(no subject)

More Poll answers:

in2oblivion -- I would have thought that one would be obvious -- a 45' sailboat, in the South Pacific trades, seven days out of the Marquesas, course laid in for Vanuatu, me and thee, a lack of clothing, and some spirited exploration of what the term "laid in" means.

indighost -- Bungee jumping 300 feet. I have pics, somewhere, to show my grandkids that I was once young and stupid, too ;)

jaggedpill -- AEGILOPS (an eye scratch or cut). If that's too obscure, then I'd have to say ABHORS is probably the first, most commonly used one that fits the specification.

(no subject)

I'm in the middle of another WWII history book (Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen Ambrose). I'm soaking it up, it's really an interesting book.

Here's some WWII facts, if you want to play along at home. I probably wouldn't have been in the ballpark of any of these after college, it's only after reading similar books in the last 5 or 10 years that I think I'm really starting to understand this war, how it was really fought.

WWII Quiz (European Theater):

1) The invasion of Normandy on D-Day actually took place simultaneously on five separate beaches: The US at Utah and Omaha beaches, the British at Gold and Sword beaches, and the Canadians at Juno beach. Omaha beach had the highest Allied casualties at 2000. The second highest Allied casualties, 1200, were at which beach?

a) US - Utah
b) UK - Gold
c) UK - Sword
d) Canada - Juno


2) The armies of most nations in WWII had the equivalent of the American 4-star general. For other countries, the next highest rank was a marshal, such as a field marshal or reichsmarschall. Why did the US use 5-star generals instead of marshals?

a) The Army Chief of Staff thought the name "marshal" would be silly
b) 5-stars were seen as more democratic, as opposed to the aristocratic-sounding "marshal"
c) The rank of "marshal" was constitutionally prohibited due to an incident during the Revolutionary War
d) 5-stars would seem to elevate American military leaders above the ranks of their European counterparts


3) In 1944, the US had around 8 million active men in the armed forces. How many military casualties did Russia suffer throughout WWII?

a) 1 million
b) 5 million
c) 10 million
d) 20 million


4) The B-24 Liberator was a US plane with a long range, ten guns, and could carry more than four tons of bombs, yet was universally considered the hardest plane to fly in the entire war. The plane flew ten men and needed a ground crew of seven. The pilot of the plane commanded and was often 21 years old. After a tour of duty of 25 missions (later extended to 35 missions) a crew could be discharged and go home. How many missions did the average B-24 crew survive?

a) 7.5 missions
b) 14.5 missions
c) 20.5 missions
d) 25 missions

( Answers behind the cut )