I spend many of my days researching, and I often come across strange and fascinating tales that don’t quite fit in my books. Thus, Friday story time is born. Because really, does a great story need a reason? Here’s this week’s tidbit:

During World War II, Italian soldier Felice Benuzzi was stuck in a British prisoner-of-war camp in East Africa. After months of confinement, he grew bored. So he convinced two other prisoners to sneak past the guards and climb Mount Kenya with him.

Using home-made clothing, tents, and crampons, the three men evaded leopards and rhinos at the base of the mountain, then climbed all 16,300 feet to the summit and hoisted a homemade flag.

Having conquered a mountain that had beaten hundreds of experienced mountaineers, Benuzzi and his friends returned to their prison camp and turned themselves in.