Today I Learned (TIL)

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TIL 18th Century Norwegian swashbuckler Peter Tordenskjold once ran out of ammo during a sea battle so he sent his enemy a letter thanking him for "a fine duel" and asking him to send more ammo so the (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 114 points 2 months ago (3 children)

When he heard about the incident, King Frederick IV of Denmark asked for the admiralty to court-martial Wessel.[3] He stood trial in November 1714, accused of disclosing vital military information about his lack of ammunition to the enemy, as well as endangering the ship of king Frederick IV by fighting a superior enemy force.[5] The spirit with which he defended himself and the contempt he poured on his less courageous comrades took the fancy of Frederick IV.[4] He successfully argued a section of the Danish naval code which mandated attacking fleeing enemy ships no matter the size, and was acquitted on 15 December 1714. He then went to the king asking for a promotion and was raised to the rank of captain on 28 December 1714.[5]

The balls on this man. And this is the part just before the section titled "Greatest Exploits"...

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 months ago (1 children)

He was 24 years old when that battle took place...

[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 months ago

And lived to the ripe old age of 30.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

He is lucky balls are buoyant, otherwise he'd sink any ship he set foot on.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don't think that's how buoyancy works.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Nah, this is why the navy has to castrate men who work in submarines

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Depends on the density.

Feels like this guy's balls weren't just full of hot air.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 months ago

Ok, this got me really interested now. Guess, i'll sleep a little later.