21. From user Rararatard:
When nuclear power was conceived and reactors were built they did ALL of the math without calculators and computers. Used slide rules. How many of us crutch on that handy phone calculator everyday? I know I do!
22. From user SubSonicOrbiter:
In 66 years mankind went from the wright* brothers first powered flight to landing on the moon.
23. From user BEEFTANK_Jr:
Shortly after the American Civil War, a group of Irish Americans calling themselves the Fenian Brotherhood banded together, sold war bonds, and attempted to invade and hold Canada hostage in an attempt to get Britain to release Ireland.
There were five major raids. Of those raids, the Fenians actually won two battles and briefly held Canadian territory.
After the first raid, the United States Navy cut off their supply lines and the Fenians were forced to retreat back to the US.
The second raid was a comedy of errors perpetrated by the Canadian militia and British army. Essentially, the Queen’s Own Rifles (who were a ragtag militia at the time) met the Fenian Brotherhood’s army and exchanged fire for a brief period. Not long after, the British army arrives. The Queen’s Own Rifles retire from the field to give room for the British regulars. Mistaking this as a general retreat, the British army also retires the field.
The rest of the raids essentially follow a pattern of the Fenians exchanging useless fire with the Canadians/British, then going home.
The last raid is perhaps the funniest. While other invasions had hundreds to even over a thousand men, the last had approximately thirty. Their plan was to go into central Canada via the Dakota territory. They attack a Hudson Trading Post and, shortly after, are arrested by the US authorities. This attack never actually made it to Canada as surveyors found that the trading post was actually in what is now Minnesota.
Most of the Fenian soldiers suffered no consequences for essentially spending several years invading Canada.
24. From user randomer206:
Solely basing this on Irish pride and Netflix (with some short reading after)…
157 Irish Peace Keepers based in the Congo held off 3,000 attackers killing over 300 of them. Sustaining no loses themselves and a few injuries. Received no support from the UN and eventually surrendered when they “used every bullet twice” quite literally (they made a shrapnel bomb with the empty shells).
It was the first time an official army from Ireland faced combat, the Irish Government swept it under the rug, pretended it didn’t happen due to the surrender which they considered a disgrace.
25. From user QueenKiminari:
Around the time of the great classical writers a common yet interesting thing was that composers would challenge each other to 1v1’s. Music Duels. Mostly improvisation duels.
Beethoven one day was challenged by a composer named Steibelt. The cocky young composer challenged him and went first. Steibelt threw his own composition on the ground and played perfectly. Met with rousing applause.
Beethoven however stood up took the piece that Steibelt threw to the ground and showed it to the audience. (Nobles loved watching this shit) He took it and turned it upside down. He sat down and played it perfectly. He then took the theme of the composition and improvised on it for OVER AN HOUR.
Steibelt left halfway through but promised to never return to Vienna as long as Beethoven lived there. Beethoven lived in Vienna until he died.