Akbar the Great was a Mughal emperor who expanded Mughal territory in India. He did this through warfare, which he was very good at. Indian warfare made use of war elephants. Indian generals loved the “shock and awe” aspect of elephants. Akbar had thousands of elephants and around a Read more
Are you familiar with the St. Bernards who rescued hikers in the snowy Alps? One of the things you know about them is actually a myth. This is the story of the most famous St. Bernard dog who was not even a St. Bernard. And the two most Read more
Pal was a black Newfoundland dog that weighed 130 pounds. He was beloved by his family and the kids in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, one day Pal accidentally scratched the face of a little girl with his paw. His family feared he would be euthanized, Read more
Would you move through a minefield with explosives that are waiting for you to step on one? Boom and you are dead. In World War 2, there were soldiers who were paired with dogs that were trained to find mines under weeds, gravel, and even mud. They would clear the Read more
Maria Dickin was a social reformer and animal rights activist. She created the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals in 1917. It’s motto was: “Bring your sick animals/Do not let them suffer/All animals treated/All treatment free”. She even created a horse-drawn wagon that travelled the streets of London providing care Read more
Judy was a pure-bred black and white pointer who was the mascot on the HMS Grasshopper. The Grasshopper was a gunboat patrolling the Yangtse River in China. Judy once warned of Chinese pirates trying to sneak aboard the boat. She attended a party on the USS Panay and got Read more
In 1944, a small Yorkshire terrier named Smoky was found in an abandoned foxhole in New Guinea. Corporal Bill Wynne purchased the dog for $2 and they became inseparable. She once saved his life when she warned him of an incoming shell when they were on the deck of Read more
Do nonviolent protests work, even in a fascist country? A protest in 1943 Nazi Germany did work despite it butting heads with the SS. In Hitler’s Germany, being Jewish was often a death sentence. By 1943, many Jews had already been killed in death Read more
Once upon a time, during the Crimean War, the British army participated in the Siege of Sevastopol in Russia. It took two years for the city to fall and by the end people were starving. When British soldiers entered the city, on September 9, 1855, they found civilians weak Read more
Otto Skorzeny had a scar on his cheek from dueling while in college. He had participated in 15 duels. In 1931, he became a Nazi. After the conquest of Poland, he enlisted as a 31-year-old private in Hitler’s bodyguard. He rose to be a Lt. Col. in the SS Read more