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    Why did British children shout "Bunga! Bunga!" at the Emperor of Ethiopia?

    Question #110575. Asked by star_gazer. (Nov 08 09 7:59 AM)


    BRY2K

    		It was all part of The Dreadnought Hoax, a practical joke pulled by Horace de Vere Cole in 1910.

    Cole tricked the Royal Navy into showing their flagship, the warship HMS Dreadnought to a supposed delegation of Abyssinian royals.

    During the visit to Dreadnought, the visitors had repeatedly shown amazement or appreciation by exclaiming, "Bunga! Bunga!" When the real Emperor of Ethiopia, Menelik II, visited England some time later, he was chased by children shouting "Bunga! Bunga!" Ironically, the Emperor afterward requested to view the Navy's facilities, but the senior Admiralty officer in charge declined to grant his request-possibly to avoid further embarrassments.

    Interestingly, In 1915 during the First World War, HMS Dreadnought rammed and sank a German submarine. Among the telegrams of congratulation was one which read "BUNGA BUNGA".

    http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Dreadnought_hoax#encyclopedia

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadnought_hoax

    (Guess one good hoax deserves another, star_gazer?)

    Nov 08 09, 8:07 AM
    star_gazer

    		Bunga! Bunga!

    Nov 08 09, 8:13 AM

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