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Post up facts and things that hardly anyone knows...... (for entertainment purposes only. NO need to fact check)

When you think of multistage rockets, you assume fairly modern warfare. China, on the other hand, actually used these in combat as far back as the 13th century.
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This blueprint was an example of "huo long chu shui" (Fire Dragon out of the Water), a two staged dragon shaped rocket. The four rockets with fins were attached to the body, while the fan tail helped with guidance. After the front two rockets had fired, the second stage rear two rockets continued the trajectory, reaching the intended target (the range was described as two or three 'Li', or village diameters), then the internal fuses would ignite and shoot out three or four rocket arrows out of the mouth of the dragon.

Made of bamboo with a wooden head, they were quite useful as both a long range siege weapon and coastal defense artillery.

Earlier forms of rockets go back as far as the 9th century, being rudimentary bamboo tubes filled with gunpowder that were shot along the ground to frighten the horses of enemy cavalry.
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During the Song Dynasty, (960-1279 AD) the Chinese military developed rocket launchers that would fire multiple rockets simultaneously.
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When the Queen Mary was first painted after arriving at Long Beach, over 320 tons of old paint were sandblasted off, some parts over an inch thick with many layers, including wartime gray.

The ship was repainted again in 2018 - before and after pictures. It took about 120 gallons of paint just for the smoke stacks.
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World War 2, August, 1944.
Japanese Light Cruiser Natori is hit and sunk by an American submarine torpedo.
With no allied ships nearby, Natori went down with 550 men lost.
A few survivors were picked up by American forces days later, a few in the water and even later one in a raft.

Unknown at the time, and for many years after, 180 survivors lead by 26 year old Eichi Kobayashi boarded 3 cutters and rowed. They rowed for 13 days and covered 600KM, finally arriving at a friendly outpost.
Kobayashi's leadership would become part of the curriculum at Japan's defense academy.
 
One of the most intricately carved pieces of marble is the statue "The Release From Deception" by the Italian sculptor Francesco Queirolo who finished it in 1759 after seven years of work.

Everything you see, including every bit of rope on the netting, was carved from a single solid block of marble.
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Detective D said:
World War 2, August, 1944.
Japanese Light Cruiser Natori is hit and sunk by an American submarine torpedo.
With no allied ships nearby, Natori went down with 550 men lost.
A few survivors were picked up by American forces days later, a few in the water and even later one in a raft.

Unknown at the time, and for many years after, 180 survivors lead by 26 year old Eichi Kobayashi boarded 3 cutters and rowed. They rowed for 13 days and covered 600KM, finally arriving at a friendly outpost.
Kobayashi's leadership would become part of the curriculum at Japan's defense academy.
Click to expand...

I wonder if he's what this is named after:

The term "Kobayashi Maru" refers to a fictional training exercise in the Star Trek universe designed to present cadets with a no-win scenario, testing their character and decision-making under pressure.
 
Kern Dog said:
Only in America ...do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
Only in America .....do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke.
Only in America .....do banks leave vault doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.
Only in America .....do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.
Only in America ......do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.
Only in America ......do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering....
Click to expand...
We can add a couple more to your list;

Only in America....We drive on a
parkway and park in a driveway.
Only in America...7-11 stores are
open 24 hrs, yet there's locks on
the doors.
 
Play-Doh was initially invented to remove soot and dirt from wallpaper.

In fact, antique restorers still use it for refurbishing antique pieces.

However, Play-Doh was officially recognized as a toy in 1954.
 

Gene Wilder ate wax in Willy Wonka.​

For the tea time scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the “candy” flower cup that Gene Wilder chomped on was actually made of wax.

Additionally, the chocolate river was made of actual water, chocolate, and cream that spoiled throughout shooting.
 

Standard CD’s are always 74 minutes long.​

Sony and Philips set the standard CD length in 1980 as 74 minutes based on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

The executives decided that the standard CD should be able to fit the Ninth Symphony, giving it a 74-minute length.
 

Maps sometimes have fake places to prevent plagiarism.​

Plagiarism can be hard to avoid for mapmakers. After all, what should they do? Invent new places?

You’d be surprised to know some mapmakers do just that.

Cartographers can add wrong streets, fake towns, or other landmarks to prove whether a competitor mapmaker is copying their work.

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This is the curious tale of Agloe, a small town that went from being imaginary hamlet, to a real-life town, and then swiftly vanished again. Copyright infringements were a very common among map makers, so publishers often included ‘paper towns’. Map makers included these fictitious towns to easily tell if their work had been plagiarised. If they suspected anything they could simply see if their fictitious town appeared on their competitors map, and then they had grounds for a lawsuit.

In the 1930’s map makers Otto G. Lindberg and, Ernest Alpers of General Drafting Co. published a detailed road map of New York State. On a nondescript dirt road, just outside Roscoe they included a paper town which they named Agloe, a combination of their names.
 
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