All Hail The Hero Pigeon

Carrier pigeon

As in any war, being able to transmit messages is crucial--how else is one to transmit orders and organize the troops so that they move according to plan? During World War I, these messages were transmitted in several ways, including via wire (telephone/telegraph lines). But putting up those lines was a very dangerous job, and sometimes impossible. So sometimes a field commander would carry carrier pigeons with him as well. The pigeon, carrying the message in a small capsule on one of its legs, would fly back to its home coop behind the lines. Upon arrival, the wires in the coop would sound a bell, signaling that a new message had arrived.

Pigeon being sent with a message.

Cher Ami was one such pigeon during WWI.

On October 3, 1918, Major Whittlesey and more than 500 men from the Liberty Division (since most men were from New York) were trapped on the side of a hill, surrounded by enemy soldiers. The next day, only 200 men were left alive. Major Whittlesey sent out several pigeons for aid. The next day, the American Artillery tried to save them by firing hundreds of big artillery rounds into the ravine where the Liberty Division was stuck...without knowing the American soldiers' exact location and thereby dropping big shells right on top of them.

So Major Whittlesey sent out his last remaining pigeon, Cher Ami, into the fray, with a single note:

We are along the road parallel to 276.4.

Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us.

For heaven's sake, stop it.

Croix de guerre

The little bird flew through the shots (for the Germans saw it take flight and wanted to prevent it from reaching its destination) and made it home, some 25 miles away, in 25 minutes, to deliver his message. The soldier who went to fetch the message found Cher Ami had been shot through his breast leaving a hole the size of a quarter behind, blinded in one eye, and, attached to his almost entirely severed leg, was the message.

Thanks to Cher Ami, 194 men were saved that day. The medics were hard to put him back together, and the French honored him with the Croix de Guerre and, when he was better, he was brought back to the US.

Source:

Home of Heroes

Best Of Friends - Part 5

For some reason, the following story reminds me of a French children's song that I love...   

I've come to save you. Quick! Follow me...

...La petite biche est aux abois,

Dans les bois se cache le loup!

The two ran so fast and for so long, the wolf never
caught up to them.  But they had to take a bath...

Ouh! Ouh! Ouh! Ouh!

Mais le brave lapin est passe.

Il aida la biche a se sauver!

Eh, eh, eh, eh...

...before they could enjoy the sun set together.

Yes, I know, I took a few liberties with this one and changed the last two verses, but when you see these two love-birds, I'm sure you understand...

Ze End.

Best Of Friends - Part 4

I know, I know, it's been a while since I've posted one of these "Best Of Friends" stories, but here's another for you!
I know, I just can't get enough of them :)

 This one's about a chimpanzee, Anjan.  Once again, mother nature showed its cruel side by rendering two white tiger cubs orphan.

But super chimp Anjan came to the rescue!  Anjan's now raising the cubs, with the help of some rangers.  He plays with them, consoles them, and even helps feed them with a bottle!

On a side note, Anjan's quite a practice nanny.  He's already raised lion cubs as well as leopard cubs!

Best Of Friends - Part 3

Tsunamis and hurricanes are devastating forces of nature.  Often, though, we don't hear the rest of the animal kingdom's side of the story, which often doesn't have a happy ending...  Except perhaps with this baby hippopotamus.

Owen, less than a year old, managed to survive a Christmas tsunami on the Kenyan coast, but his mother did not.








However, he found an adoptive parent in a centennial tortoise in the Lafarge park of Mombasa. 








Doesn't matter that the tortoise is a male, they still eat, swim and sleep together.





 





But don't come too close to this happy pair, for Owen's quite protective and will try to bite you.  And don't let his young age fool you.  Even a baby hippo weighs more than 300 kilograms!

Best Of Friends - Part 2

On to another amazing story (for more of the same kind, you can visit the ducks, or even zombie cat & doe).










This one's about an orphan orangutan, Roscoe, three years of age, who lives in a zoo in northern California.  He was so depressed from having lost his family, that he wouldn't eat or do anything at all.  The vets were sure he was going to die...












