war

WWI Centennial

WWI Centennial: The Conference of London Convenes

Installment #50: In mid-December 1912, as Europe seemed to teeter on the edge of war, diplomats representing the Great Powers, the Balkan League and the Ottoman Empire hurried to an international conference in London organized by British foreign secretary Edward Grey with the goal of settling the situation in the Balkans and keeping the peace.... READ ON

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Dirty Laundry and Civil War Espionage

During the American Civil War, the Union Army quickly figured out how to play Confederates’ own prejudices against them. They found that many Confederate troops would speak openly about tactics and troop movements or leave maps and orders out in plain view in front of black slaves and servants. So low were the southerners’ opinions of African Americans, they couldn’t imagine them doing anything useful with the information they heard or saw. Reports from runaway slaves and free African Americans from... READ ON

WWI Centennial

World War I Centennial: Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece Declare War

Installment #40: Ten days after Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire, the rest of the Balkan League piled on, with simultaneous declarations of war by Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece, which ultimately sent some 750,000 troops across the borders to seize Turkish territory in Europe.... READ ON

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A Brief History of Challenge Coins

There are many examples of traditions that build camaraderie in the military, but few are as well-respected as the practice of carrying a challenge coin—a small medallion or token that signifies a person is a member of an organization. Even though challenge coins have broken into the civilian population, they're still a bit of a mystery for those outside the armed forces. What Do Challenge Coins Look Like? Typically, challenge coins are around 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter, and about 1/10-inch thick, but... READ ON

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2,053 Nuclear Explosions in One Video

Artist Isao Hashimoto created an animation showing every nuclear test between 1945 (the first Manhattan Project test, called Trinity) and 1998 (a test in Pakistan). The total number? 2,053, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Note that this number doesn't include the rumored North Korean tests in 2006 and 2009. While the video starts slowly, by the late 1950s things are getting intense. Testing peaks in 1962, when over a hundred blasts are shown. You can follow the... READ ON

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WWII Bomb Discovered, Detonated in Munich

On August 27, construction workers in Munich discovered an American bomb from World War II inside an old bar that was being cleared for new construction. The bomb weighed 550 pounds and bore an "unusual fuse," operated by a chemical reaction rather than a mechanical switch. Because the bomb was unsafe to transport, authorities decided that the only means to clear it was to evacuate that area of the city and blow it up -- which they proceeded to do the next evening. Video of the explosion is below.... READ ON

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How Ben Franklin Became a Colonel in the Pennsylvania Militia

Franklin statue image via Shutterstock In the 1750s and 60s, Great Britain and France waged war in North America for colonial domination of the continent. Known as the French and Indian War, this American theater was just one part of the larger Seven Years War, which also involved most of the other great European powers of the era. Benjamin Franklin was a colonial Postmaster General and a member of the Committee of Defense under the Pennsylvania Assembly at the time. At the Albany Congress, Franklin... READ ON

Big Question

Why Does Everything Look Green Through Night Vision Goggles?

The characteristic green tint is by design, for a few reasons. First, device makers have experimented with a few different colors and found that the different shades that make up the monochrome night vision image are most accurately perceived and distinguished when they’re green. In other words, while the night vision images you’ve seen in Silence of the Lambs and Call of Duty might seem a little clunky, green presents a night vision device wearer with the most accurate and user-friendly picture... READ ON

Big Question

Why Do We Scream "Geronimo" When Jumping From Things?

© Bettmann/CORBIS??In the early 1940s, the United States Army was testing the idea of parachuting from planes as a way of deploying troops. The first group to really experiment with it and begin developing paratrooper techniques was a unit of 50 men known the Parachute Test... READ ON

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FUSAG: The Ghost Army of World War II

In the final years of World War II, both the Allied and Axis Powers knew that there was no chance of defeating Hitler without cracking his grasp on Western Europe, and both sides knew that Northern France was the obvious target for an amphibious assault. The German high command assumed the Allies would cross from England to France at the narrowest part of the channel and land at Pas-de-Calais. The Allies instead set their sights some 200 miles to the west. The beaches of Normandy could be taken as they... READ ON