› added 7 years ago

656

An extraordinary collection of images from Burns Archive shows the extent to which gas masks were promoted as an essential part of everyday life in the early 20th century.

It had been 20 years since the end of World War I, when chlorine gas—and, later, mustard gas—had first been used. The estimates of total casualties from this form of chemical warfare are staggering: 88,000 dead and 1,200,000 injured. With war once again on the horizon, Britain and continental Europe began taking early precautions. In 1938, the British government issued 35 million “General Civilian Respirators”. Everyone from ballerinas to surgeons were encouraged to wear the masks.

wo5l7 TIL that Leo Fender, Founder, and Inventor Of Fender Guitars Could Not Play Guitar.
LABV TIL of Japan’s Unit 731, which committed some of the most terrible war crimes in World War II, including human vivisections, innoculation of diseases, and exposure to radiation and poison gas to thousands of innocent Chinese and Russians. These crimes are still denied by the Japanese people today.
v147B TIL Israel has a strategy called The Samson Option. Yhe name that some military analysts and authors have given to Israel's deterrence strategy of massive retaliation with nuclear weapons as a "last resort" against a country whose military has invaded and/or destroyed much of Israel.
wL1g7 TIL of the National Weight Control Registry, which tracks 6,000 Americans and has shown that calorie control and regular exercise is key to keeping off the pounds, regardless of how much fat you eat.
XEkEE TIL that Terry Pratchett was a Skyrim and Oblivion modder