6 Towards the final phases of World War 2, Japan was planning to use a biological weapon, a plague to be spread in San Diego, California on civilians. The plan was never successful because Japan surrendered five weeks before it was going to be executed.

The failed mission of deploying plague bombs was known as “Operations Cherry Blossoms at Night.”

Unit 731 was responsible for aiding all the bioweapons that Japan used and planned to use in World War 2. 

The unit was capable of producing about sixty pounds of a plague agent in just a few days, and it was transmitted via plague-infested fleas.

These plague transmitter fleas were placed inside ceramic bombs and were dropped into civilian areas. The fleas would infest the local rats, which would spread the plague to food in turn and ultimately humans. 

This entire method was to be carried out in the cities of China named Ningbo and Changde. 

The US was scheduled to be infected on 22 December 1945 as a suicide mission with the help of submarine aircraft carriers, nonetheless, Japan surrendered on 15 August. So, the plan was also considered useless and never became a reality. (source)

7 The soldiers involved in the invasion of France were all fuelled by crystal meth called “Pervitin.” Later researchers tell that the drug tablets helped the soldiers to stay awake for three days and three nights continually while they were bursting into France through the Ardennes Mountains.

This was not the first time that German soldiers used Pervitin. It had already been used in the invasion of Poland in 1939 as well. 

By May 1940, the meth was produced exclusively for soldiers in millions of doses. 

Pervitin, the drug, was carried by the doctors in the armed forces as fundamental medical equipment. 

Every tablet’s effects lasted for 12 hours, and soldiers were asked to take one during the daytime and two during the night. 

The soldiers were no less brutal than fearless fighting robots. As they attacked France, the drug was flowing through their veins. 

The famous offensive or charging technique of Nazi forces to invade territories called “Blitzkrieg” was also said to have founded its success on the usage of meth by the soldiers.

Pervitin depletes the user’s psychological and physiological performance resulting in a complete breakdown. It is no surprise that the drug is highly addictive and intoxicating, and the Nazi soldiers begged for more and developed a craving for it later. (1, 2)

8 Steinway and Sons, a piano company, airdropped pianos into the battle for American troops using large parachutes, complete with tuning instructions. G.I Steinways, the special dark blue, grey, or olive pianos, were sent to provide a bit of relaxation.

The company describes the pianos to be special, and the other name was given to that batch was “Victory Verticals.” The company especially emphasized its durability and ruggedness knowing their destinies. 

Some of the peculiar features involved water-resistant glue and anti-insect treatments. Keys were covered with celluloid replacing the traditional ivory, and bass strings were iron instead of copper. 

The first one of these special pianos was dropped with the help of a parachute in 1942 with complete tuning gears and instructions to play. Then, 5,000 more such pieces followed, yet half of these were sold in schools and churches. 

The American troops indeed needed a moment of joy, comfort, and relief in such dreadful times. (1, 2)

9 During World War 2, more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were held captive in concentration camps around America. Most of the individuals were held for no reason except for their race. The US government publicly acknowledged the act as a human rights violation only after four decades.

The camps where Japanese Americans were kept became to be known as “Japanese internment camps,” and they were established on the order of President Roosevelt. 

The decision came after the incident of Pearl Harbor. The US authorities basically suspected the Japanese American civilians as saboteurs and espionage agents without any authentic evidence. 

Military zones were created in California, Washington, Oregon, and a few other places by Executive Order 9066 by the then-president. Canada and Mexico followed in the same suit and captured 21,000 natives from Canada, and Mexico also forcibly removed 2,264 more individuals of Japanese origin from Peru, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina and moved them to the US.

Violence at the prison camps was seen in the Mexican camps at Lordsburg. The prisoners were transported by trains and were then forced to walk two miles to the camps. 

Finally, in 1988, a total of 80,000 Japanese Americans were given $20,000 as compensation for what had happened along with a necessary formal apology. (1, 2)

10 There was a shortage of penicillin during World War 2. Therefore, it was re-extracted from the patients’ urine to meet the demand. 

Penicillin was first discovered in 1928, but it wasn’t until 1940 that it came into medical usage. During the critical times of World War 2, the medicinal manufacturing capacity that could serve the experimental treatments was in acute supply. 

The demand was, however, rising, and to keep up with it, researchers put forth this bizarre but efficient idea. 

Isolating penicillin from urine was possible because, as the scientists say, not all of the penicillin in its entirety is broken down into the patient’s body. Actually, most of it passes through the body unchanged and is expelled during urination. 

Penicillin turned out to be a very effective life-saving drug. It reduced the death rate from bacterial pneumonia from 18% during World War 1 to less than 1% in World War 2. 

Eventually, the production started keeping up with the demands of medicine. (1, 2)