The What You Remember About Historical Events Off Of The Top Of Your Head Game

Andail · Tue 31/03/2009 13:42:32

Yeah I was gonna say all that

SSH · Tue 31/03/2009 16:23:16

I can't believe you didn't mention the invasion of Russia where he hugely overstretched himself and decimated his army by not ensuring his supply lines... oh well!

Also, Andail didn't specify WHICH battle of LÃ¼tzen (guess who just got a disambiguation page on Wikipedia

)

Jared · Tue 31/03/2009 21:00:35

Quote from: SSHI can't believe you didn't mention the invasion of Russia where he hugely overstretched himself and decimated his army by not ensuring his supply lines... oh well!

*Cough*

Quote from: Jaredeven after he promised to he instead went on his terror expedition to Russia, wherein he assembled the largest army ever seen in the world, and preceded to record the greatest number of casualties outside of battle through a brutal forced march. Ironically the political rift with the Tsar of Russia formed after the Tsar followed Wellington's battles and believed the course of the war to be turning.

Small coverage because I'm only really that familiar with the Western European theatre. It was a campaign rather than a battle, though - of the about three battles in the Russian campaign they were either French victories or inconclusive.

I believe the original army was 100,000 strong (with something like 55,000 Frenchmen and then other units of Swiss, Austrians, Bavarians, Dutch and other then-allies) and just over half made it back.

And to throw back to Wellington again (I can't help it man!) the tactic of burning all the supplies as they retreated had been used by Wellington when he withdrew to Torres Vedras, and its known that the Tsar followed his campaigns very closely. Admittedly it's somewhat more impressive when the crops and stores that you are destroying are actually those of your own nation...

SSH · Tue 31/03/2009 21:55:03

Dearie me, my brain must not have been working on that paragraph...

Pesty · Wed 01/04/2009 00:27:30

Quote from: Creed Malay on Mon 30/03/2009 22:57:49
Why did Hancock sign so big? Day of the Tentacle taught me that it was because he'd been told that "chicks dig a guy with a big... signature", but I am not totally convinced by that...

This was a document that meant a lot to all these men who signed it. The first to do so was Hancock, and he did it so largely because he wanted everyone to see that he supported it. He just was super entusiastic about the Declaration. There are a couple stories of him going "They won't have to use spectacles to read THAT", which is hilarious but probably untrue.

Bob · Wed 01/04/2009 05:03:33

As the legend goes, he was concerned the King himself wouldn't be able to read it, since he had poor vision.

Andail · Wed 01/04/2009 08:23:08

LÃ¼tzen? What about LÃ¼tzen, people?
LÃœTZEN!!!!

Jared · Wed 01/04/2009 10:26:18

Hmm, very well.. going by the name 'The Battle of LÃ¼tzen' I guess that it would be an armed conflict between two nations within the context of a broader campaign that took place within or around a locale named LÃ¼tzen, presumably in Germany given the local's penchant for drawing dots over the letter 'u'.

magintz · Wed 01/04/2009 11:02:36

I'll also conclude that it has something to do with Sweden as of the post's originator although have never heard of said battle and don't recall a battle between Sweden and Germany. Perhaps it was long ago?

SSH · Wed 01/04/2009 12:10:04

The Battle of LÃ¼tzen was one of the most decisive battles of the Thirty Years' War. It was a Protestant victory, but cost the life of one of the most important leaders of the Protestant alliance, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.

Yes, I know I cheated, but can we move on sicne no-one but Andail seems to have heard of it?

Next: The discovery of the new world

Andail · Wed 01/04/2009 12:28:16

Bah, I doubt anyone's ever heard of the new world. Or cares about it.

Babar · Wed 01/04/2009 12:38:02

Errr...Christopher Columbus discovered it (or did he leave his shores for it? Or maybe both?) in 1492, thinking it was the east end of India. Unless you want to count the vikings who might have done it, lead by Eric somebody, or the theory that the Japanese had done it before, or count the native americans who "discovered" it even longer before that, when they probably just walked over from Asia.

So Chris's Crew are getting annoyed because there hasn't been land seen for a long time, and they are probably going to do something really bad, but then seagulls (or was it some other type of bird?) show up, and everyone gets happy and excited and probably screamed "LAND HO!" and so on.

