War and Literature Curiosities

Let's start by the end. In this case, the end of the IWW. Do you recall when Britons celebrate "Remembrance Day"?

• 11th October

• 15th August

• 11th November

• 13th December

During the IWW, a carrier pigeon was awarded the "Croix de Guerre" for saving the lives of 194 American soldiers who were trapped behind German lines. Can you guess the name of that hero?

• Beaky Bill

• Cher Ami

• Black wing

• Franz Birdinand

Now, let's jump to the IIWW. Do you have any idea of what the "Mincemeat" operation was?

• The allies threw a corpse into the sea with a phony strategy of attack to mess up the enemies

• The allies contaminated the meat that was given to the nazis to make them sick and so, move forward.

• The nazis cut off the provision of meat among the allies' army, intecepting the troops' food trucks.

Incredible, huh? Well, but now the question is... How would the allies know that the Spanish army have taken the bait?

• The allies used a special paper in which any manipulation would be noticeable under a special light

• The locker had a system that allowed the allies to know how many times it had been opened.

• To open the briefcase, it was needed to force the hinge slightly. Any mark in the hinge would demonstrate it was opened.

• They introduced some eyelashes among the papers.

You may all recognize this photo... But do you know where it was taken?

• In Vietnam

• In Iwo Hima

• In Mariana Islands

• In Normandy, France

One year later, one of the biggest disasters the Earth has faced outbroke: the use of nuclear weapons. Do you know what bomb is the most powerful ever thrown?

• Hiroshima's bomb

• Nagasaki's bomb

• Palomares' bomb

We've had enough war for today... What about literature? What about Frankenstein? Do you know where Mary Shelley obtained the inspiration to create such a story?

• She suffered a breakdown and the story came to her mind out of the blue.

• She was obsessed with the idea that her doctors wanted to kill her and to mutilate her.

• From a meeting with other writers where everyone had to tell a horror story just to entertain themselves during a rainy night.

"The Origin of the Species" took 23 years to be written by Darwin. He wasn't sure about publishing it because he was aware of the risks of presenting such ideas in a religious world. But, something made him make up his mind... What was that?

• Her wife threatened him to bury all the documents if he didn't publish them.

• The only company that was eager to publish the study gave him an ultimatum.

• Other writer was about to publish a book based on the same ideas.

• He was seriously ill and was afraid to die without being in the known.

In 1939, Agatha Christie wrote her novel "Ten Little Niggers" (later renamed as "And Then There Were None"). She took the idea from...

• A children's song called "Ten Little Indians"

• A traditional Galician song

• Their black neighbours, who suffered from hemophilia and died during her youth.

Truman Capote wrote his novel "In Cold Blood" in Spain. A friend recommended him a place to find inspiration and relax. That place was...

• Vilagarcia de Arousa, Pontevedra

• Pepino, Toledo

• El Palmar, Cadiz

• Palamós, Girona