Wholesome Historical Facts You Won't Learn About In School

▶ Fresh AskReddit Stories: What Are Some Wholesome Historical Facts Not Taught In School? 🔥 2nd channel with exclusive Reddit stories!

[LeahWalentosky]

There was a tribe in Kenya that give cows to families in times of morning, after 9/11 they brought seven cows to the US Embassy

[LeahWalentosky]

After the titanic sank, a bunch of 1st class members of the Carpathia pulled their resources such as clothes, money, blankets etc to donate to the 3rd class who lost everything and only had the clothes on their backs. Molly Brown organized this.

[LeahWalentosky]

During the Kennedy funeral planning, no one could find baby Jack. He was found in the nursery playing blocks with Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh. Jack was upset about the death of his father, so Prince Phillip decided to play with him.

[FPH-CAT]

Niki Lauda bought an airline after retiring from racing. In 1991 one of his airplanes crashed in Thailand, killing all aboard. He became convinced the crash was caused by a midair uncommanded deployment of a thrust reverser, something the engine manufacturer said was impossible. He pressed and pressed and at his own expense proved it was not only possible, but the likely cause of this crash. As a result the thrust reversers were redesigned and countless possible air crashes were averted.

[janet]

I saw an interview with the candy bomber. After he had done several candy runs he was called into his CO's office. CO told him "I know what you have been up to Halvorsen. Keep it up."
chocolate

[indridcold]

Not taught in many schools because it humanises the enemy. But a fleet of B-17 flying fortresses went on a bombing run. They flew into enemy airspace and started dropping their bombs. The Luftwaffe defended their airspace fiercely and brought down a few bombers and damaged others. When the allied bombers were neutralised, the primary Nazi fighters returned to their base.

The remaining bombers, empty of their payload took formation and started returning home. But one bomber, piloted by Captain Charles Brown was having a tremendously hard time keeping up with the formation. Captain Charlie Brown's B-17 had one engine completely destroyed, one smoking severely, a devastated tail, the fuselage riddled with holes and missing panels, gaping holes on the side, and a horrific damage to the to the flight control surfaces. His bomber was flying much slower, lower, and lethargically than the rest and it lost the fleet. On the ground, Nazi Flighing Ace Franz Stigler was alerted their was a straggling bomber left behind. He was ordered to shoot it down. Captain Stigler

Captain Stigler took off in his BF-109 ready to destroy the enemy. He was a flying ace with many kills to his name. He knew a lone bomber would be easy to take down. Following the contrails and the trial of smoke, Flying Ace Stigler caught up with the wounded B-17. He lined up the crosshairs and was ready to fire. But he noticed the tail gun turret was facing down and damaged. The ball turret was destroyed and bloody. It was the most heavily damaged aircraft he had ever seen, still flying. There was no opposition to his presence. He flanked the devastated B-17 and saw the pilots. They seemed to be injured and having great difficulty controlling the remnants of the B-17. There B-17's ammunition was depleted and the men were in no physical condition to fight back, nor was the bomber. Captain Charlie Brown prayed the end would come quickly. The Flying Ace then flew up to the front of the bomber. Remembering his flight instructor when he was learning to fly say, "If any of you ever shoot at a man in a parachute and he finds out, he would kill the one that shot him, himself. Though not in a parachute, Captain Stigler knew the B-17 was harmless in thed condition it was. His believed the crew of the striken B-17 to be in the sand condition as if they were men dropping in parachutes. He saluted Captain Brown and motioned him to follow him. Captain Brown had little choice and complied. It was then that the Nazi flying Ace and Captain Charlie Brown ceased to be enemies. They became comrades. Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown flew together as Franz guided his plane to allied airspace. He did not leave the side of the side of the ineffective bomber until he finished guiding it to allied airspace.

When the mangled B-17 made it to allied airspace, Franz Stigler saluted Charlie brown and flew off back to his base. Upon landing, Franz Stigler destroyed his flight film and claimed he shot down the bomber to his superiors. His superiors never asked for the flight film. The two men did not talk about the en counter until many years after the war. It was then that Charlie Brown was in television speaking about his merciful encounter. Franz Stigler, heard the programme and got in contact with Charlie Brown telling him he remembered the encounter well. They two men wrote each other several times and agreed to meet. Their first meeting was not as two former enemies but as brothers that knew the horrors of war. They became close friends and met each other's families. The many years that past after that, they remained extremely close friends. At old age they even died at close dates.

