War Facts

The shortest war on record was fought between Zanzibar and England in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.

The Canadian province of New Brunswick (which was part of the UK at the time) had a bloodless war with the US state of Maine in 1839

More Americans have died in car accidents than have died in all the wars ever fought by the United States.

Sergeant Stubby was the only war dog to be promoted to sergeant through combat in WWI. He saved his regiment from surprise mustard gas attacks, found and comforted the wounded, and even once caught a German spy by the seat of his pants, holding him there until American Soldiers found him.

In 1916, a US constitutional amendment was proposed requiring a national vote before declaring war, with a provision that anyone voting 'yes' would have to register for military service. The idea resurfaced multiple times, most notably as the Ludlow Amendment in the 1930s.

The flag of the Philippines is flown with the red stripe up in times of war and blue stripe up in times of peace.

During a war between France and England in 1697, Louis XIV ordered the release of a captured English engineer who had been building a lighthouse. His reasoning: "France is at war with England, not with humanity."

The Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly (off the coast of England) were technically at war from 1651 to 1986 — 335 years. No shots were fired. No one died. In 1985, a Scilly historian contacted the Dutch Embassy to joke about it. The Dutch ambassador flew to the islands and signed a peace treaty, ending a war nobody knew was still happening.