To ask about wholesome facts/stories you know

[SamusIsAGirl]

In the space race, particularly for the USSR, everyone who went into space described it as such a profound experience to see the world as the only oasis in the Universe for known life, that no borders could be seen from space and that humanity is one tribe - several cosmonauts became dissidents after being in space.

Sunflowers face towards the sun and track the sun around the sky during the day. At night or when cloudy, they face each other.

I find this story very inspiring

Sea otters hold hands when they sleep to stop them from floating away from each other

Albert Goring, the brother of Hermann Goring was a stuanch anti-Nazi who only escaped prosecution by being Hermann's brother.

When seeing two Jewish women being made to scrub the streets in front of a mob - he grabbed a rag and started scrubbing alongside them saying "it must be very important to scrub these streets!"

When he knew he was dying, he married his housekeeper knowing she had no pension so she should claim his after death.

Dolphins sleep with one half of their brain and eye closed, and the other side open to look out for their mates.

Horses love a standing up doze.

Ants will never die from a fall, no matter how high it is from, as their terminal velocity just isn't fast enough to cause damage upon impact.

The theory that a penny dropped from the Empire State Building onto your head would kill you is rubbish - even in a vacuum (so it would actually hit the person at the bottom - highly unlikely on the actual building due to winds), it would just be a bump. Same as the ant, they're just not heavy enough to cause damage on impact at terminal velocity!

@FancyPuffin, thank you for linking to that story, it's absolutely wonderful.

For reasons of human perception, all the wind turbines at a location in the UK must turn in the same direction. By law.

Sunflowers are literally called "turn with the sun" in several languages.

The space program started in the depths of the Cold War but it is arguable that it ended it given the depths of friendship between cosmonauts and astronauts, culminating in the Soyuz-Skylab mission also known as Apollo 18. This demonstrated that Soyuz modules could couple up to NASA space stations thus establishing the concept of the Soyuz lifeboat for re-entry. By the time they are decommissioned by 2030 they would have been in service for 60 years.

Other than Wales the country in the world that speaks Welsh the most is Patagonia.

Chris Taylor, a man in Canada with terminal cancer heard that Smash Bros 5 was to be released in December and tweeted that he wouldn't be around to play it since he had 2 months to live.

This tweet went viral and got the attention of Nintendo of America. Sept 22, 2019 and Nintendo officials come to his house with the E3 demo copy where he, his mum and his friends get to play it for 3 hours.

Chris died 4 days later on the 26th.

Link:

www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/09/nintendo_gives_terminal_cancer_patient_the_chance_to_play_smash_bros_ultimate

In 1983 Samantha Smith, a 10 year old from Maine, US wrote a letter to the Soviet Premier Andropov, detailing her concerns about nuclear war and MAD. He wrote back to her and invited herself and her family to Russia.
This made international headlines and she became an advocate for peace between the US and the USSR.

Tragically, she died in a plane crash in 1985 and on hearing of her death, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachov sent messages of condolence to her family. A stamp was issued in the USSR to commemorate her death and projects such as the Peace Literature Project to promote her legacy.

FancyPuffin

Thanks for that story - something I didn't know about Gene Roddenberry.

In 1847, the Chokatow people, themselves having been forcibly relocated to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears heard about the Irish potato famine and raised $170 dollars to send to the Irish people.

In 2017 a sculpture 'Kindred Spirits' was unveiled and was attended by Chief Gary Batton and County Mayor Seamus McGrath. During the COVID pandemic in 2020 - a GoFundMe appeal by the Navajo/Hopi indians for medical supplies reader $4.1M with most of it from Irish donors.

@SamusIsAGirl

Albert Goring, the brother of Hermann Goring was a stuanch anti-Nazi who only escaped prosecution by being Hermann's brother.

When seeing two Jewish women being made to scrub the streets in front of a mob - he grabbed a rag and started scrubbing alongside them saying "it must be very important to scrub these streets!"

When he knew he was dying, he married his housekeeper knowing she had no pension so she should claim his after death.

I love this story.

@FancyPuffin what a lovely link thank you

Liechtenstein's army went to war in 1868 with 80 soldiers and came back with 81 since they'd made a friend on the way back.

Crows name their babies and will visit their parents when flown the nest. Dolphins also have names for each other.

@SamusIsAGirl

Crows name their babies and will visit their parents when flown the nest. Dolphins also have names for each other.

That must be who is asking, with some of the baby names on Mumsnet

Love this thread! Thank you.

@SamusIsAGirl

In 1983 Samantha Smith, a 10 year old from Maine, US wrote a letter to the Soviet Premier Andropov, detailing her concerns about nuclear war and MAD. He wrote back to her and invited herself and her family to Russia. This made international headlines and she became an advocate for peace between the US and the USSR.

Tragically, she died in a plane crash in 1985 and on hearing of her death, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachov sent messages of condolence to her family. A stamp was issued in the USSR to commemorate her death and projects such as the Peace Literature Project to promote her legacy.

I remember that!

The Mario Brothers Super Show "Plummers Academy" which featured Mikhail Gorbachov aired on the same day as the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The actions of the people of Gander, a small town in Newfoundland always makes me cry... I t is called Operation Yellow Ribbon

amp.usatoday.com/amp/631329001

I remember - I was in Italy and there were loads of banks having special extended opening hours to help people stranded by 9/11 to access their money and do other emergency admin.

When an alpaca gives birth, it's called 'unpacking'