It's funny how when something is put into thought, it becomes
accessible to us all. Take for instance WWII and the Crossword Panic
of May 1944. The Allied Forces were planning the liberation of France
by landing in Normandy. The operation was called "Operation Overlord."
Top Secret. So, you can imagine how nuts the British secret service
were when they noticed that crossword puzzles printed in the Daily
Telegraph newspaper contained a surprisingly large number of words that
were code-names relating to the coming invasion. The answers to two
clues were "Utah" and "Omaha"-- names that had been given to beaches in
Normandy where American troops were to disembark. Shortly afterwards,
crosswords were published containing the answers "Mulberry," the
code-name for the floating harbor, and "Neptune," a code-name for naval
support.
At first, security agents were tempted to dismiss the whole matter as coincidence, but when a clue was given referring to a "Big-Wig," with the answer "Overlord," they began to worry that the crossword was somehow being used to warn the Germans. Two officers were duly dispatched to interview the crossword compiler--a fifty-four-year-old teacher name Lenard Dawe. After some close questioning, the agents became convinced that Dawe had no knowledge of the impending landings, and that his clues and their answers had indeed been a series of strange coincidence.
On this day in 1945, Soviet and American troops met at the River Elbe cutting Germany in two. WWII was over and the Cold War had begun.
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On this day in 1989, Particia Hutchins, a military Wiccan stationed at an air force base in Texas, was granted religious leave by the United States Military in order to observe the eight Sabbats of the Wicca religion. Ms Hutchins was the first Wiccan in history to have her religious holidays granted by the U.S. Air Force.
Oddly enough, another woman by the same name wrote a Childrens book called Which Witch is Which?
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At first, security agents were tempted to dismiss the whole matter as coincidence, but when a clue was given referring to a "Big-Wig," with the answer "Overlord," they began to worry that the crossword was somehow being used to warn the Germans. Two officers were duly dispatched to interview the crossword compiler--a fifty-four-year-old teacher name Lenard Dawe. After some close questioning, the agents became convinced that Dawe had no knowledge of the impending landings, and that his clues and their answers had indeed been a series of strange coincidence.
On this day in 1945, Soviet and American troops met at the River Elbe cutting Germany in two. WWII was over and the Cold War had begun.
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Lenard Dawe |
On this day in 1989, Particia Hutchins, a military Wiccan stationed at an air force base in Texas, was granted religious leave by the United States Military in order to observe the eight Sabbats of the Wicca religion. Ms Hutchins was the first Wiccan in history to have her religious holidays granted by the U.S. Air Force.
Oddly enough, another woman by the same name wrote a Childrens book called Which Witch is Which?