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Chemical weapons were never used in Europe during the Second World War (1939-1945), but fears were so high that that wild rumours emerged. What did they include?

Answer: One suggested that the Nazis had filled toy balloons with gas with which they planned to lure children, while another involved parachutists attacking towns with fog weapons’. Panic gripped the town of Southampton in the UK in 1941 when fumes smelling like ‘burning onion’ filled the town. It turned out there was a fire at the local pickle factory.

Source: The Third Book of General Ignorance by John Lloyd

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1908 – King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, Prince Luis Filipe are assassinated by Republican sympathizers in Lisbon.

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A short, sharp hit of history in video format. Acclaimed Irish playwright and novelist Oscar Wilde was the toast of London society in the 1890s until things came decidedly unstuck through an association with a young British aristocrat, Lord Alfred Douglas, known as ‘Bosie’.

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“In Russia a man is a called reactionary if he objects to having his property stolen and his wife and children murdered.”

Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British statesman

Source: The Wicket Wit of Winston Churchill by Dominique Enright

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HistoryWow’s Featured Historical Figure of Note

Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149BCE)

Roman statesman, soldier and writer of virtue, simplicity and wisdom. He condemned the luxury of his time and was nicknamed “the censor”. He became Consul in 195BCE, took part in the defeat of Hannibal at Zama, held command in Sardinia and Spain, and in 191 BCE assisted the Greeks in overthrowing Antiochus III at Thermopolyae.

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