More facts

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19/06/02

What's the difference between a hurricane, a typhoon, and cyclone?

None, really. All three are names given to a type of cyclonic storm (a
storm with wind speeds usually greater than 75 miles per hour which
travel in a usually circular pattern). Storm systems that develop over
the Atlantic Ocean or the eastern Pacific Oceans are called
"hurricanes," while similar storms in the Northwest Pacific are called
"typhoons." They're called "cyclones" pretty much everywhere else around
the globe.

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What's the difference between a funnel cloud and a tornado?

A funnel cloud is simply a tornado that does not touch down.

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What is a waterspout?

A waterspout is basically a tornado over water. Waterspouts can travel
onto dry land, turning into a tornado.

18/06/02

Who poisoned thousands of Nazi prisoners immediately following World War II?

The little-known "Avengers," a Jewish guerilla group formed by Abba
Kovner to bomb German transports and outposts during World War II,
plotted immediately following the war to poison 8,000 Nazis imprisoned
at Stalag 13 in Nuremberg. Avenger member Lebke Distel obtained a job at
a bakery supplying bread to the prison camp. He secretly stashed bottles
of arsenic in the floorboards for days, then snuck in two additional
members who worked all night to paint the poison on 9,000 loaves of
bread. The group didn't finish, but they poisoned thousands of loaves.

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Didn't the group worry about poisoning the American guards at the camp who also ate bread?

No. The Nazis were served black bread, which the Americans would not
eat. The group did not attempt to poison the white bread served to the
US guards.

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How many Nazis were killed by this attack?

No one knows for sure. The New York Times reported that no prisoner
actually died, though many were hospitalized. Other papers reported that
thousands died.

For more information on the Avengers, get a copy of Rich Cohen's book,
"The Avengers," published by Alfred A. Knopf Inc.