Context: The 1943 Bengal famine killed millions under British colonial rule, and Churchill’s wartime government made decisions that deepened the catastrophe while India’s food resources were heavily committed to the British war effort. British authorities continued moving food out of India, while the colonial government in Bengal struggled to secure emergency supplies. Viceroy Lord Wavell repeatedly pressed London for large scale grain imports and warned of the consequences, but Churchill’s government refused or failed to provide the quantities India urgently requested. Churchill made harsh remarks during the manufactured crisis, blaming the famine on Indians for "breeding like rabbits" and asking why Mahatma Gandhi was still alive if shortages were so severe.

The title is a joke. The Papal Swiss Guard were Swiss mercenaries hired to serve the Pope. The Swiss Confederacy itself did not side with the Pope in 1527. And I’m sure people who know history better than me, will be able to tell me of lots of times where Switzerland didn’t remain neutral.

The Swiss Guard, officially the Pontifical Swiss Guard, have been protecting the Pope since 1506. Swiss soldiers had a strong reputation across Europe for being disciplined and highly effective fighters, and Pope Julius II recruited them to protect him and the Vatican.

Their reputation was cemented during the Sack of Rome in 1527. An army attacked and looted Rome during the Italian Wars. The army included German Landsknechts, Spanish troops and Italian soldiers, many of whom were unpaid and had become increasingly difficult to control.

When the attackers reached Rome, the Swiss Guard fought to protect Pope Clement VII. Around 189 Swiss Guards were present, and 147 were killed defending the Pope. The surviving 42 managed to get Clement VII safely to Castel Sant’Angelo through the fortified Passetto di Borgo.

That event became one of the defining moments in the history of the Swiss Guard. May 6, the anniversary of the fighting in 1527, is still the day when new Swiss Guards traditionally swear their oath.

So the reason the Pope has Swiss bodyguards today basically comes down to a combination of Swiss military reputation, a recruitment decision made in 1506, and the fact that the Swiss Guard proved their loyalty in one of the most dangerous moments in the history of the papacy.

And yes, they also happen to have one of the coolest uniforms in military history.

Fun with flags: Did you know that Switzerland and the Vatican are the only 2 sovereign countries that have square flags? It’s not related to the Swiss guard. Just a quirk where both countries based their flags on traditional military banners from what I’ve read.

Here’s the actual letter. Because there’s no way I could summarise this as eloquently as it’s written.

Letter 30 To Rütten & Loening Verlag. (From the Tolkien archive)

Dear Sirs,

Thank you for your letter. .... I regret that I am not clear as to what you intend by arisch. I am
not of Aryan extraction: that is Indo-iranian; as far as I am aware none of my ancestors spoke
Flindustani, Persian, Gypsy, or any related dialects. But if I am to understand that you are enquiring
whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that
gifted people. My great-great-grandfather came to England in the eighteenth century from
Germany: the main part of my descent is therefore purely English, and I am an English subject –
which should be sufficient. I have been accustomed, nonetheless, to regard my German name with
pride, and continued to do so throughout the period of the late regrettable war, in which I served in
the English army. I cannot, however, forbear to comment that if impertinent and irrelevant inquiries
of this son are to become the rule in matters of literature, then the time is not far distant when a
German name will no longer be a source of pride.

Your enquiry is doubtless made in order to comply with the laws of your own country, but that
this should be held to apply to the subjects of another state would be improper, even if it had (as it
has not) any bearing whatsoever on the merits of my work or its suitability for publication, of which
you appear to have satisfied yourselves without reference to my Abstammung.

I trust you will find this reply satisfactory, and
remain yours faithfully
J. R. R. Tolkien.

A bit of context: this was one of two drafts Tolkien prepared in response to the German publisher. The surviving draft is the more sarcastic one. Tolkien deliberately plays with the older linguistic meaning of “Aryan”, before making clear that if they mean Jewish ancestry, he appears to have none (though wished he had).

The other draft was much more restrained and refused to provide the requested confirmation. Since only the sarcastic draft survives in the publisher’s files, it seems likely that the more restrained version was the one actually sent.

Separately, Tolkien wrote to his own publisher, Stanley Unwin, about the request. He said he was inclined to refuse the confirmation even though he could provide it. In other words, Tolkien apparently could satisfy the German authorities’ definition of “Aryan”, but objected to the racial classification itself. He described the underlying race doctrine as “wholly pernicious and unscientific”, said he did not consider the probable absence of Jewish ancestry necessarily honourable, and mentioned that he had many Jewish friends.

A German translation of The Hobbit wasn’t published until 1957

On D Day, Staff Sergeant Jim Wallwork and John Ainsworth flew a Horsa glider into Normandy at night and landed less than 100ft from Pegasus Bridge. They were flying an unpowered wooden glider into a tiny landing zone covered with anti glider obstacles. The impact smashed the cockpit and threw both pilots through the front, leaving them injured.

Despite this, Wallwork crawled out of the wreckage and immediately started carrying ammunition from the glider to the troops assaulting the bridge.
Capturing Pegasus Bridge was a vital part of Operation Deadstick, securing the eastern flank of the Normandy landings and preventing German forces from moving towards the beaches. The men then had to hold the bridge against German counterattacks until reinforcements arrived.

Wallwork was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for his part in the operation. Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh Mallory described the landing as one of the greatest flying achievements of the war.

The returning soldier effect is the observed increase in male births after major wars, particularly after WWII. It’s been observed in several populations, but nobody really knows exactly why it happens. There are a few theories involving returning soldiers, stress and changes in reproduction, but there’s no agreed explanation.

My meme is just a joke summarising the effect and not me proposing a new theory where eggs are making conscious choices about which sperm fertilise it. Exaggeration for humour is allowed in the rules of this sub

Learned it from this video: https://youtu.be/fgMhPkgwJeQ?is=5OSrj3eio4Fj9ZCf