Aside from that, the new world gets its name from Amerigo Vaspucci, another explorer guy.

Hmmm...most off this information is taken off my playings of Colonization. I can also tell you about all the guys who joined up in the Congress and what they did (Pocohantus was able to reduce tensions with the native americans, etc).

Tell me about.....Chingez Khan!

paolo · Wed 01/04/2009 12:47:11

Bloodthirsty guy who killed lots of people, and then killed a lot more.

Next: the 1969 Apollo moon landing.

SSH · Wed 01/04/2009 13:10:59

Babar forgot to mention that afetr discovering America, Chris Colombus went on to direct Mrs Doubtfire and the first 2 Harry Potter movies...

Ponch · Wed 01/04/2009 20:41:31

Quote from: paolo on Wed 01/04/2009 12:47:11
Next: the 1969 Apollo moon landing.

Whenever they talk about Armstrong walking on the moon, they always show that same photo. But it's not Armstrong. It's Aldrin. Armstrong was the one who took the photo. And nobody ever remembers Collins. He had the job of staying in orbit around the moon while the other two got to walk around and pick up rocks. (That is, of course, that we assume they actually landed on the moon and ignore the fact that the whole thing is a giant conspiracy!!!1!)

Next up: Crazy Billionaire Potpourri! Howard Hughes or Walt Disney. Take your pick. Who was crazier?

Jared · Thu 02/04/2009 07:23:16

Well, I don't know much about Walt Disney aside from the common stuff - allegedly supported the Nazis, allegedly has his cyrogenically-suspended body buried under the big castle, ordered that nobody with a beard be allowed to work in Disney Land and that all Disney 'characters' in the park be banned from breaking character at any time outside of a certain room.

Howard Hughes liked planes a lot and looked like Leonardo DiCaprio, but when he got older he was so terrified of germs that he shunned all human contact, living in the top of his casino and supposedly stopped cutting hsi hair, beard and fingernails. I think. Damned contemporary history.

Somebody who actually knows what they're talking about please post now.

A couple of throwbacks:

*Apollo 11 had been designed by Wehrner Von Braunn, who has fairly controversial given that he had been an honourary Colonel of the SS and his second-most noted rocket was the V12 missile that killed hundreds of Londoners.

*The first European to land on America wasn't Eric Somebody (he came later) but Lief Ericsson.

Next: The Crippen murder.

Snarky · Thu 02/04/2009 14:33:02

Quote from: Jared on Thu 02/04/2009 07:23:16
*The first European to land on America wasn't Eric Somebody (he came later) but Lief Ericsson.

Eric the Red was Leif Ericsson's dad (that's why his name is Ericsson), and was the one who settled Greenland. While Leif may have been the first to make landfall on North America, the land was actually discovered a few years earlier by some other Viking guy.

All this is assuming we don't count Greenland as part of North America, as most geographers tend to do. In that case it was discovered much earlier.

InCreator · Thu 02/04/2009 16:22:04

QuoteNext: The Crippen murder.

The WHAT?
I seriously doubt that international members have even slightest clue who that american doctor was or what he did.
Ted Bundy would be already a tough nut, but this...
I'm a history fan, and I've never heard about it.

Privateer Puddin' · Thu 02/04/2009 16:32:54

Eh, it's well known enough I think.

Dr. Hippen murdered his wife and buried her in the basement. The police were tipped off to her disappearance and searched the house but were unable to find anything. It was only until Hippen fled that they searched again, that time finding the body. A wireless telegram was sent once Hippen (and his lover dressed as a boy) were spotted fleeing to Canada. The police took a faster boat to Canada, and were able to meet Hippen when he arrived in Canada. I think he was relieved to be caught in the end, probably not so relieved about being hung back in london though..

It's very brief I know, I can't remember names of the ships, dates, or other names, sorry.

Next: (this might be too recent, if so, ignore it!) The O. J. Simpson Murders

Ponch · Thu 02/04/2009 16:44:42

Just a quick bit about Disney before we take the plunge into OJ.

The famous Disney signature that's part of the logo -- It's not Walt Disney's! It was done by either one of his animators or by one of his secretaries.

Also, Disney was such a control freak that he made his employees clock in and out for everything. Even if they just got up to open a window or get a drink of water.