Thread: Trivia and other useless but interesting items

One of the key features of the F111 was the terrain following radar, which enabled them to safely (more or less) fly at high speed at very low altitudes.

Hi,
I was sitting on Frenchmans Cap (a major quartz peak in SW Tas) one sunny afternoon looking around the sky to find what Jet was flying around WAY from our usual flight lines.
Nope, not in the sky.
It was low down in the Franklin River valley doing a surveillance flight looking for protestors fighting the proposed Franklin Dam.
Cheers

Originally Posted by austastar

Hi,
I was sitting on Frenchmans Cap (a major quartz peak in SW Tas) one sunny afternoon looking around the sky to find what Jet was flying around WAY from our usual flight lines.
Nope, not in the sky.
It was low down in the Franklin River valley doing a surveillance flight looking for protestors fighting the proposed Franklin Dam.
Cheers

Thanks. This stirred a long forgotten, mid-70s, memory. I was on the summit of Knapps Peak, in S-E Qld, N-W of Rathdowney. My offsider and I could hear, but not see, jet aircraft. We went to the edge of the Northern, sheer drop and there were a couple of RAAF Mirages doing not quite, circle work around the Peak, below our eyeline. Quite a sight, looking down on them.

Originally Posted by Saitch

Thanks. This stirred a long forgotten, mid-70s, memory. I was on the summit of Knapps Peak, in S-E Qld, N-W of Rathdowney. My offsider and I could hear, but not see, jet aircraft. We went to the edge of the Northern, sheer drop and there were a couple of RAAF Mirages doing not quite, circle work around the Peak, below our eyeline. Quite a sight, looking down on them.

Something that we Land Rover drivers are used to.

A surfboard lost at sea in Tasmania drifted all the way to New Zealand...
Surfboard found intact in New Zealand after being lost in Tasmania in 2024 - ABC News

Having been near Maatsuyker Island , and also on the Raglan Beach , I can fully appreciate the boards choice .

"Modern DNA testing unearths deadly bacteria in ancient remains

Rascovan's team went searching for typhus and trench fever, but found two different diseases instead.
Using modern techniques for analyzing ancient DNA, the researchers found genetic remains of the paratyphoid-causing Salmonella enterica enterica bacteria, and Borrelia recurrentis, the cause of relapsing fever.
The four diseases identified in the remains of Napoleon's troops all carry similar symptoms associated with fevers, such as muscle aches and fatigue. To army medics in 1812, they would appear to be the same affliction. When combined with food shortages, freezing conditions and the fatigue of battle, these fevers would have made survival almost impossible.
Rascovan expects more deadly diseases could still be discovered among the dead."

"It was the world's largest invasion force ever assembled. But when they marched on Russia, French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's "Grande Armee" was doomed to failure and death, and not just on the battlefield.Now, a French research team has uncovered two new culprits that contributed to the annihilation of the 500,000-strong army during the 1812 Russian campaign.
The killers? Two species of bacteria, responsible for causing fever.
It's a surprise finding by a French research paleogenomic group led by scientists at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France.
Typhus and trench fever were previously established as diseases that tore through the ranks of Napoleon's army during the 1812 retreat. The newly uncovered infections cause different diseases with similar symptoms.
"Even today, it would be nearly impossible to make a differential diagnosis between these [fever] symptoms with the different pathogens," said Nicolas Rascovan, a paleogenomicist from the Pasteur Institute, who led the study.
"It would be impossible for a doctor to tell you which pathogen is infecting you."
First retreat, then death

Seeking to force Russian Czar Alexander I to comply with his trade embargo against Britain, Napoleon led the largest army Europe had ever seen across Poland, Lithuania and Belarus before marching on Russia.
In the summer of 1812, his forces successfully captured Moscow. From there, they fell into a stalemate with those of the czar, who refused to negotiate.
Laden with treasure, and Napoleon himself having already departed for Paris, his army delayed its withdrawal until October 17. "

DNA reveals hidden killer of Napoleon's troops in Russia – DW – 10/24/2025

Love this gem of trivia- Dead is dead of course. Why is the interesting bit even 213 years ago

Just to put this in perspective, I think that the US civil war was the first war where more combatants died from enemy action rather than disease. And it was fairly close.

Read some history, and it is apparent that many battles, especially sieges, the result depended on which side got sickest quickest!