The Winter War of Finland, where Finland held out against USSR with a fraction of the forces. In the end Finland lost more tanks than they started with as they captured and used Soviet tanks.

I'm so surprised I haven't seen anything about one of my favorite lesser-known historical figures, Julie d'Aubigny, because boy oh boy was her life interesting.

So when Julie was born in 1673 in France, her dear old dad was one of the guys who trained court pages, and so of course as Julie grew up she trained right along side them, dressing as a boy and learning fencing. When she was 14 she got married off, but pretty soon after the wedding her husband got called to go work down in southern France, but Julie stayed in Paris, so that got him out of the picture for a while.

Around 1687 Julie got together with this dude who was an assistant to a fencing master, but then the dude accidentally [unalived] his opponent in a duel, and so the couple fled the city. As they made their way south, the two earned money by giving fencing exhibitions and singing in taverns, and Julie dressed in guy's clothes while doing this but didn't pretend to be a guy, she just like men's clothing. Eventually though, Julie got bored of her current beau and became infatuated with a young woman. But this young women's parents became concerned for her and sent her away to live in a convent with nuns, so naturally Julie followed her and entered the convent herself, pretending to be interested in becoming a nun. Then, once inside the convent, Julie put her escape plan into action. One night, an older nun passed away and so Julie broke her girlfriend out of her room, hid the nun's body in the girl's bed, and set the room on fire.

Yep. She set a convent on fire.

The two were together for about three months before the girl returned to her family, and Julie went to go back to Paris and earned money by singing. During this time on the road, one night this dude insulted her, so she challenged him to a duel and won by driving her sword through his shoulder. The next day though she felt kinda about it, and asked how he was doing. He sent one of his buddies to apologize to her and she went to visit him, and they ended up 'doing the do'. (after their affair ended they became lifelong friends). After he healed though he returned to his post in the military, and Julie continued to Paris where she met another man and had another affair.

(in the meantime she contacted a Count and the guy managed to get her a pardon from the king for her many, many crimes, like setting a convent on fire for example)

After this she joined the Opera in Paris and stayed with them for a while, having several relationships (with both men and women) until one day at a ball, she kissed a young woman in front of everyone (again she never tried to conceal her gender) and was promptly challenged to a duel by three separate dudes.

She beat them all, but had kinda forgotten that duels weren't allowed in Paris.

She fled to Brussels for a while and waited for things to calm down, and then returned to the Opera and continued her career for several years more. Eventually, the woman she was in a relationship with passed away and left her inconsolable, and soon retired and took refuge in a convent. She passed away at the age of 33, and has no known grave.

The Hawaiian Kingdom, especially King Kamehameha The Great and King Kalakaua. I sadly know many that believe that the Hawaiian Islands were never a nation.

When in fact one has to wonder where they would be today if the united States didn't annex them. Kalakaua was the first King to circumnavigate the globe, and the iolani palace had electric lighting, and plumbing before the White House. There was even a point where hawaii boasted a higher literacy rate than the united States and Europe.

But, we'll never know now.

When Plato gave Socrates's definition of man as "featherless bipeds" and was much praised for the definition, Diogenes plucked a chicken and brought it into Plato's Academy, saying, "Behold! I've brought you a man." After this incident, "with broad flat nails" was added to Plato's definition.

New York City, September 11th, 2001

This happens to be the most horrific picture I have ever seen.

Recently, I had the opportunity to watch “Schindler's list”, given to us as a recommendation by our English Lab professors. I had previously read about Oskar Schindler, but had never fathomed his impact on 1100 Jews whose lives he saved in the time given to him.

The movie made me cry.

In the movie, there happened to be many scenes where gold, ornaments, and possessions were taken forcibly from the homes of the Jews and kept in German offices.

The blue whale

This man was a soldier in World War I. His nationality is unknown. I will never know his name, when he fought or if he ever made it home. I will never know if he had a wife and kids and if he was drafted or if he volunteered. I will never know what he was thinking as the photographer clicked the shutter in that godforsaken trench a century ago. But his smile- cold, empty, the result of being shell-shocked and the precursor to PTSD- his smile will never leave me.

Here's one of my cat. Six pounds of pure evil captured perfectly.

That all these countries got nuclear weapons ready to use on eachother.

Getting sentenced to life in prison for something you didn't do.

Psychopaths with money, especially male, especially in politics.

Cancer. Can affect anyone (my mom, my 20 year old friend) - rich, poor, young, old, plans for the future - it does not care.

The New Apostolic Reformation. The incredibly massive amount of Christians that want to build the literal Kingdom of Heaven in the United States.