Love of books

Author: Wang Qiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: On April 6, 1917, the neutral peacekeeping U.S. suddenly decided to join the anti-German alliance of Britain and France and declared war on Germany. A year and a half later, due to the U.S.'s involvement, Germany was defeated and was forced to sign a peace treaty on November 11, 1918. However, what largely changed President Wilson's stance was a significant mistake made by the German side—the Zimmermann Telegram. Arthur Zimmermann was the German Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time. He had long harbored ambitions to bring Mexico and Japan into the German alliance. How to convey the message to Mexico without causing the U.S. to abandon neutrality initially led him to consider having someone deliver the message. Unexpectedly, the German submarine's trip was canceled temporarily, and the written letter could not be delivered, so he had no choice but to send it by telegram. The delivery network was precisely the one set up by Wilson for peace negotiations with Germany, with cables running from Berlin through Britain to Washington. Zimmermann intended to have the telegram delivered as quickly as possible through the German Embassy in Washington. Since the code was written in German device code, he believed the message would remain confidential. However, this code, which revealed anti-American intentions, was deciphered by the British, and the Americans were taken aback. Interestingly, many current English idioms still in use today originated from human misconceptions. The word "malaria" literally means "bad air" (malaaria), because before the true cause—the mosquito carrying the pathogen—was discovered, malaria was believed to be caused by evil spirits entering the body through breathing in night air. The word "liver" derives from the fact that it was regarded as the only blood-supplying organ in the human body that sustains life (life). A person's life is a journey surrounded by mistakes, yet also one of constant struggle against them. The many small and large errors made by humans have influenced the course of history in various scopes and degrees. Today, when we turn our gaze to the past and easily "taste" the humorous diversity of mistakes, our focus should be grounded in the ancient saying: "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it." And precisely in this sense, the saying "Failure is the mother of success" also gains a solid practical meaning. P22-23