At the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the French captured an English major. They took him to their headquarters where a French general began to question him. The French general asked: "Why do you English officers all wear red coats? Don't you know the red material makes you easy targets for us to shoot?" The major replied: "English officers wear red coats so that if they are shot, the blood won't show, and the men they are leading won't panic." "I see," said the French general. "That is an ingenious idea. We might adopt something similar." And that is why from that day to this, all French Army officers wear brown underpants.