Six Curious Facts About The FIS Alpine Ski World Championship

The FIS Alpine Ski World Championships have been running for 80 years. There were a few curious instances in that time. They include time differences between winners and runners up of almost 30 seconds, the championship that never was, one without snow, and the man who became women’s world champion.

Erika Schinegger



Flying Without a Permit

When flying was all new and shiny, it was also still in paradise. There were no permits to get and no exams to pass; you just got into your flying machine and took off. But paradise ended when the snake came in; this snake took the form of an international body which started to issue permits.


Hubert Latham in monoplane

How Not to Win a Grand Slam

Andy Murray is following in Roger Federer’s and Rafael Nadal’s footsteps. He just broke the first long standing tennis record. He is the first player to have lost his first three appearances in a grand slam final without winning a single set. That is not the kind of record to inspire confidence in his ability to win one.


Andy Murray


Maurice Bavaud: One Swiss Alone Against Hitler

On November 9th, 2008, it was 70 years since Maurice Bavaud tried to assassinate Hitler in Munich. After prolonged torture, he was murdered by the Nazis on May 14th, 1941, after ‘legal’ proceedings followed by a sentence to death. He was officially rehabilitated by Germany in 1956.

Maurice Bavaud