Has anyone ever asked you if you have a frog in your throat? If you lived in Russia or Finland you might literally have had that affliction, simply from drinking a cup of milk. In the days before modern refrigeration, inhabitants of Russia and Finland kept milk fresh by dipping a frog in it. The... Continue Reading →
If you live in Russia or Ukraine, you probably celebrate Christmas on January 7, due to the different calendar kept by the Orthodox Church.
The International Space Station, a multinational project, is divided into two sections: an American and Russian section. In 1998, when the venture began, it was reported that the Americans and Russians got along famously, sharing resources such as food and exercise equipment. Unfortunately, squabbles began after the first few years. One of the biggest tiffs... Continue Reading →
The record for the most children born to one woman belongs to Valentina Vassilyeva of Shuya, Russia, who gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets between 1725 and 1765. In 27 birthing events she gave birth to 69 children, 67 of whom survived infancy. After Valentina's... Continue Reading →
False alarms leading to nuclear war make for interesting movie plots, but when they happen in real life, they are nightmarish, at best. One such nightmare happened on the morning of November 9, 1979. NORAD computers alerted personnel to a massive attack by the Soviet Union. Data showed a barrage of incoming nuclear missiles launched... Continue Reading →
Going the extra mile to keep the werewolf population down, Argentina's presidents have made it a custom since 1907 to "adopt" the seventh son born in a family. The practice comes from a Russian legend that a family's seventh consecutive son was cursed to become a werewolf. Immigrants brought the legend to Argentina, where werewolves are... Continue Reading →
The British submarine HMS Trident had an unusual crew member for part of its World War II service: a reindeer named Pollyanna. The Trident was among a fleet of submarines and supply ships that the British Navy sent to support the Soviet Union after the Nazis invaded in June 1941. The Trident was based at... Continue Reading →
In a move certain to make Grumpy Cat even more surly, Russian tax collectors have started arresting cats and holding them in custody to motivate delinquent tax payers to make good on their obligations. Officials of the Federal Bailiff Service (Tomsk Department) "arrested four kittens" as security for a 40,000-ruble debt (about $679 US dollars).... Continue Reading →
The SR-71 Blackbird was one of the greatest tools of espionage ever built. Flying at speeds of Mach 3, it could out-fly any enemy fighter or surface-to-air missile. In addition to its unmatched speed, the design of the aircraft made it nearly invisible to radar. In short, it was a technological marvel that gave the... Continue Reading →
On the edge of the Caspian Sea in southern Russia is a small village called Archib. With a population of only 1,200, it’s the last remaining spot in the world where Archi is spoken. One of the things that’s so incredible about the language is that for any given verb, there could be as many... Continue Reading →
