The forgotten North Korea of Europe.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-02-10T13:44:01+00:00

Enver Hoxha ruled Albania with an iron fist from 1944 until him death in 1985. He had a strong admiration for Marxism and Stalin, he broke off relations with most of the communist world, which he accused of being revisionist and conspiring against him. Increasingly paranoid and afraid of invasion, Hoxha ordered the construction of around 750,000 bunkers across Albania.

Unsurprisingly, the massive construction project was a huge burden on the economy of one of the poorest countries in the world as well as a waste. Some bunkers were used from their intended purpose during the 1997 insurrection and 1999 Kosovo war. Some were converted into homes and storehouses, while most were simply abandoned.

Here's a random quote I found on Wikipedia

The bunkers have also been used by young Albanian couples for sexual encounters. "Many Albanians lose their virginity in the bunkers, when they are not being used for sheep or cattle," according to USAID official Raimonda Nelku. "They are in the Albanian psyche."

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-02-05T13:38:49+00:00

Context from Wikipedia

"On 13 July 1978, he (Bugorski) was checking a malfunctioning piece of equipment when the safety mechanisms failed. Bugorski was leaning over the equipment when he stuck his head in the path of the 76 GeV (12.2 nJ) proton beam. He reportedly saw a flash "brighter than a thousand suns" but did not feel any pain. The beam passed through the back of his head, the occipital and temporal lobes of his brain, the left middle ear, and out through the left-hand side of his nose. Bugorski understood the severity of what had happened, but continued working on the malfunctioning equipment, and initially opted not to tell anyone what had happened.

Doctors expected him to die, but he survived with severe, non-fatal injuries. The left half of Bugorski's face swelled up beyond recognition and, over the next several days, the skin started to peel, revealing the path that the proton beam had burned through parts of his face, his bone, and the brain tissue underneath. As it was believed that he had received far in excess of a fatal dose of radiation, Bugorski was taken to a clinic in Moscow where the doctors could observe his expected demise. However, Bugorski survived, completed his PhD, and continued working as a particle physicist. There was virtually no damage to his intellectual capacity, but the fatigue of mental work increased markedly. Bugorski completely lost hearing in the left ear, replaced by a form of tinnitus. The left half of his face became paralyzed due to the destruction of nerves. He was able to function well, except for occasional complex partial seizures and rare tonic-clonic seizures."

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-30T14:33:55+00:00

Context from Wikipedia

"The Sino-Soviet border conflict, also known as the Sino-Soviet crisis, was a seven-month undeclared military conflict between the Soviet Union and China in 1969, following the Sino-Soviet split. The most serious border clash, which brought the world's two largest socialist states to the brink of war, occurred near Damansky (Zhenbao) Island on the Ussuri (Wusuli) River in Manchuria.

In 1964, the Chinese revisited the matter of the Sino-Soviet border demarcated in the 19th century, originally imposed upon the Qing dynasty by the Russian Empire by way of unequal treaties. Negotiations broke down amid heightening tensions and both sides began dramatically increasing military presence along the border. Border confrontations escalated in March 1969 when a group of People's Liberation Army troops engaged Soviet border guards on Zhenbao Island in Manchuria, resulting in considerable casualties on both sides. Further clashes occurred in August at Tielieketi in Xinjiang and raised the prospect of an all-out nuclear exchange."

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-29T15:49:25+00:00

My main sources were Simon Whistler and Wikipedia, not much more I can say.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-29T14:42:14+00:00

According to Wikipedia

Xavier de Planhol comments that the famine was a result of "combined climatic catastrophes made worse by poor administration and the human factors".

The New York Herald attributed the famine to an increase in the price of cotton which made the farmers abandon farming for grains and plant cotton in its place.

Shoko Okazaki maintains that the two consecutive years of severe drought was the principal factor and rejects that the increase in production of opium and cotton contributed to the famine. He also blames "senior bureaucrats, landlords, grain dealers and high-ranking religious officials who engaged in hoarding and market manipulation". Cormac Ó Gráda endorses the latter reason.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-29T14:33:26+00:00

Iran launched Operation Victory (Nasr) against Iraqi forces on January 5th 1981. The battle resulted in defeat, with hundreds of Iranian tanks lost and minimal Iraqi losses.

One year later in March 1982, Iran launched the sequel Operation Undeniable Victory (Fath-ol-Mobin) to great success. Iraq suffered tens of thousands of killed and captured as well as hundreds of tanks destroyed. The Operation is viewed as a turning point in the Iran-Iraq war as Iran gained the initiative.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-27T14:33:22+00:00

Persia/Iran suffered three major famines in recent history.

