At a 1976 Amsterdam chess tournament, Soviet grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi politely asked an English competitor how to spell the words “political asylum.” He then went straight to a police station and announced that he wished to defect.
politics
During the Cold War, the USA tried to intimidate…
During the Cold War, the USA tried to intimidate the Soviet Bloc by convincing them that then president Richard Nixon was an unstable lunatic who was likely to lash out for no rational reason, based on the dubious “madman theory” of foreign policy.
Founded by the Great Peacemaker in 1142…
Founded by the Great Peacemaker in 1142, the Iroquois Confederacy is the oldest living participatory democracy on earth. The US constitution was influenced by the political system developed by the Iroquois Confederacy.
In 1986, Alfonse D’Amato, a New York Senator…
In 1986, Alfonse D’Amato, a New York Senator, resorted to reading aloud from the District of Columbia phone book during a 23 ½ hour filіbuster. 6 years later, the same Senator started singing a song satirising the outsourcing of American jobs during a 15 ¼ hour fіlibuster.
The mayor of a Russian town persuaded…
The mayor of a Russian town persuaded the cleaner of the local administration building to run as his rival, in order to fulfil the minimum requirement of two cаndіdates. The residents of the town were fed up with the mаyor, and the cleaner was elеcted, receiving almost 62% of the vоtes.
A large number of Graffiti found…
A large number of Graffiti found in Pompeii are political ads. Specificaly, one Gnaeus Helvius Sabinus appears in no less than 140 political signs throughout the town, endorsed by all manner of individuals, trade unions, religious and social groups.
Escaped in air balloon
In 1979, two families escaped East Germany in a homemade hot air balloon. They flew for 28 minutes at −8 °C (18 °F) with no shelter as the gondola was just a clothesline railing. They landed just 10km (6.2 mi) from the border. The escape was planned out over 1 and 1/2 years and took 3 attempts.
In 1984, New Zealand Prime Minister Robert…
In 1984, New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon got drunk and decided to spontaneously call a general election, which he lost.
As Pres. Grover Cleveland and his…
As Pres. Grover Cleveland and his wife were moving out of the White House, she told staff to take care of the place because “We are coming back four years from today.” Cleveland won another term and moved back in four years later.
Lake Tahoe at one time was named Lake….
Lake Tahoe at one time was named Lake Bigler in honor of the popular third governor of California. However, once it was revealed that Bigler was a Confederate sympathizer during the US Civil War, his name was removed from the lake and renamed Tahoe.