When an old dog was rescued near the zoo and, in the operations room, the two bonded.  Since then, they've become inseparable.

They even swim together (though Roscoe is somewhat suspicious of the water)...













...and take walks together.

They truly are bosom buddies!

Best Of Friends - Part 1

Not that I want to dedicate my whole blog to these types of stories, but they're so heartwarming, I actually find them quite inspirational.  Hence, here's another lovely tale.

Rawr, I'm a Lion!

In Harrisburg, PA, a doe's taken a fancy to a tabby and every morning she comes to pay a visit...

Well, I'm a zombie! Beat that!

Ha! Wanna see a real zombie?

But in the end, they still love each other :)

The Secret Behind Coral Castle Is. . . Antigravity?

 

What if I told you that, here in America (Florida, to be a little more precise), a man built a castle all on his own?  No, no, not a sand castle, though I’ve seen some pretty epic ones.  No, this man built a whole, entire castle of coral rock (oolitic limestone) which a little man of the name of Ed Leedskalnin built over the span of 28 years.

The whole place consists of 1,000 tons of stones, set up together without mortar with such precision that no light can be seen through the joints (this is somewhat reminiscent of some ancient megalithic structures).  The whole castle is a work of art and a long-lived one at that, for not even Hurricane Andrew (category 5 hurricane that blew over in 1992) was able to dislodge or shift a single stone.

But how did this man do it?  After all, we’re not talking about small tiny pieces of coral that one can place in a home aquarium.  These rocks average 27 tons with the largest one reaching 27 tons. 

People claim that Leedskalnin used some unknown technology involving levitation or antigravity. Others that he was able to manipulate his own chi (life energy) to lift those blocks up.  Some claimed that he sang the songs into place.

But what did the man himself say?

“I have discovered the secrets of the pyramids, and have found out how the Egyptians and the ancient builders in Peru, Yucatan, and Asia, with only primitive tools, raise and set in place blocks of stone weighing many tons!”

And it had something to do with celestial alignments, measurements, and electromagnetism. . .

Granted, no one was able to corroborate the fact, as he only worked at night.  But I have my own theory on that:  in truth, the man was the origin of the Hulk (aka Mr. Hyde), and that’s why he could only work at night!  I say, I rather like my hypothesis!

For more information:

Coral Castle Museum

Wikipedia (of course)

Labyrinthinia

A Duck's Tail

A heartwarming story to make you smile all day long... and all night too!

Joel, a worker at the Sterling Bank in Spokane, WA, works on the second floor of a building on Riverside Ave.  A few weeks ago, he noticed a mallard duck had made her nest by his window which stands about 10 feet above the ground.  Ten days later, it had laid 10 eggs.

With spring, the ducklings came out of their shells...

Joel was wondering how the duck was going to lead her babies to the nearest water spot, so he kept an eye on them.  The next day, he saw the duck fly down to the sidewalk and call to the little ones to join her, cackling encouragements.  Finally, a brave little duckling threw himself off the windowsill and landed next to his mother, somewhat groggy.

Realizing that this fall could be fatal to the tiny birds, Joel hurried downstairs and hid under the porch while the duck was still calling her children over to her.  But, when the next bird jumped off, Joel came out from under his cover, caught the little avian then set it down next to his brother.

One by one the ducklings jumped off the windowsill, and one by one Joel would catch them and place them by their mother, until the whole family was complete, to the mother duck's delight.

However, Joel realized that the duck family's labors were not over, as the nearest water spot was the Spokane river, which runs a few blocks away.  Understanding their plight, some of the workers from the bank came down with a box for Joel.  In went the ten little ducklings under the watchful eye of their mother.

Then, for the next few hundreds of feet, Joel walked with the box held low, followed closely by the mother duck.

When they made it to the river, the duck hurried in the water and quacked for her children to join her.  Joel then put the box on the ground and the ducklings hopped out of it and waddled over to the river.

The duck then continued to quack to Joel and the other bank workers who'd followed, thanking them for their hard work, did a few circles before of them in the water as well, then swam away, her brood following in tight formation.

 The End