Why Churchill wanted to drink coffee with poison and other jokes of great people

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

It is known that humor allows us to survive in the most difficult times, and a good joke, spoken at the right time, can prevent a big conflict. Therefore, all people who left their mark on history most often possessed such an excellent quality as a sense of humor, some even in abundance. Today, their most striking jokes have turned into historical anecdotes, laughing at which, you understand that people, in principle, do not change much.

Napoleon and Murat

Napoleon Bonaparte, as you know, was extremely small in stature. This, it seems, did not interfere with his self-esteem at all, including in relationships in the fair sex. However, sometimes it gave me a little trouble. So, one of the historical anecdotes tells how Napoleon, together with his associate Murat, went to conquer the hot spots of Paris. Of course, this "sortie" was carried out incognito, but the hostess of the establishment under the red lantern, of course, recognized the distinguished guest and did her best to serve him. She hung his hat in the higher hallway, with the best of intentions, so that it would not be crushed and taken away by mistake. Early in the morning Napoleon and Murat tried to leave the "institution" quickly and imperceptibly, so as not to attract attention, but a snag came up with the hat - Bonaparte could not reach it. For some time Murat did not dare to help, so as not to offend the emperor, but in the end he could not resist:

Judging by Napoleon's answer, he was still offended:

Alexander III and a funny surname

The Russian autocrats could sometimes joke so that the subjects were not happy, although in this respect, of course, all our tsars are far from Peter I. The emperor of the Russian Empire, Alexander III, once became very cheerful when he received a petition from the landowner Krasnopuzov to change his surname. The emperor gave permission, but ordered to change the name of the landowner to "Sinepuzov". However, in addition, he issued a manifesto stating that,

Winston Churchill and the suffragette

The Prime Minister of Great Britain was an excellent family man, and held very traditional views on the female sex. So, for example, he did not approve of wearing trousers, smoking, engaging in men's sports and similar "liberties". Once, at a reception at the royal palace, he was forced to argue about this with the head of the society of British suffragettes. The prime minister was very tired, therefore, after listening to his opponent, he said:

The suffragist was shocked, but did not give up:

As witnesses of the dialogue note, after these words, silence fell around the disputants. However, Churchill responded quickly, defusing the situation:

Stalin and the common Russian problem

Iosif Vissarionovich, with all his merits and demerits, oddly enough, also had a kind of humor. In one well-known historical anecdote, not only this quality of his was manifested, but also the fact that he was able to tolerate some of the shortcomings of his subordinates, if only they did not interfere with the common cause, of course. In the first post-war years, the country's economy grew very hard, and Stalin put only very proven people in key positions. So, in 1948, Alexander Fedorovich Zasyadko was appointed minister of the USSR coal industry - an excellent manager who knows his business, but has a penchant for alcohol. Everyone knew about this problem, but since the new minister was abused only in the evenings, Stalin did not seem to care. However, soon Zasyadko had to participate in a very late meeting, to which he was brought from home. Trying to hide the smell of alcohol, the minister tried to turn away and cover his mouth with his hand when he answered. Noticing this, Stalin went into the next office, returned with a bottle of cognac and lemon, poured himself a full glass and poured a little into Zasyadko's glass, clinked glasses with him and drank in one gulp. Then he politely asked:

By the way, Joseph Vissarionovich turned this joke more than once, with different interlocutors.