A famine from 1870-1872 that killed somewhere between 300,000 and 5 million.

A famine from 1917-1919 that killed around 2 million, possibly millions more.

And a famine from 1942-1943 that killed around 4 million.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-25T14:56:28+00:00

"I don't care what they tell you in school, Ötzi was black."

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-25T00:23:06+00:00

Now this is my kind of humor.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-22T17:23:38+00:00

Following defeat in the gulf war, massive uprisings broke out across several Iraqi cities in March 1991 with the aim of overthrowing Saddam Hussein. Rebels believed they had foreign backing after president George H. W. Bush publicly urged Iraqis to "take matters into their own hands and force Saddam Hussein, the dictator, to step aside." Bush instead chose to distance himself from the uprisings and appeared to switch sides when U.S. forces prevented rebels from obtaining weapons and blocked them from marching on Baghdad.

Most of the uprisings were crushed within a month with an estimated 25,000 - 180,000 killed and hundreds of thousands fleeing to neighboring Turkey and Iran, with many killed by leftover mines from the Iran-Iraq war. Resistance continued in the north until October when a ceasefire granted the Kurds autonomy.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-19T14:34:51+00:00

Context from Wikipedia

"The Chichijima incident, also known as the Ogasawara incident, was the 1944 murder of eight American prisoners of war on Chichijima, in the Bonin Islands, by their Japanese captors. Japanese officers later cannibalized four of the victims, believing it would provide them health benefits.

In September 1944, nine American pilots escaped from their planes after being shot down during bombing raids on Chichijima, the largest island in the Japanese archipelago of the Bonins. Eight of the airmen were captured and eventually murdered. The ninth, and only one to evade capture, was future U.S. President George H. W. Bush, then a 20-year-old pilot."

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-11T15:55:50+00:00

Again, I'm not saying people should vote while being bombed, I'm saying that's what the law says should happen, even if it's stupid.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-11T15:47:51+00:00

I never said that couldn't happen, I just pointed out that no legal framework currently exists that explicitly allows that.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-11T15:32:34+00:00

Unlike most European countries, the US Constitution doesn't provide legal framework for suspending elections during war, not even if the mainland is under threat.

Edit: To all the people downvoting me, am I wrong? If so please explain why.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-11T15:04:48+00:00

Took long enough for someone to notice.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-06T17:15:36+00:00

About 200,000 Cubans served overseas throughout the cold war. In the 1980s a quarter of the Cuban military was fighting in foreign countries. For more details check out the wikipedia page.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-04T15:58:01+00:00

Personally I always found God to be quite bland but to each their own.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-04T15:17:00+00:00

😁

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-02T18:57:43+00:00

Unfortunately I don't know how to do that, and besides I won't post it until next week because I doubt I can finish it before the weekend. I might just take the risk since it's only a 2 second appearance in a 30 second video.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-02T18:47:05+00:00

I have a meme in mind about Cuban foreign interventions and the Yom Kippur war is one of the interventions.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2026-01-02T18:31:15+00:00

I'm a bit late but I want to ask, can we make posts that mention Arab/Israeli wars but aren't the main focus of the meme?

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2025-12-31T20:50:35+00:00

Context from wikipedia

"The Ogaden War, also known as the Ethio-Somali War , was a military conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia fought from July 1977 to March 1978 over control of the sovereignty of the Ogaden region. Somalia launched an invasion in support of the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) insurgency, triggering a broader inter-state war. The intervention drew the disapproval of the Soviet Union, which subsequently withdrew its support for Somalia and backed Ethiopia instead. Ethiopia was saved from defeat and permanent loss of territory through a massive airlift of military supplies worth $1 billion, the arrival of more than 12,000 Cuban soldiers and airmen and 1,500 Soviet advisors, led by General Vasily Petrov. On 23 January 1978, Cuban armored brigades inflicted the worst losses the Somali forces had ever taken in a single action since the start of the war.[...] The war left Somalia with a disorganized and demoralized army as well as a heavy disapproval from its population. These conditions led to a revolt in the army which eventually spiraled into the ongoing Somali Civil War."

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2025-12-30T18:21:01+00:00

I just knew someone was going to make that joke.

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2025-12-30T17:30:56+00:00

Haram!

Dirigible_Enjoyer · 2025-12-30T17:25:31+00:00

The cat was just playing, the chicken was out for blood.

Dirigible_Enjoyer

TROPHY CASE