8 bizarre WWII facts

The flag is at half-mast and the weather is mourning with us. Today we think of everyone who has suffered to give us freedom. In this time where we have been on the brakes for a year, we come a little bit (a very, very little bit) closer to feeling what it must be like to not be free. Stories of fathers who cycled to Groningen to get milk for their pregnant wives, women who saw another's head move because a helmet of lice had formed around her head. We must not forget. Never and especially not today. Tonight, our king and queen will lay a wreath at the monument on the Dam, André van Duin will speak and spoken word artist Amara van der Elst (our Amanda Gorman, I might add) will recite a poem. For now, I will serve some interesting did-you-know facts about World War II. Then you have something to talk about tonight at 20:02.

1. British spies tried to add the female hormone estrogen to Hitler's food, so he would become a bit gentler and less aggressive.

2. The first bomb from the Nazis on Great Britain is said to have only killed a rabbit.

3. The Americans called a hamburger a Liberty Steak to avoid hearing the German sound.

4. During the war, the Oscars were still awarded, but the statues were made of plaster instead of metal with a layer of gold.

5. Fanta was invented during World War II. Germans could not get cola syrup due to a trade embargo, so the Coca-Cola department in Germany came up with a new drink made from whey and fruit pulp, as they had that on hand.

6. Hitler's half-brother married an Irish woman and their son fought with the Allies against Hitler.

7. I find this hilarious. France may have been occupied by the Germans, but the French did not give up easily. They cut the cables of the elevator of the Eiffel Tower so that the Nazis, if they really wanted to hoist their flag on the Eiffel Tower, would have to climb 1665 steps. And then back down again.

8. Hitler wanted to make a lake out of Moscow by opening the locks of the Moscow-Volga Canal.