World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. Estimates range as high as 85 million people died as a result of the war, either from direct military action or other causes such as disease or famine. It is believed that up to 3% of the world’s 1940 population lost their lives due to World War II.
Despite several changes of venue, the 1940 Winter Olympics were never held.
The Winter Games were originally awarded to Sapporo, Japan, and scheduled for February of 1940, but in July of 1938, Japan returned the event to the International Olympic Committee, due to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War the previous year. The Games were then awarded to St. Moritz, Switzerland, but after a dispute between the Swiss organizers and the IOC over the status of professional ski instructors, the Games were withdrawn again.
Finally, in the spring of 1939, the 1940 Winter Games were awarded to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (where the 1936 Winter Games had been held), but after Germany’s invasion of Poland in September of that year sparked World War II, the Games were finally cancelled in November of 1939.
Napoleon’s stunning victory at the Battle of Austerlitz in December, 1805, brought the War of the Third Coalition to an end.
Upon hearing of the decisive victory, Pitt, Prime Minister of Britain, pointed to a map of Europe and said: “Roll up that map of Europe. It will not be needed these ten years.”
Although Pitt did not live to see it, his prediction of ten years of war was borne out, with Napoleon not being finally defeated until 1815.
In an era when third-basemen were not considered important, Pie Traynor was the only player at that position to reach the Baseball Hall of Fame until 1978. Then, Eddie Mathews of the Braves was inducted.
In 1945, 3B Jimmy Collins was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was the first 3B elected to Cooperstown.
In 1948, 3B Pie Traynor was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In 1955, 3B Frank Baker was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In 1975, 3B Judy Johnson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In 1976, 3B Freddie Lindstrom was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In 1978, 3B Eddie Matthews was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In 1983, 3B Brooks Robinson and George Kell were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In 1987, 3B Ray Dandridge was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Third baseman Frank Baker, who played for the Philadelphia A’s and New York Yankees in the early part of the 20th century, was nicknamed “Home Run Baker.” He led the major leagues in home runs in four consecutive seasons (1911-1914), but he never hit more than 12 home runs in a season, and only hit 96 in his career – these low numbers, compared to modern standards, were due to Baker’s career primarily being during the “dead-ball era,” during which home runs were rare.
During baseball’s ‘dead ball’ years, Frank “Home Run” Baker earned his nickname in the 1911 World Series when he hit two home runs, one in Game 2 and the other in the 9th inning of Game 3 off of the Giants’ Christy Mathewson to tie the game. Baker’s Athletics won Game 3 in the 11th inning. Baker had a hot bat in general, going 9 for 24 to lead all batters in the Series with a .375 average.
Billy Hatcher, an outfielder who played for seven different major league teams during a 12-year career, holds the record for the highest batting average in a single World Series. In the 1990 series, Hatcher, then playing for the Cincinnati Reds, had 9 hits in 12 at-bats for a .750 batting average. The Reds swept the Oakland A’s in four games to take the crown.
(Note: to be considered for a single World Series stat, a batter must have at least 18 plate appearances, or at least a total of 7 walks plus hits. Hatcher had 15 plate appearances during the four game series in 1990.)
The term “the Crown” is often used as shorthand in Canadian courts to refer to the prosecutor, who prosecutes the charge in the name of Her Majesty the Queen.
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Their classic line-up was Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals) and John Deacon (bass). The band’s 1977 album News of the World contained “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions”, which have become anthems at sporting events. Estimates of Queen’s record sales range from 170 million to 300 million records, making them one of the world’s best-selling music artists.
ETA–just for my knowledge, jtur88, how did you get to baseball from Napoleon and Auterlitz?
Not in play: Third Coalition => third-basemen.
Not in play–Ah, missed that. Much thanks. Press on.
In Canada, the Queen is a formal part of the federal Parliament (composed of the Queen, the Senate and the House of Commons), and also of the ten provincial Legislatures.
All four members of Queen attended university, studying subjects other than music, before gaining success with the band:
- Freddie Mercury studied graphic design
- Brian May studied physics (and eventually got a PhD in astrophysics)
- Roger Taylor was studying to become a dentist
- John Deacon studied electronics
Not in play: I had to re-read it a couple of times to catch it.
A deacon is one of the three orders of clergy in the Anglican churches. The others are priest and bishop.
The pope is the bishop of Rome. He also holds these titles:
Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the Latin Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Servant of the servants of God.
“third”.
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The Nash Metropolitan was a small car model, built by Austin Motor Company in England for Nash from 1953 until 1961.
The Metropolitan (which also marketed under the Hudson nameplate, and then as a standalone marque from 1958 on) would now be classified as a “subcompact car,” but that classification did not yet exist in the 1950s, when other U.S. automakers were focused on large cars. Nash marketed the Metropolitan as an economical second car for families.
Kelvinator was one of the pioneers of exectric refrigerators. Named for Lord Kelvin, of absolute zero fame, the company had 4/5 of the market in the 20s was and introducing central AC for homes. The company merged qwth Nash automobiles in 1937. Since the Nash-AMC demisee, the name Kelvinator survives, now made by Electrlux.