Infinite Wisdom

"The Lydian dust holds this Amyntor, son of Philip,
     who touched iron-hard battle with his hands many times
Nor did grievous sickness send him to the House of Night, but he
     perished holding his round shield over his comrade-in-arms."

La Triviata

• Although neutral during World War I, Norway nevertheless lost 825 vessels to German submarines, from fishing boats to trans-Atlantic steamers, and an officially recorded 1,162 lives.
• During drinking bouts, Stalin is believed to have sometimes chugged water, rather that vodka, perhaps in the hope of catching his cronies off guard.
• For the last two years of the Korean War (1952-1953), the 7th Infantry Division was commanded by Maj. Gen. Arthur G. Trudeau, who happened to play the banjo, and so formed a combo with some of his troops, with whom he would often played for the rest of the men, making him one of the most popular generals in the army at the time.
• About half of French Royal revenues during the 1480s went to meet the military obligations of the Crown.
• With figures varying due to the type of airplane, during World War II Uncle Sam spent some $40,000-$60,000 to train a bomber pilot and some $60,000- $90,000 for a fighter pilot, at a time when the dollar was worth $12-$22 in current terms.        
• From 1794 through 1796, having backed the wrong faction in Revolutionary politics, during “The Terror” in France, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, a former priest who was one of history’s most slippery diplomats, surviving numerous changes of regime between 1789 and 1834, resided in the United States, where he reportedly made £50,000 in crooked land deals, perhaps $75 million today.
• Although the Waffen-SS is commonly through to have suffered unusually high losses on the Eastern Front during World War II, in fact it’s officially recorded casualty rate against Soviet troops was 34 percent, little different from that of the regular German Army, 31 percent.
• The venereal disease rate in the Atlantic Fleet during the late 1930s, 120 cases per thousand men, was twice that of the Pacific Fleet. 

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