During WWII, a U.S. naval destroyer won a battle against a Japanese submarine by throwing potatoes at them. The Japanese thought they were grenades.
100 Mind-Blowing WWII Facts
Nutella was invented during WWII when an Italian pastry maker mixed hazelnuts into chocolate to extend his chocolate ration.
During World War II, the Oscar awards were made of painted plaster. The prestigious Oscar awards were made of painted plaster for three years following the metal scarcity of WWII. After the war, the Academy offered to replace the plaster figures with gold-plated metal ones.
Queen Elizabeth is a trained mechanic. During her time as a princess, she was a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service during WWII. This also makes her the only member of the Royal family to have served in the military.
A British submarine once kept a fully grown reindeer aboard the vessel in WWII. This reindeer was kept on the HMS Trident for six weeks straight. They took care of it because it was said to be a gift from their Russian allies.
Women were only allowed to wear shorts in public after WWII. With the scarcity of resources during the war, people had to wear less or opt for more cost-efficient clothing. After the war, it took time for countries to recover economically. As such, it was socially acceptable for women to wear shorts.
Tootsie Rolls used to be part of WWII rations. Tootsie Rolls were put in soldiers’ rations in World War II because of their durability in different weather conditions.
Hitler was once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1939, Adolf Hitler was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. He received the nomination the same year that WWII began. A member of the Swedish parliament only nominated Hitler for the Nobel Peace Prize as a satiric criticism of another historical figure who was nominated. The nomination was promptly withdrawn.
M&Ms were exclusively sold to the US military during World War II. When they were first produced in 1941, they came in cardboard tubes, and the colours were violet, green, yellow, orange, red, and brown. By the time the US entered WWII, M&Ms had grown big enough to score a contract exclusively producing the conveniently easy-to-transport chocolate for the military. Following the war, M&Ms were wildly popular, as they were the best part of the day for many soldiers in the trenches.
In 2003, it was discovered that the same company that produced an anti-graffiti chemical also produced the Zyklon B gas used in concentration camp gas chambers during WWII.