History
Discover facts about history. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
History
Tennis rackets were once strung with sheep intestines
Natural gut was made by stretching, drying, and twisting animal intestines; one racket took about three sheep. The name was less a metaphor than a supply chain.
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He lost his nose in a duel over math
Tycho Brahe and his cousin settled a dispute over who was the better mathematician with swords. Brahe lost the bridge of his nose and wore a glued-on brass…
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Victory celebrations once drained Russia’s vodka reserves
After Germany’s surrender, celebrations in Moscow drained the national vodka reserve in just 22 hours. The victory parties had a short route from jubilation…
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The strange story of Karl Marx and the street lamps
Wilhelm Liebknecht recalled a London pub crawl with Marx that ended with them breaking street lamps and running from police. This was the adult émigré’s…
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Iceland’s parliament began beside a rock
Founded in 930, the Althing met outdoors at the Law Rock, where free men could gather and speak. Iceland’s early parliament had no chamber—just a rocky…
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There’s a town in Michigan named Hell
The name may come from a German settler's “so schön hell” (“so beautifully bright”) or from a founder who reportedly said, “You can name it Hell for all I…
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How Arabic gave English its word for zero
The idea traveled from India through Arabic mathematics into Europe. Arabic *ṣifr*, meaning “empty,” gave English both “zero” and “cipher”—one root for a…
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Calvin Coolidge was sworn in by his own father
News of President Harding's death reached him while he was visiting Vermont in 1923. His father, a notary public, administered the oath by kerosene light in…
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President had to run twice to get his old job back
Losing in 1888 didn’t end Grover Cleveland’s political career: voters sent him back in 1892, after Benjamin Harrison’s term. Because his presidencies weren’t…
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A meteorite hit Ann Hodges while she rested at home
In Alabama in 1954, a rock from space tore through the roof, struck a radio, and hit Hodges, leaving a large bruise. The meteorite weighed about 8.5 pounds.…
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Nearly a million Americans voted for a man in prison
Eugene V. Debs ran for president in 1920 while imprisoned following an antiwar speech. He received more than 900,000 votes despite being unable to campaign as…
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Citizens were forced to buy overpriced government salt
The Gabelle set a minimum annual salt purchase for everyone over eight, at inflated prices; buy too little and authorities could treat you as a smuggler. Salt…
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The would-be state of Franklin accepted taxes in animal skins
In the 1780s, the breakaway government assigned values to commodities including skins and whiskey for public payments. A shortage of cash did not eliminate…
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The asteroid blast that shattered Chelyabinsk's windows
A 66-foot asteroid exploded over Chelyabinsk in 2013, but the shockwave arrived after the flash. It shattered windows and injured more than 1,000 people; the…
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How Martin Van Buren helped make OK famous
Van Buren’s campaign turned his nickname, “Old Kinderhook,” into “O.K.” clubs in 1840. The clubs faded; their two-letter shorthand outlasted the candidate.
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When Indiana lawmakers tried to redefine pi
An 1897 Indiana bill endorsed a supposed solution to squaring the circle whose mathematics implied an incorrect value for pi. Professor C. A. Waldo helped…
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Swampy peninsula was bought to stop border disputes
The treaty settled border disputes by transferring Florida from Spain to the United States. No cash changed hands: the U.S. agreed to settle up to $5 million…
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The State of Jefferson's rebellion lost its moment to war
In 1941, counties in southern Oregon and northern California promoted a breakaway state, protesting neglect and poor roads. The campaign staged a declaration…
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Why eavesdropping once meant getting soaked
Before the word meant listening in, an eavesdropper was literally someone lingering under a roof’s edge, where rainwater dripped. Spying on a conversation…
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David Atchison may have been president for one day
Polk’s term ended on Sunday, and Taylor waited until Monday to take the oath, leaving a one-day gap that put Atchison’s name in the presidential succession…
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The equals sign replaced a phrase its inventor kept repeating
In 1557, Robert Recorde introduced two parallel lines as shorthand for is equal to. He explained the choice by saying that no two things could be more equal.…
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The Children's Blizzard cut the warning lines too
On January 12, 1888, a sudden blizzard caught children trying to get home across the Plains. In the Black Hills region, the storm also knocked out a telegraph…
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Teddy Roosevelt drank a gallon of coffee a day
Teddy Roosevelt drank roughly a gallon of coffee a day, often with five to seven lumps of sugar per cup.
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One piece of Kentucky has no road to the rest of Kentucky
Kentucky Bend sits inside a loop of the Mississippi, with Tennessee on its southern land boundary and Missouri across the water. The state boundary and the…
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