History
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History
Vikings used the bones of dead animals to forge their swords, believing that the spirit of the animal would transfer into the weapon and make it significantly more powerful in battle.
Vikings used the bones of dead animals to forge their swords, believing that the spirit of the animal would transfer into the weapon and make it significantly…
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Marie Curie's research notebooks are still so dangerously radioactive over a century later that anyone wishing to view them in the French national library must sign a liability waiver and wear protective clothing.
Marie Curie's research notebooks are still so dangerously radioactive over a century later that anyone wishing to view them in the French national library…
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Abraham Lincoln is the only United States president to ever secure a patent, having designed a device to lift boats over shoals and obstructions in shallow rivers.
Abraham Lincoln is the only United States president to ever secure a patent, having designed a device to lift boats over shoals and obstructions in shallow…
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Spartan warriors were so obsessed with making sure their citizens did not hoard wealth that they used heavy, impractical iron bars as their official currency instead of gold or silver coins.
Spartan warriors were so obsessed with making sure their citizens did not hoard wealth that they used heavy, impractical iron bars as their official currency…
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Alexander the Great was preserved in a giant vat of natural honey after he suddenly died from a mysterious illness in Babylon at the remarkably young age of thirty-two.
Alexander the Great was preserved in a giant vat of natural honey after he suddenly died from a mysterious illness in Babylon at the remarkably young age of…
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Pyrrhus of Epirus, one of the greatest military commanders of the ancient world, was unceremoniously killed when an angry old woman dropped a roof tile on his head.
Pyrrhus of Epirus, one of the greatest military commanders of the ancient world, was unceremoniously killed when an angry old woman dropped a roof tile on his…
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Boston Corbett was the deeply eccentric Union soldier who famously shot and killed John Wilkes Booth, but he is equally notable for having casually castrated himself with a pair of scissors.
Boston Corbett was the deeply eccentric Union soldier who famously shot and killed John Wilkes Booth, but he is equally notable for having casually castrated…
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Chairman Mao Zedong initiated the Four Pests Campaign in 1958, ordering the entire population of China to aggressively exterminate sparrows because he mistakenly believed the…
Chairman Mao Zedong initiated the Four Pests Campaign in 1958, ordering the entire population of China to aggressively exterminate sparrows because he…
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President James A.
President James A. Garfield easily survived being shot in the back by a delusional assassin in 1881, but he was subsequently murdered by his own extremely…
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French agronomist Antoine-Augustin Parmentier successfully popularized the highly nutritious potato in France by convincing Queen Marie Antoinette to wear purple potato blossoms…
French agronomist Antoine-Augustin Parmentier successfully popularized the highly nutritious potato in France by convincing Queen Marie Antoinette to wear…
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Persian forces defeated the Egyptian army at the Battle of Pelusium in 525 BC by literally carrying cats into battle, knowing the Egyptians worshipped the animals and would not risk harming them.
Persian forces defeated the Egyptian army at the Battle of Pelusium in 525 BC by literally carrying cats into battle, knowing the Egyptians worshipped the…
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King Pyrrhus of Epirus defeated the Romans at the Battle of Asculum in 279 BCE but lost so many of his own elite soldiers that he completely ruined his military campaign.
King Pyrrhus of Epirus defeated the Romans at the Battle of Asculum in 279 BCE but lost so many of his own elite soldiers that he completely ruined his…
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French women in the 16th and 17th centuries could legally drag their husbands into court and demand a divorce on the singular grounds of male impotence.
French women in the 16th and 17th centuries could legally drag their husbands into court and demand a divorce on the singular grounds of male impotence. To…
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Viking warriors regularly engaged in a formalized poetic insult contest known as flyting, which was essentially the medieval Norse equivalent of a brutal rap battle.
Viking warriors regularly engaged in a formalized poetic insult contest known as flyting, which was essentially the medieval Norse equivalent of a brutal rap…
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Soviet scientists in the 1970s decided they wanted to drill deeper into the Earth's crust than anyone else, eventually creating the Kola Superdeep Borehole which reached a staggering depth of over seven miles.
Soviet scientists in the 1970s decided they wanted to drill deeper into the Earth's crust than anyone else, eventually creating the Kola Superdeep Borehole…
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American television networks in 1968 decided to boost their abysmal ratings by hiring conservative William F.
American television networks in 1968 decided to boost their abysmal ratings by hiring conservative William F. Buckley and liberal Gore Vidal to debate each…
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King Goujian of Yue used a military tactic in ancient China where his front line consisted entirely of condemned criminals who would decapitate themselves right before the battle started.
King Goujian of Yue used a military tactic in ancient China where his front line consisted entirely of condemned criminals who would decapitate themselves…
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Genghis Khan originally tried to establish a peaceful trade route with the Khwarezmid Empire, but the local governor made the fatal error of executing the Mongol ambassadors.
Genghis Khan originally tried to establish a peaceful trade route with the Khwarezmid Empire, but the local governor made the fatal error of executing the…
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Medieval combat manuals often included ridiculous instructions, but none top the judicial duel rules between a man and a woman in fifteenth-century Germany.
Medieval combat manuals often included ridiculous instructions, but none top the judicial duel rules between a man and a woman in fifteenth-century Germany.…
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Soviet intelligence agents attempted to blackmail Indonesian President Sukarno during the Cold War by secretly filming him participating in a massive, enthusiastic orgy with…
Soviet intelligence agents attempted to blackmail Indonesian President Sukarno during the Cold War by secretly filming him participating in a massive,…
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American President William Howard Taft never actually got stuck in the White House bathtub, but he did employ a dairy cow named Pauline Wayne who freely roamed the executive lawn to provide the family with fresh milk.
American President William Howard Taft never actually got stuck in the White House bathtub, but he did employ a dairy cow named Pauline Wayne who freely…
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Brescia suffered a catastrophic disaster in 1769 when a totally random lightning strike hit the Bastion of San Nazaro, which the Republic of Venice was brilliantly using to store…
Brescia suffered a catastrophic disaster in 1769 when a totally random lightning strike hit the Bastion of San Nazaro, which the Republic of Venice was…
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Roman event organizers employed people dressed as Charon, the mythical ferryman of the dead, to walk around the Colosseum and smash dying gladiators in the head with heavy mallets to ensure they were actually dead.
Roman event organizers employed people dressed as Charon, the mythical ferryman of the dead, to walk around the Colosseum and smash dying gladiators in the…
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Greek and Bulgarian forces fought a brief but deadly conflict in 1925 known as the War of the Stray Dog, which allegedly began when a Greek soldier chased his runaway pet across the border.
Greek and Bulgarian forces fought a brief but deadly conflict in 1925 known as the War of the Stray Dog, which allegedly began when a Greek soldier chased his…
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