History
Discover facts about history. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
History
The king who filled his castle with animals
Royal menageries are one thing, but hoarding massive flocks of random wildlife is another. The French noble spent his entire fortune obsessively importing…
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Tsar Paul I once saluted an empty carriage
Because imaginary VIPs deserve respect too. The unstable Russian tsar once ordered his entire royal guard to formally salute an empty, gilded carriage as it…
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Frederick the Great demanded to be buried with his dogs
Hating humans is a long-standing royal tradition. The Prussian king explicitly wrote into his will that he wanted his final resting place to be next to his…
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Paul Cézanne couldn't bear being touched
Personal space issues taken to the absolute extreme. The legendary post-impressionist was so completely terrified of being grabbed or bumped into that he…
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Hans Christian Andersen traveled with a fire-escape rope
Fairy tale authors are apparently deeply crippled by everyday anxiety. He was so terrified of perishing in a hotel fire that he famously carried a thick coil…
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Louis XVI was obsessed with making locks
It turns out the worst king of France was actually just a deeply misunderstood hardware enthusiast. He spent hours isolated in his workshop happily…
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Salvador Dalí nearly suffocated in a diving suit
Suffocation is apparently the ultimate artistic flex. He showed up to an exhibition wearing a vintage deep-sea diving helmet to symbolize his descent into the…
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Tsar Alexander III bent solid iron horseshoes for fun
Nothing projects imperial Russian power quite like unsolicited amateur strongman routines. Whenever he felt bored at royal banquets, he would casually tear a…
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A king who reportedly laughed only three times
Maintaining the brooding, imperial aesthetic requires absolute facial discipline. According to the royal court, the excessively serious monarch was only…
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The king who dressed like a peasant
Cosplaying poverty was apparently a valid royal pastime. Despite having endless wealth, the eccentric king absolutely insisted on wearing ragged, dirty…
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A French aristocrat covered his turtle in jewels
When extreme wealth meets extreme boredom. The French aristocrat decided his pet turtle's shell was too basic, so he had it violently crusted in gold and…
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The playwright who kept a scorpion for inspiration
Nothing screams healthy work environment like keeping a deadly arachnid next to your inkwell. The playwright would casually toss a piece of fruit into the…
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Astronomer Tycho Brahe kept a tame elk in his castle
When you map the stars for a living, normal pets just won't cut it. The Danish astronomer successfully domesticated a massive elk that casually wandered the…
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A German author let his cat narrate his memoirs
Giving your pet credit is taking modesty entirely too far. The German romantic author genuinely published a book framing his heavily opinionated, highly…
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This poet wore three coats in July
Body temperature regulation was entirely beyond this Italian poet's capabilities. He was so chronically terrified of catching a slight chill that he sweltered…
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A Bavarian king slept by day and rode at midnight
Why rule a country during the day when you can LARP as a mythical prince at night? The Bavarian king reversed his entire schedule so he could take aggressive,…
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The painter who pretended to be blind to avoid people
The ultimate hack for avoiding annoying social interactions. The French impressionist would pretend his eyesight was failing him, conveniently ignoring anyone…
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Boris Pasternak was terrified of the telephone
The author of Doctor Zhivago was fundamentally opposed to incoming calls. He was completely terrified of the telephone, refusing to touch the receiver and…
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Why Nikolai Gogol slept sitting in a chair
Laying down is apparently only for the weak and the untalented. The neurotic Russian writer completely refused to sleep horizontally, insisting on spending…
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A Russian novelist punished himself with a dunce cap
Self-discipline is weird. Whenever the Russian giant felt he hadn't written enough good pages, he would put on a dunce cap and force himself to stand…
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Ludovico Ariosto rewrote one single stanza fifty times
Perfectionism is a terrible disease. The Italian poet spent an absurd amount of time obsessing over the exact same four lines of text, erasing and rewriting…
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Kafka laughed while reading his bleakest stories
The man whose name literally defines bureaucratic nightmares thought he was writing hilarious comedy. He would read his deeply depressing, deeply alienating…
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Jules Verne wrote about journeys he barely took
Writing about epic journeys is a lot easier when you refuse to actually go on them. He used his massive book royalties to buy three successive luxury yachts,…
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The surrealist who painted in a bowler hat
Commitment to the bit is essential for any surrealist. The famously repetitive Belgian painter didn't just put bowler hats on the men in his paintings; he…
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