Rest in peace
Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler.

[ryanrobinson]

There's a book about that German pilot saving the American bomber its called "A Higher Call" by Adam Makos its a amazing read and story in general.

[LeahWalentosky]

In the late 30s the Japanese ambassador Chiune Sugihara in Austria started writing visas for Austrian Jews to escape safely to Japan. When the Japanese Empire toLd him to stop. He went to the American Embassy to see if he could visa them from Austria through Japan to Hawaii. The two cooperated, despite their countries being at war. His wife Yukiko Sugihara wrote 6000 visas and cried when they evacuated her.

[greenlightning]

Wholesome historical fact: a viking jarl was raiding an english town and had his life saved by a stray dog, he adopted the dog and continued to raid alongside his pet. This dog would be one of, if not, the first european breeds to lay eyes on north america. His master was so distrought at his death that he commanded religious leadership to bless him into the gates of valhalla and wept for three days and nights at the silence in his home.

[LeahWalentosky]

Harry T Burn voted for womens rights to vote because his mom wrote him a telegram the morning before. His party was against women’s suffrage. He voted for it being the deciding vote.

[metarcee]

1:25 Sabaton has a song about this, called "No Bullets Fly."
8:40 Sabaton also has a song for this event, aptly named "Christmas Truce."

[darkknight]

That when Hitler was young, he got really sick and his family couldn't afford treatment. A Jewish Doctor provided it for free, and was still alive when Hitler rose to power. Hitler hadn't forgotten his kindness, and spared him from the concentration camps. Granted, its been a while since I heard the story, so it may not have gone down exactly like that.

[LegendStormcrow]

Pre-WW2 Mexico was both surprisingly technologically advanced, as well as being absolute Chad's in civil rights. It changed a lot from the country that it was when Santa Anna was around.

Also, the Chactaw are not given enough credit for being grade A bro's.

Oh, and the Christmas Miracle in WW1: a certain band who specializes in songs about history has a song about it.

[LeahWalentosky]

There were German pows to sent to work in rural parts the US to finish Civilian Conservation Corp projects. They mainly replanted forests, built campgrounds and trails. They were treated very well by rural town folks. Families donate clothes to the men, some families took them in on Sundays so they could go to church and have home cooked meals. They were even provided Thanksgiving dinner. Some ex pows described it as the time of their lives.

[klocugh]

In 1991 Israel carried out covert Operation Solomon to evacuate Jews from politically unstable Ethiopia by plane. The plane arrived with more passengers than it departed with - two women gave birth mid flight. That flight also has Guiness Record for the most passengers on a plane.

[addisonvaughan]

The only time an army came back with more men than it had sent out was when a small army of 80 went out and came back another guy from a beach making it 81

[junoniathesilkwing]

1917, Halifax, Canada.
A French ship carrying a cargo of TNT, the _Mont Blanc, _ was accidentally struck by another ship. The _Mont Blanc_ caught fire. The resulting explosion killed over 2000 people and leveled most of the city.
To date, it's the largest explosion in history that wasn't caused by a nuclear bomb.
When the city of Boston got an emergency telegram (which amounted to basically "TNT ship on fire in harbor") they immediately sent shipments of supplies to Halifax to assist in treating the injured and rebuilding the city. No questions asked, _they didn't wait for confirmation of the event, _ they just did it. And they apologized when the shipments were delayed by bad weather.

To this day, the city of Halifax sends the city of Boston a Christmas tree each year as a thank-you for Boston's promptness in providing aid.

[wesleythomas]

Lichtenstein went to war with 80 men and suffered -1 casualties, returning home with 81 men.

[TJDious]

Don't you dare say Mr Rogers isn't a historical figure.

[mrfancypanzer]

9:43 Fun fact, Wojtek wouldn't be the only animal in Edinburgh zoo with a military rank, It is where Brigadier Sir Nils Olav III of the Norwegian Royal Guard is currently stationed, Nils Olav I would have been there at the same time as Wojtek.