History
Discover facts about history. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
History
Phrase history is written by the victors misses a darker truth: it is also written by their public relations teams.
Phrase history is written by the victors misses a darker truth: it is also written by their public relations teams. During both world wars, governments…
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Path to everyday miracles is littered with disasters you never hear about.
Path to everyday miracles is littered with disasters you never hear about. Before airplanes became routine, early flight experiments killed or maimed dozens…
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One of the strangest units in World War II fought with paint, rubber, and speakers instead of guns.
One of the strangest units in World War II fought with paint, rubber, and speakers instead of guns. The US Army's Ghost Army was a secret deception unit that…
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A catastrophic fire in 17th century London accidentally invented modern home insurance.
A catastrophic fire in 17th century London accidentally invented modern home insurance. In 1666, the Great Fire ripped through wooden houses packed tightly…
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Some of the world's oldest cities had better sanitation than Victorian London.
Some of the world's oldest cities had better sanitation than Victorian London. Around 4,000 years ago, the Indus Valley civilizations built settlements like…
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Centuries before skyscrapers and grid-planned capitals, an ancient city in Mexico experimented with urban design on a scale that should not have been possible for its time.
Centuries before skyscrapers and grid-planned capitals, an ancient city in Mexico experimented with urban design on a scale that should not have been possible…
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If you time-traveled to many famous medieval cities, you might be disappointed by how small and quiet they really were.
If you time-traveled to many famous medieval cities, you might be disappointed by how small and quiet they really were. Places like London, Paris, or Florence…
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One of the largest intelligence breakthroughs of World War Two depended on thousands of women whose names barely made it into the history books.
One of the largest intelligence breakthroughs of World War Two depended on thousands of women whose names barely made it into the history books. In places…
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Deadliest pandemic of the 20th century was not called the Spanish Flu because it started in Spain; it was called that because censorship made Spain look like the only honest country.
Deadliest pandemic of the 20th century was not called the Spanish Flu because it started in Spain; it was called that because censorship made Spain look like…
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Your bright white bathroom is basically a fossil from the 1918 flu pandemic.
Your bright white bathroom is basically a fossil from the 1918 flu pandemic. Before that pandemic, many homes had dark, cluttered, even carpeted washrooms,…
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One of the most explosive forces in world history was not gunpowder or oil, but salt.
One of the most explosive forces in world history was not gunpowder or oil, but salt. For centuries, governments treated salt like liquid gold because people…
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Europe burned thousands of 'witches' partly because the weather turned colder.
Europe burned thousands of 'witches' partly because the weather turned colder. During the so-called Little Ice Age, from roughly the 14th to 19th centuries,…
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First pandemic 'lockdown diaries' were written in 1348, and teenagers were already complaining about boredom.
First pandemic 'lockdown diaries' were written in 1348, and teenagers were already complaining about boredom. When the Black Death hit Florence, the writer…
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In 1835, thousands of New Yorkers believed that bat winged humans were dancing on the Moon, and their most trusted newspaper swore it was true.
In 1835, thousands of New Yorkers believed that bat winged humans were dancing on the Moon, and their most trusted newspaper swore it was true. The New York…
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One of the biggest crime drops in modern history may have started with something as boring as changing gasoline.
One of the biggest crime drops in modern history may have started with something as boring as changing gasoline. In many countries, violent crime soared…
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A hundred years before online mask arguments, San Francisco police were arresting people for walking the streets with their faces uncovered.
A hundred years before online mask arguments, San Francisco police were arresting people for walking the streets with their faces uncovered. During the 1918…
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Imagine going to sleep on 2 September and waking up on 14 September — your birthday, rent day, and payday all evaporated overnight.
Imagine going to sleep on 2 September and waking up on 14 September — your birthday, rent day, and payday all evaporated overnight. That is what happened in…
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In 1665, Cambridge University closed during the Great Plague.
In 1665, Cambridge University closed during the Great Plague. Isaac Newton retreated to his family farm, isolated for over a year — and there discovered…
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Before YouTube tutorials or IKEA manuals, the Romans created public diagrams for daily engineering: open-air walls carved with instructions on plumbing and road angles, so that…
Before YouTube tutorials or IKEA manuals, the Romans created public diagrams for daily engineering: open-air walls carved with instructions on plumbing and…
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In 541 CE, whispers of a mysterious sickness rolled across the Byzantine Empire, carried by trade ships heavy with grain and hidden death.
In 541 CE, whispers of a mysterious sickness rolled across the Byzantine Empire, carried by trade ships heavy with grain and hidden death. The Plague of…
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Before smartphones, before the lightbulb, came the forgotten spark of the Renaissance wind gun—a weapon that could fire silently using compressed air.
Before smartphones, before the lightbulb, came the forgotten spark of the Renaissance wind gun—a weapon that could fire silently using compressed air. Built…
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Before light bulbs and smartphones, a fireproof material called asbestos was once advertised as ‘miracle wool.’ Early Romans wove it into funeral cloths that never burned.
Before light bulbs and smartphones, a fireproof material called asbestos was once advertised as ‘miracle wool.’ Early Romans wove it into funeral cloths that…
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Before smartphones and fiber optics, the Victorian internet almost happened: the 'telegraph web.' By the 1860s, cables stitched London to Bombay, Paris to New York—messages…
Before smartphones and fiber optics, the Victorian internet almost happened: the 'telegraph web.' By the 1860s, cables stitched London to Bombay, Paris to New…
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In 1914, a British newspaper told readers German troops boiled corpses into soap.
In 1914, a British newspaper told readers German troops boiled corpses into soap. Outrage soared; enlistments spiked. It was entirely fabricated. The 'corpse…
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