Squirrels
The word “squirrel” is from the early 14th century, from Anglo-French esquirel, Old French escurel (Modern French écureuil), from Vulgar Latin *scuriolus, diminutive of *scurius “squirrel,” variant of Latin sciurus, from Greek skiouros “a squirrel,” literally “shadow-tailed,” from skia “shadow” + oura “tail.” Perhaps the original notion is “that which makes a shade with its tail.” The Old English word was acweorna, which survived into Middle English as aquerne, later becoming the word “acorn.”1
British forces during World War II are reported to have also used the word “squirrel”, as Germans would frequently pronounce it “Sqvirrel,” thus giving away their identity. This usage is an example of a shibboleth, or a word, especially seen as a test, to distinguish someone as belonging to a particular nation, class, or profession.
In Germany, Oachkatzlschwoaf (“tail of a squirrel”) is used to tell true Bavarians and Austrians from non-natives, mostly northern Germans.2
Grawlixes
The series of typographical symbols (such as @#*&!) used in cartoons and comic strips to represent swear words are called “grawlixes.”3 Also known as jarns and nittles, grawlixes usually appear in maledicta (“wicked word”) balloons alongside the comic characters who are uttering the oaths.
Town Line, NY
In 1861, a small hamlet called Town Line, in Western New York, voted to secede and join the Confederates, sending five soldiers to fight under General Robert E. Lee. The secession was slowly forgotten by members of the community. During World War II, it was discovered that Town Line was not part of the Union. The town people twice rejected a vote to join until finally voting on January 26th, 1946 to officially join the Union.4
The Battle Of Schloss Itter
Schloss Itter (“Castle Itter”) is a castle located high in the Austrian Alps in North Tyrol, Austria. Near the end of World War II, the castle held a large number of French VIPs imprisoned by the Nazis. The prisoners were freed by units of the American 103rd Infantry Division of General Anthony McAuliffe on May 5, 1945, just days from the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany on May 8, 1945. On May 6, the American units, including 23rd Tank Battalion of the U.S. 12th Armored Division under the command of Capt. John C. Lee, Jr., the former prisoners themselves, and anti-Nazi elements of the Wehrmacht under the command of Major Josef Gangl, fought alongside the German guards against attacking SS troops bent on killing the VIPs, until reinforcements arrived.5
Bilbo And Tolkien
Bilbo’s journey from Rivendell to the other side of the Misty Mountains (“including the glissade down the slithering stones into the pine woods”) is directly based off Tolkien’s trip from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen while on holiday in Switzerland in 1911, something he notes in a 1968 letter.6
The Tomb Of The Unknowns
Guards of the Tomb of the Unknowns do not wear rank insignia so that they do not outrank the soldiers buried in the tomb, whatever their ranks may have been.7
Sir Olav
The Norwegian King’s Guard’s Colonel-in-Chief, the highest rank in the regiment, is a penguin. He has also been knighted, as ordered by the Norwegian King, in an official ceremony. His full name is Colonel-in-Chief Sir Nils Olav.8
Contrary To His Wishes
US President Andrew Jackson, who now appears on the $20 bill, thought that paper money was inherently evil.9
An Oversight
Until 1936, Liechtenstein and Haiti were unknowingly using the same flag, and they did not find out until they competed against each other in the Olympics. Liechtenstein ended up modifying its flag by adding a crown to the design.10
If You Say So
If you use iTunes, you have already agreed to not use Apple products to create nuclear weapons (“You also agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons”).11
Well Dressed?
Yogi Bear, as well as many other Hanna-Barbera cartoons, were given white collars so that the animators would have to draw less (the bodies move very little – the body layer is laid over the head layer). They would redraw only his head in each frame when he spoke.12
A First
The first woman to earn a PhD in Computer Science in the United States also earned an MS degree in Mathematics and Physics, helped develop computer programming languages, and was a Catholic nun. She was Sister Mary Keller.13
Going Overboard With Advertising
In 1827, at precisely three o’clock, two Canadian hotel owners, William Forsyth and John Brown, sent a pirate ship full of wild animals, including a bear, over the edge of Niagara Falls as a way to promote tourism to the area. The largest crowd assembled at Niagra Falls to that point – 15,000 people – watched the spectacle. It was a resounding success, and contributed to the Niagra Falls future success as a tourist destination.14
1 http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=squirrel
2 Alastair, Pennycook. Language and Mobility: Unexpected Places. (2012).
3 Rhoades, Shirrel. Comic books: how the industry works. Peter Lang, 2008.
4 Early, Curtis A., and Gloria J. Early. Ohio Confederate Connection: Facts You May Not Know about the Civil War. iUniverse, 2011.
5 Harding, Stephen. The Last Battle: When US and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe. Da Capo Press, 2013.
6 Carpenter, Humphrey, and Christopher Tolkien. The letters of JRR Tolkien. HarperCollins UK, 2012. (no. 306)
7 http://www.army.mil/article/38013/
8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Nils_Olav
9 http://www.pbs.org/kcet/andrewjackson/themes/corporations.html
10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Liechtenstein
11 http://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/appstore/dev/stdeula/
12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogi_Bear
13 http://www.women.cs.cmu.edu/ada/Resources/Women/#Sister%20Mary%20KennethKeller
14 Grant, John, and Ray Jones. Niagara Falls: an intimate portrait. Globe Pequot, 2006.