History
Discover facts about history. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
History
Bach walked 200 miles to hear one organist
Before Spotify, absolute musical fanaticism required a punishing amount of cardio. A young Johann Sebastian Bach literally hiked across Germany for two…
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Millet was farmed heavily along the Yellow River
Before rice took over as the dominant grain, ancient Chinese communities heavily relied on millet. They spent centuries cultivating these tiny,…
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Huygens ground his own glass to find Saturn's rings
Before you could buy high-powered telescopes online, you had to physically grind the lenses yourself. Christiaan Huygens wanted to figure out what the weird…
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How ancient Chinese armorers turned leather into armor
Forging heavy iron plates takes an entirely massive amount of time and intensely hot fires. Ancient armorers found a completely highly efficient alternative…
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Catherine the Great had a professional foot tickler
Royalty truly comes with the most unhinged job postings. The powerful Empress of Russia kept a staff of dedicated foot ticklers whose sole job was to gently…
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How a sandwich stop changed world history
The greatest global conflict of the 20th century was essentially kicked off because a driver couldn't use reverse properly. The original assassination attempt…
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The ancient stone walls built like giant jigsaws
Square blocks are apparently for uninspired amateurs. Andean masons carved stones with up to twelve distinct, bizarrely angled corners that locked together…
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Korean celadon pottery features inlaid colored slips
Creating flawlessly smooth green ceramics wasn't difficult enough, so potters began carving tiny intricate patterns into the clay and aggressively stuffing…
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When Saturn’s rings looked like giant ears
Early telescopes were essentially just blurry magnifying glasses. When early stargazers first looked at Saturn, the poor resolution made the massive ring…
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An Egyptian king stole Winston Churchill’s watch
Being a monarch apparently didn't pay enough. Farouk learned sleight of hand from a professional thief and casually stole Winston Churchill's pocket watch…
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George Washington had to borrow money to reach his inauguration
The founding father of the wealthiest nation on Earth was historically bad at maintaining liquidity. Despite owning massive tracts of land, Washington's…
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Why Hitler was once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
Irony does not translate well to historical records. An anti-fascist Swedish politician submitted Hitler's name to the Nobel committee purely as a satirical…
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The fake trees British snipers hid inside
When trench warfare gets a little too boring, it's time for some aggressive arts and crafts. To spy on German lines without instantly catching a bullet, the…
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Sarcasm once meant tearing flesh
If someone claims your sarcasm is cutting, they are historically accurate. The word derives entirely from the ancient Greek 'sarkazein,' which literally…
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The toxic red paint on Mayan temples
For a culture deeply obsessed with blood, standard paint simply wouldn't do. Mayans heavily decorated their sacred pyramids and royal tombs with a vibrant…
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The bizarre plan to sabotage Hitler with estrogen
Because when conventional warfare stalls, why not try aggressive, non-consensual feminization? British spies in the SOE seriously plotted to smuggle estrogen…
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Chinese fleets sailed massive ships across the ocean
Long before other famous navigators were puttering around in tiny caravels, Asian maritime fleets were launching genuine wooden behemoths. The treasure ships…
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Victorians photographed their dead relatives
Say cheese, and try to ignore the rigor mortis. In the 1800s, photography was incredibly expensive, meaning most people never got a photo taken while alive.…
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When charging interest was a mortal sin
Early religious authorities despised the idea of money making money without actual labor, so they strictly banned the practice of usury. Since society…
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Ketchup began as fish sauce
The globally popular condiment actually started out as a pungent Asian brine that would confidently make modern hot dog lovers violently gag.
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Ancient Egyptians named dogs things like Useless
While we name dogs 'Buster' or 'Luna', ancient Egyptians went straight for the ego. Surviving leather collars show dogs were given intensely literal or…
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Europe’s first snowmen were made to insult rivals
Because petty grievances have always easily transcended time. European peasants used heavy snowfall to aggressively sculpt highly insulting caricatures of…
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Massive tunnel project buried an ugly elevated highway
Boston's Big Dig was an absurdly expensive, decades-long megaproject that rerouted a massive interstate highway entirely underground. It was notorious for…
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Why Europeans once feared the potato
Because suspicious peasants took one look at a lumpy underground dirt-apple and assumed it was cursed. It took decades of devious agricultural trickery to…
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