Creative names for a sunshower

"The devil is beating his wife" - Southern United States and Hungary
"The devil is kissing his wife" - Tennessee
"The devil is beating his wife and marrying his daughter" - France

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshower

"Who else?"

Michel Bacos was the captain of Air France Flight 139, which was hijacked in 1976 and eventually flown to Uganda before finally being rescued by Israeli commandos (the hijacking was aimed at punishing Israel and the flight took off from Tel Aviv with many Jewish passengers).

When the plane initially landed in Uganda, all the hostages were allowed to leave except the Jewish one.  Bacos, the rest of the flight crew, and several other passengers refused to leave in a show of solidarity.

Eventually, Israeli commandos secretly entered the country and conducted a daring raid to free all the passengers.

After the raid, Bacos was asked if he ever thought the Israeli army would fly thousands of kilometres to rescue them. Looking at the cameras, he said, "Who else?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Bacos

How dangerous is the Nile Crocodile?

Pretty freaking dangerous.

• Average life span of 70 to 100 years
• Responsible for "hundreds of deaths of humans every year"
• Males can grow up to 12 feet long, and the largest is believed to be 20 feet long
• They can "gallop" around 9 mph, and can swim 22 mph
• They can close their jaws with the force of 5,000 pounds per foot

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_crocodile

When Crocodiles are more dangerous than bullets

At the Battle of Ramree Island (off the coast of Burma) in WW2, a Japanese retreat turned disastrous as they fled through a crocodile-infested swamp.

"That night [of the 19 February 1945] was the most horrible that any member of the M.L. [motor launch] crews ever experienced. The scattered rifle shots in the pitch black swamp punctured by the screams of wounded men crushed in the jaws of huge reptiles, and the blurred worrying sound of spinning crocodiles made a cacophony of hell that has rarely been duplicated on earth. At dawn the vultures arrived to clean up what the crocodiles had left. . . . Of about one thousand Japanese soldiers that entered the swamps of Ramree, only about twenty were found alive."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ramree_Island

Origin of the White House Executive Chef

Did you know that the White House Executive Chef position was only created in 1961?  Previously, the food was " supplied by either outside caterers or Navy stewards and were not known for their high standard".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Executive_Chef
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Verdon

First Lady of the United States is NOT the President's Wife

The First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is technically the "hostess" of the White House.  Typically this is the President's wife, but not always.

Previously in history this position has been held by other female relatives of the President as well:

"Several women who were not presidents' wives have served as First Lady, as when the president was a bachelor or widower, or when the wife of the president was unable to fulfill the duties of the First Lady herself. In these cases, the position has been filled by a female relative or friend of the president, such as Martha Jefferson Randolph during Jefferson's presidency, Emily Donelson and Sarah Yorke Jackson during Jackson's, Mary Elizabeth (Taylor) Bliss during Taylor's, Mary Harrison McKee during Harrison's presidency, upon her mother's death, and Harriet Lane during Buchanan's."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Lady_of_the_United_States

Please bring a gun with you outside the city limits

In Svalbard, a group of islands north of Scandinavia, you are required to carry a gun when you leave the limits of a town due to the constant threat of polar bears.

"anyone outside of settlements is required to carry a rifle to kill polar bears in self defense, as a last resort, should they attack"

It's also notable as the location of the last surrendering German soldiers of WW2, who were manning a remote meteorological station there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard

Corned Beef contains no corn

Corned Beef just means salted beef.

The word corn derives from Old English, and is used to describe any small hard particles or grains.^[2] In the case of "corned beef", the word refers to the coarse granular salts used to cure the beef.^[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corned_beef

Chaff, and why neither the Germans nor the Allies used it in WW2

Chaff is a military invention in which small particles of metal or plastic are dispersed in order to create a fake radar signature, an effective defensive counter-measure against missiles and enemy radar tracking.

It was developed in WW2, but both the Germans and the Allied engineers were afraid to deploy it because of how easy it would be to copy.

"Thus for over a year the curious situation arose where both sides of the conflict knew how to use chaff to jam the other side's radar, but refrained from doing so fearing that if they did so the other side would 'learn the trick' and use it against themselves."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaff_(countermeasure)

World Tourism Statistics

Biggest destination for international travelers?  France, with 83 million arrivals in 2012.

However, the top earner is the United States, with a whopping $126.2 billion USD in tourism receipts in 2012.  That's over double the next country, Spain, with $55.9 billion.

The biggest tourism spending country is China, with $102.0 billion USD.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings

Japanese Samurai expressing their displeasure

In the 1800s, many in Japan took offense to the proliferation of Europeans in their country.  A group of samurai murdered 11 French sailors in what became known as the "Sakai incident".  France demanded a response, so the Japanese government rounded up those responsible and sentenced them to death.

"However, at the execution, indignant samurai threw their own intestines to shock the French who were observing the execution."


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakai_incident

Apache helicopter can carry people!

"The stub-wing pylons have mounting points which make maintenance easier; these mountings can be used to secure personnel to the wings for transport for emergencies."

That does not sound like a fun (or safe) ride.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AH-64_Apache

Embassies are not actually outside the laws of the country they reside in

"Contrary to popular belief, diplomatic missions do not enjoy full extraterritorial status and are not sovereign territory of the represented state."

They are immune to most local laws, but not all.  Their chief privilege is that the host country cannot enter the premises without permission- or violence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embassy