History
Discover facts about history. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
History
The ancient crossbow that fired ten arrows
Long before anyone conceptualized automatic firearms, ancient military engineers figured out how to spam projectiles. The Chinese repeating crossbow featured…
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The horned winter demon who hunted naughty children
Instead of handing out coal, traditional winter festivals featured a literal horned beast who would allegedly throw naughty children in a sack and drag them…
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The nursery-rhyme author who lobbied for Thanksgiving
Never underestimate a writer with too much free time. The author of the world's most famous nursery rhyme spent literally decades writing annoying, aggressive…
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Wu Zetian’s terrifying ancient suggestion boxes
The ultimate ancient suggestion box, except the suggestions usually ended with someone getting brutally executed. Empress Wu, the only female monarch of…
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First photo in India captured a street scene
Because documenting reality is far easier than painting it. In 1840, shortly after the camera was realized, an exposure was made in Calcutta, instantly…
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The king who wanted to redesign the universe
The ultimate case of royal hubris. The King of Castile was so annoyed by the complex mathematical models of the stars that he openly boasted that if God had…
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The gruesome cowpox trick that inspired vaccination
Rubbing deeply infected bovine pus directly into an open wound sounds utterly insane, but it totally changed humanity. Wealthy landowners bravely allowed…
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The first trains moved on cables
Because putting the motor actually on the train was apparently too radical. The very earliest railway systems simply had massive steam engines permanently…
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The Bastille key Lafayette sent to Washington
Nothing says 'friendship' quite like sending your buddy a piece of violent revolutionary debris. Shortly after French revolutionaries stormed the Bastille in…
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Why Puritans banned the Maypole
The traditional springtime dance around a wooden pole was deemed sexually suggestive by 17th-century fundamentalists. They violently chopped down the Maypoles…
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Why Rembrandt painted so many self-portraits
If you want to master portraiture but absolutely refuse to open your wallet, you only have one option. Rembrandt wasn't just highly obsessed with his own…
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Kite flying was once an Olympic event
Nothing screams peak athletic performance quite like holding a string in the wind. The 1900 Paris Games actually featured kite flying as an event, because…
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Why lifting your hat became a polite gesture
The polite gesture of momentarily lifting your headwear evolved from armored knights raising their visors just to prove they weren't actively plotting an…
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Victorian vegetables were brightened with poison
Because canned foods inevitably turned a depressing grey color, Victorian food manufacturers routinely added heavy doses of copper sulfate to peas and pickles…
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The poet who drank wine from a skull
The ultimate goth flex. The poet dug up a monk's skull in his garden, polished it, mounted it in silver, and used it to drink wine just to terrify his…
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The first Olympic champion was a baker
Because the earliest champions were just regular guys with incredible cardio. A cook named Coroebus won the only event at the very first games, trading in his…
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The gambling dispute that sparked probability theory
Advanced statistical mathematics literally exists because guys at a casino were angry. In the 1600s, two noblemen kept getting into fights over rolling dice…
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The marriage trial that lasted a year and a day
Before committing permanently, couples would tie their wrists together for exactly one year and a day, reserving the absolute right to just walk away if they…
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Pirates had surprisingly democratic workplace rules
Nothing screams 'lawless renegade' quite like a comprehensive HR policy. Pirate ships actually operated as surprisingly democratic workplaces, requiring…
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Britain went to war to protect its opium trade
Ah, the British Empire: built on tea, crumpets, and the largest state-sponsored drug cartel in human history. To balance their massive trade deficit for…
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Why Calvin Coolidge rode a mechanical horse
Long before the Peloton, there was the terrifying mechanical rodeo beast of the 1920s. 'Silent Cal' suffered from digestive issues and believed rigorous…
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The yellow paint made from cow urine
Creating vibrant art sometimes requires severely dehydrating farm animals. Artists prized a brilliant pigment known as Indian Yellow, completely unaware it…
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Why early tea cups had no handles
You simply had to pinch the scalding hot porcelain with your bare fingers and aggressively hope you didn't drop boiling liquid directly onto your lap.
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When baseball players caught fastballs barehanded
Catching a massive leather ball flying at ninety miles per hour with your unprotected palm requires a serious lack of common sense. Before the 1880s, baseball…
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