.

Henry could have enjoyed such a great life simply by supporting the Black majority government. Despite being a Black, he chooses to suffer for the cause of innocent citizens.

They may be traitors in the eyes of Mugabe’s government, but I see them, especially Olonga as an epitome of honor, bravery, and humanity.

[Doodoo]

1
The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It was also the basis of several successful tank destroyers, such as the M10, 17pdr SP Achilles and M36. Tens of thousands were distributed through the Lend-Lease program to the British Commonwealth and Soviet Union. The tank was named by the British for the American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman.


The M4 Sherman evolved from the M3 Medium Tank, which – for speed of development – had its main armament in a side sponson mount. The M4 retained much of the previous mechanical design, but moved the main 75 mm gun into a fully traversing central turret. One feature, a one-axis gyrostabilizer, was not precise enough to allow firing when moving but did help keep the reticle on target, so that when the tank did stop to fire, the gun would be aimed in roughly the right direction.[6] The designers stressed mechanical reliability, ease of production and maintenance, durability, standardization of parts and ammunition in a limited number of variants, and moderate size and weight (its width and weight were designed to conform with the War Department restrictions at the time that aimed to ease shipping problems and ensure armored vehicles would be compatible with existing bridging equipment.. These factors, combined with the Sherman's then-superior armor and armament, outclassed German light and medium tanks fielded in 1939–42. The M4 went on to be produced in large numbers, being the most produced tank in American history:[8] The Soviets' T-34 medium tank (total of some 64,549 wartime-produced examples, split roughly 55%-45% between 76 mm and 85 mm gunned examples) was the only tank design produced in larger numbers during World War II. The Sherman spearheaded many offensives by the Western Allies after 1942.

When the M4 tank went into combat in North Africa with the British Army at the Second Battle of El Alamein in late 1942, it increased the advantage of Allied armor over Axis armor and was superior to the lighter German[10] and Italian tank designs. For this reason, the US Army believed that the M4 would be adequate to win the war, and relatively little pressure was initially exerted for further tank development. Logistical and transport restrictions, such as limitations imposed by roads, ports, and bridges, also complicated the introduction of a more capable but heavier tank. Tank destroyer battalions using vehicles built on the M4 hull and chassis, but with open-topped turrets and more potent high-velocity guns, also entered widespread use in the Allied armies. Even by 1944, most M4 Shermans kept their dual-purpose 75 mm gun. By then, the M4 was inferior in firepower and armor to increasing numbers of German heavy tanks, but was able to fight on with the help of considerable numerical superiority, greater mechanical reliability, better logistical support, and support from growing numbers of fighter-bombers and artillery pieces.[13] Some Shermans were produced with a more capable gun, the 76 mm gun M1, or refitted with a 76.2mm calibre Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun by the British (the Sherman Firefly).

The relative ease of production allowed large numbers of the M4 to be manufactured, and significant investment in tank recovery and repair units allowed disabled vehicles to be repaired and returned to service quickly. These factors combined to give the Allies numerical superiority in most battles, and many infantry divisions were provided with M4s and tank destroyers.[N 3][14]

After World War II, the Sherman, particularly the many improved and upgraded versions, continued to see combat service in many conflicts around the world, including the UN forces in the Korean War, with Israel in the Arab–Israeli wars, briefly with South Vietnam in the Vietnam War, and on both sides of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

2

A GREAT list that brings back memories of the GREAT Movie stars from the past "AFIs 100 Famous Actors"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI%27s_1 ... .100_Stars

[AlexO]

1/ Sherman. Under gunned, under armoured, wrong fuel (petrol, thus Tommy Cooker nickname) really bad mistake by politicians and military who would never have to man that tank. Cost thousands of unnecessary casualties. Cheap and quick to build but if the Axis had not started to waste resources on huge tanks and stuck with Tiger 3's etc would have been devastated to the point that allied crews would have refused to man the death traps.

[Doodoo]

1

Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; Yiddish: ײמאַנועל גאָלדענבערג‎; December 12, 1893 – January 26, 1973) was a Romanian American actor of stage and screen during Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays[1] and more than 100 films during a 50-year career[2] and is best remembered for his tough-guy roles as gangsters in such films as Little Caesar and Key Largo.

During the 1930s and 1940s, he was an outspoken public critic of fascism and Nazism, which were growing in strength in Europe leading up to World War II. His activism included contributing over $250,000 to more than 850 organizations involved in war relief, along with cultural, educational and religious groups. During the 1950s, he was called to testify at the House Un-American Activities Committee during the Red Scare, but was cleared of any deliberate Communist involvement when he claimed he was "duped" by several people whom he named (including screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, according to the official Congressional record, "Communist infiltration of Hollywood motion-picture industry").[3][4]

Robinson's roles included an insurance investigator in the film noir Double Indemnity, Dathan (adversary of Moses) in The Ten Commandments, and his final performance in the science-fiction story Soylent Green.[5] Robinson received an Academy Honorary Award for his work in the film industry, which was awarded two months after he died in 1973. He is ranked number 24 in the American Film Institute's list of the 25 greatest male stars of Classic American cinema.



2

The year 2021 marks 100 years since we were gifted Cheez-It snacks and Wonder Bread.
It's also been 100 years since the word "robot" was first coined.

Chanel No. 5 was created 100 years ago.
The Tulsa Race Massacre began on the morning of May 30, 1921, when a young Black man shared an elevator with a white woman. According to the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum, Tulsa police arrested and began investigating the man, Rowland, the next day.

