During the first part of 1942 the British and Americans had many code names for possible plans of attack in Europe. These names were often used by different people for slightly different plans which made for constant redefinition each time the code word was used.         Acrobat – An advance in North Africa                                                                                             Bolero – Main invasion into France. This became ‘Overlord’.                                                         Gymnast – Landing in Vichy Northwest Africa, this became ‘Torch’.                                             Jupiter – Operations in Norway. This was important because the main way to supply Russia with much needed supplies was via the Arctic route. With Germany in control of northern Norway many supply convoys suffered VERY heavy losses.                                                           Round-Up – The invasion of Europe. This also eventually became part of ‘Overlord’.                 Sledgehammer – The attack on Brest or Cherbourg in 1942.                                                          And MANY more

Russia pressed VERY hard for some operation in western Europe in 1942 but the Allies did not feel that they could successfully accomplish this until 1943. And this eventually was pushed to 1944.

(Book – The Second World War Volume 4 – Winston S. Churchill)

Horsetails were one of the first plants to evolve. However, hundreds of millions of years ago they could be 3 feet in diameter and 100 feet tall.

(The Great Courses – Major Transitions in Evolution)

There are fossils from 300 million years ago of a species of dragonfly that had a wingspan of 2.5 feet.

(The Great Courses – Major Transitions in Evolution)

As the America’s grew in population and production the trade balance with Britain became more favorable to the colonies. By 1721 the America’s were out producing Britain. This caused the British to implement many trade restrictions to try and keep British products competitive.

(The Great Courses – The History of the United States)

In WWII the British were always trying to find a way to get past German radar and fighter defenses so their bombers would be safer. In 1942 they found a very simple way that worked that they called ‘Window’. It was first proposed in 1937 and it involved strips of tin-foil of a certain size that would be released from the bomber. It created an effective defense by not allowing the Germans to figure out in a timely manner which was the bomber and which was a strip of metal. The problem that the British realized though was that the solution was so simple that the Germans could copy it and use it against them since they also did not know how to see through this defense. After the war the Allies found out that the Germans had also thought of this idea but didn’t use it for fear the British would use it against them. By the time the British decided to use it in 1943 the German bomber force was so small that they were not able to use it with the same effectiveness as the British.

(Book – The Second World War Volume 4 – Winston s. Churchill)

The major problems with plants and animals evolving to land were dehydration, temperature variety which is much more pronounced on land, and dealing with greater weight which occurs when you leave the buoyancy of water.

(The Great Courses – Major Transitions in Evolution)

In the mid 1700’s the English practically bankrupted themselves with war costs. 60% of their normal income went just to pay for the cost of their debt. This is was caused Parliament to pass the hated Stamp Act in the American colonies.

(The Great Courses – The History of the United States)

For some unknown reason Mozart had an intense dislike for the flute. Despite that he wrote wonderful concerti for the flute when he was commissioned to do so.

(The Great Courses – The Concerto)

Bach’s Brandenburg concerto number 5 (circa 1720-1721)  includes the first solo ever written for the keyboard (harpsichord).

(The Great Courses – The Concerto)

The war between Britain and France in the mid 1700’s was called The Seven Years War in Europe. These two countries were also fighting in the new world at the same time but it is called The French Indian War in the Americas.

(The Great Courses – The History of the United States)