France demanded billions in reparations from the Haitians for their freedom. Haiti was a successful slave revolt and one of many countries in the New World that fought to earn its freedom. France, a little pissed, after having lost its colony and its slaves said “OK, you’re free but you’re going to have to pay reparations to the slave owners.” The new country wasn’t exactly in a position to keep fighting so they agreed and France used its continued might to hold Haiti to the deal. That was 200-odd years ago.
The Welsh engineering firm Taylor & Sons…
The Welsh engineering firm Taylor & Sons, which was founded in 1875, collapsed after a typo by Companies House in 2009 mistakenly listed them as being wound up, by confusing them with another company, Taylor and Son, that really was failing. Considering that the company was very profitable before the blunder, this has to rank among the costliest typos in history.
Octopuses often collect trinkets…
Octopuses often collect trinkets and will plunder coins from ancient shipwrecks to fill their homes with.
In 1989 in Tacoma, WA, Army Ranger…
In 1989 in Tacoma, WA, Army Ranger buddies at a bbq were threatened by Crips in the neighborhood. The Rangers called more buddies, who brought more firearms. They set up defensive positions and a shoot-out ensued later that night when the Crips made a move on the house. The neighborhood is now one of the quietest in Tacome.
Between 1854 and 1921 in the US…
Between 1854 and 1921 in the US, over 250,000 children were transported on “Orphan Trains” to be adopted by new families; many found new homes, but, sometimes the “adoptions” were little more than auctions.
Smedley Butler was one of the most….
Smedley Butler was one of the most decorated Marines with 2 Medals of Honor. He served 33 years & became an anti war advocate. He wrote “War is a Racket” about war profiteering. He said “the best he [Al Capone] could do was to operate his racket in 3 districts. I operated on 3 continents.”
The “Forgotten Winchester” was a heavily weathered rifle…
The “Forgotten Winchester” was a heavily weathered rifle found in leaning against a tree in Great Basin National Park in 2014. It was manufactured in 1882 and round of ammunition recovered from it was dated between 1888-1911. Who left it there and why they never returned is a mystery.
A Cuban military pilot defected…
A Cuban military pilot defected to the US in a MIG-23, and later piloted a Cessna BACK to Cuba to exfiltrate his wife and children.
iPhone is a Chinese brand of leather products…
iPhone is a Chinese brand of leather products and none of them are phones, which is why Apple lost a legal battle against them and has to share the trademark for the word “iPhone” with them.
After the TV show Teletubbies ended…
After the TV show Teletubbies ended, the owner of the land used had to dig out the hill and flood the field it was filmed in, due to the amount of people trespassing to see Teletubbieland.