From the Seattle Star September 9, 1914 – 110 years ago today.

https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ndnp/wa/batch_wa_lacamas_ver01/data/sn87093407/0020029063A/1914090901/0292.pdf

On this day 110 years ago, the Imperial German forces began their general retreat from their major offensive into France which had led to the First Battle of the Marne. The Schlieffen Plan had failed. It’s hard to get a sense of the amount of death that WWI brought, but here’s a thought. The First Battle of the Marne had killed or seriously wounded well over half a million people. And in the US in 1910, only 5 cities had significantly more than half a million people. Just this one battle at the start of WWI was roughly equivalent to Cleveland, Baltimore, or Pittsburgh in that era being wiped out by a modern nuclear device.

Meanwhile in the US, Everett True was getting annoyed by a man jingling his change. Get some perspective, E!

  • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Maybe not that petty. Coins actually had value back then, so it was like if somebody was walking around with their bills all fanned out like they’re losing at Uno.

    • Spacewizard! (Ed H)@mas.to
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      2 months ago

      @Rhynoplaz still, on a scale from “punishing someone for cruelty to animals” (not petty at all) to “punishing someone for wearing a hat crooked” (highly petty) I’d say that this is far closer to the “wearing a hat crooked” end of the scale.

      (Yes, Everett once walloped a guy for wearing a hat at an excessively jaunty angle)