Things I didn’t know (a continuing series)
The French had four times as many dead (95,000) in the Crimean War as the British did (22,000).
Best Defense is on summer hiatus. During this restful spell we offer re-runs from the past 12 months. This item originally ran on Mar. 15.
Best Defense is on summer hiatus. During this restful spell we offer re-runs from the past 12 months. This item originally ran on Mar. 15.
— The French had four times as many dead (95,000) in the Crimean War as the British did (22,000).
— Huge bursts of energy are coming from what an astronomer calls a “very puny and faint galaxy.”
— The Pentagon oddly enough had different rules for Department of Defense civilians and soldiers returning from dealing with the West African Ebola outbreak. If your copy of the Jan/Feb 2017 issue of Military Medicine hasn’t arrived yet, this is what it says: “The DoD’s 21-day quarantine policy for military personnel returning from West Africa53 was among the strictest government quarantines. Interestingly, a similar quarantine period was not mandated for DoD civilians returning to the United States from West Africa Ebola intervention missions.”
— Something I don’t understand: Why did Turkey enter World War I on the side of the Germans? Was it because it thought Germany would win, and then it could pick up pieces of the French and British empires?
— French military officers were banned from voting from 1872 until after World War II.
— The Russian navy has land-based strike aircraft, which in fact are “the real ‘teeth’ of Russian naval aviation,” according to an article in the March issue of Proceedings.
— Speaking of things Russian, the U.S. Army last year bought almost 70 million rounds of ammunition for the AK-47 rile and the PKM machine gun, reports the March issue of ARMY magazine.
— New category — Something I wish I didn’t know: When someone triggers a suicide vest, the head of the bomber often pops up high in the air, and is sometimes found on the roof of a neighboring building.
Photo credit: KEVIN FRAYER/Getty Images
Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1
More from Foreign Policy

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose
Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy
The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now
In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet
As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.