An "inflammatory report" about what had happened in the elevator appeared in the Tulsa Tribune on May 31, 1921, and prompted mobs of Black and white people to gather outside the courthouse. An unknown gunman fired a shot into the crowd and the African American protesters retreated to the Greenwood Business District, which was commonly referred to as Black Wall Street for its abundance of successful Black-owned businesses.

On the morning of June 1, 1921, Greenwood was looted and burned to the ground, razing 35 city blocks, injuring more than 800 people, and, historians believe, killing as many as 300 people, Additionally, over 6,000 people were imprisoned for as long as eight days.

In honor of the massacre's 100th anniversary, a centennial commission has been established to remember the disastrous day through initiatives like Greenwood Rising, a new museum in the neighborhood, and the Greenwood Art Project.

[Doodoo]

AH its Christmas Day Merry Christmas

1. The image of Santa Claus flying his sleigh began in 1819 and was created by Washington Irving, the same author who dreamt up the Headless Horseman.

2. The original Rudolph did not have a red nose. In that day and age, red noses were seen as an indicator of chronic alcoholism and Montgomery Ward didn’t want him to look like a drunkard. To complete the original picture, he was almost named Reginald or Rollo.

3. Dutch children also left out food and drink for St. Nicholas himself to honor him on his feast day. Today we leave milk and cookies out for Santa, continuing this very old tradition.

4. America’s first batch of eggnog was made in the Jamestown settlement in 1607. Its name comes from the word “grog”, meaning any drink made with rum. Non-alcoholic eggnog is popular as well.

5. The Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square is donated to the people of London every year by the people of Oslo, Norway in thanks for their assistance during World War II.

6. Bicycle, the U.S. playing card company, manufactured cards to give all the POWS in Germany during World War II as Christmas presents. These cards, when soaked in water, revealed an escape route for POWs. The Nazis never knew.

7. Paul McCartney’s Christmas song is widely regarded as the worst of all the songs he ever recorded yet he earns $400,000 a year off of it.

8. NORAD’s “Santa Tracker” was born from a misprint in the newspaper. A 1955 Sears ad was supposed to print the number of a store where children could call and tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. The number printed was to the hotline of the Director of Operations for the U.S. Continental Air Defense. Colonel Shoup ordered his staff to give the children updates on the flight coordinates of Santa.

9. Almost 28 sets of LEGO are sold every second during the Christmas season.

10. Alabama became the first US state to declare Christmas as a legal holiday in 1836 and the last was Oklahoma, in 1907.

[Doodoo]

1

Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated the day after Christmas Day, thus being the second day of Christmastide.[1] Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It originated in the United Kingdom and is celebrated in a number of countries that previously formed part of the British Empire. Boxing Day is on 26 December, although the attached bank holiday or public holiday may take place either on that day or one or two days later (if necessary to ensure it falls on a weekday).

In parts of Europe, such as Catalonia,[2][3] Czechia, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia[4] and Scandinavia, 26 December is celebrated as a second Christmas Day

2
SPORT Boxing day




In the United Kingdom, it is traditional for all top-tier football leagues in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland – the Premier League, the Scottish Premiership, and the NIFL Premiership – and the lower ones, as well as the rugby leagues, to hold a full programme of football matches on Boxing Day. Originally, matches on Boxing Day were played against local rivals to avoid teams and their fans having to travel a long distance to an away game on the day after Christmas Day. Prior to the formation of leagues, a number of traditional rugby union fixtures took place on Boxing Day each year, notably Llanelli v London Welsh and Leicester v The Barbarians.[citation needed]

In Italy, Boxing Day football was played for the first time in the 2018/19 Serie A season. The experiment was successful, with Italian stadiums 69% full on average – more than any other matchday in December 2018.[46]

In rugby league, festive fixtures were a staple of the traditional winter season. Since the transition to a summer season in the 1990s, no formal fixtures are now arranged on Boxing Day but some clubs, such as Wakefield Trinity, arrange a traditional local derby friendly fixture instead.

In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, Test cricket matches are played on Boxing Day. For more details see Boxing Day Test.[47]

In Australia, the first day of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race are on Boxing Day.[48]

In horse racing, there is an individual George VI Chase at Kempton Park Racecourse in Surrey, England. It is the second most prestigious chase in Britain, after the Cheltenham Gold Cup. In addition to the prestigious race at Kempton, in Britain, it is usually the day with the highest number of racing meetings of the year, with eight in 2016, in addition to three more in Ireland.[49] In Barbados, the final day of horse racing is held on Boxing Day at The Historic Garrison Savannah, a UNESCO world heritage site. This tradition has been going on for decades in this former British colony.

Boxing Day is one of the main days in the hunting calendar for hunts in the UK and US, with most hunts (both mounted foxhound or harrier packs and foot packs of beagles or bassets) holding meets, often in town or village centres.

Several ice hockey contests are associated with the day. The IIHF World U20 Championship typically begins on 26 December, while the Spengler Cup also begins on 23 December in Davos, Switzerland; the Spengler Cup competition includes HC Davos, Team Canada, and other top European Hockey teams. The National Hockey League traditionally had close to a full slate of games (10 were played in 2011[51]), following the league-wide days off given for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. However, the 2013 collective bargaining agreement (which followed a lock-out) extended the league mandate of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off to include Boxing Day, except when it falls on a Saturday, in which case the league can choose to make 23 December a league-wide off day instead for that year

In some African Commonwealth nations, particularly Ghana, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania, professional boxing contests are held on Boxing Day. This practice has also been followed for decades in Guyana and Italy.[53]

A notable tradition in Sweden is Annandagsbandy, which formerly marked the start of the bandy season and always draws large crowds. Games traditionally begin at 1:15 pm