The Giant Book of Fantastic Facts [antikvár]

AIR MAIL The world's greatest balloon postal service operated from the beleagured Paris during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. Balloons were made in the city and carried mail and passengers to unoccupied France. But when the Prussians began shooting the balloons down the service continued only at night. One night a balloon left bound for Tours, in central France but, during the darkness, the wind changed direction without the two men aboard being aware. It wasn't until they heard the sound of the sea below them that they realised they weren't going to Tours. They finally landed in a Norwegian snowdrift. The service carried 3,000,000 letters whilst it operated. One-Eyed Soldiers Because Mohammed Ali, 19th century ruler of Egypt, discovered that men were deliberately blinding themselves in one eye to avoid service in his army, he rounded them up and two special infantry regiments were formed of the one-eyed dodgers.