History
Discover facts about history. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
History
Fridge magnets began as children's lessons
Your collection of tacky metallic rectangles from every state you have visited started as an educational tool. Patented in the 1950s to help kids spell, these…
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Dubai turned a hotel helipad into a tennis court
Just to remind everyone of their unlimited budget, the Burj Al Arab casually converted its dizzyingly high helipad into a temporary tennis court. Athletes…
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Hyundai began by building bridges
The massive automotive giant began entirely as an engineering and construction company in 1947. They were much more concerned with pouring concrete and…
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In Lucha Libre, losing your mask means losing honor
In Lucha Libre, losing your mask is treated as the ultimate professional disgrace. Competitors will go to absolute extremes to conceal their facial features,…
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The World Cup once began with a seasick boat ride
In 1930, playing in the global tournament meant enduring a grueling transatlantic boat ride to Uruguay. Players were forced to train on tiny ship decks while…
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LG made cosmetics before it made appliances
Before filling houses with appliances, LG entered the corporate world by mixing cosmetics. They literally transitioned from ensuring people had smooth skin to…
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Venezuela once shifted its clocks by 30 minutes
In 2007, the government decided standard time was too boring and rewound the national clock by precisely half an hour. The official reason was to give school…
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Australia has a 45-minute time zone
A tiny stretch of land in Western Australia known as Eucla runs on UTC+8:45. Instead of picking one of the existing regional clocks, a handful of residents…
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Fiji printed its rugby victory on a banknote
After securing a massive international victory in rugby sevens, Fiji didn't just throw a parade. They literally printed a commemorative 7-dollar banknote,…
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Aldar Headquarters is a massive upright circular coin
Rejecting the very concept of standard rectangular skyscrapers, this structure in Abu Dhabi is the first perfectly circular building in the region. It looks…
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The skyscraper race behind the Petronas Towers
To ensure the massive twin towers in Malaysia went up fast, the government hired two different international construction teams and pitted them against each…
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Why Queen Victoria supposedly banned the word sweat
The Victorian era was essentially one long competition to see who could be the most aggressively prudish. Queen Victoria supposedly found human perspiration…
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The Pentagon once proposed a gay bomb
Leave it to the Pentagon to brainstorm the absolute most unhinged methods of psychological warfare. In 1994, the Wright Laboratory in Ohio requested $7.5…
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Edison didn’t invent the light bulb alone
History loves to paint Thomas Edison as a solitary genius illuminated by a glowing bulb, but he was really just a ruthless corporate shark. The actual concept…
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The man whose name became a verb for shunning
It takes a special kind of awful to have your name permanently become a synonym for social shunning. In 1880, Captain Charles Boycott was managing a wealthy…
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The grim dinner rumor about Vlad the Impaler
Long before Bram Stoker romanticized vampires, the real-life inspiration was significantly more vile. Vlad III, the Prince of Wallachia, had a legendary…
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Thomas Jefferson and John Adams took a break from negotiating international treaties in England in 1786 to visit the former home of William Shakespeare and actively vandalize his furniture.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams took a break from negotiating international treaties in England in 1786 to visit the former home of William Shakespeare and…
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Adolf Hitler had a British-born nephew named William Patrick Hitler who completely despised his fascist uncle and actually enlisted in the United States Navy to fight against him during the Second World War.
Adolf Hitler had a British-born nephew named William Patrick Hitler who completely despised his fascist uncle and actually enlisted in the United States Navy…
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Sigurd the Mighty was a ninth-century Viking earl who managed to get murdered by an enemy he had already decapitated several hours earlier.
Sigurd the Mighty was a ninth-century Viking earl who managed to get murdered by an enemy he had already decapitated several hours earlier. After successfully…
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Edgar Allan Poe practically invented the modern detective genre but died under bizarre circumstances that not even his most cynical fictional characters could solve.
Edgar Allan Poe practically invented the modern detective genre but died under bizarre circumstances that not even his most cynical fictional characters could…
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Ancient Egyptian women used a surprisingly accurate pregnancy test over three thousand years ago that involved urinating on bags of wheat and barley to see if the seeds would sprout.
Ancient Egyptian women used a surprisingly accurate pregnancy test over three thousand years ago that involved urinating on bags of wheat and barley to see if…
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President William Henry Harrison delivered the longest inaugural address in American history in 1841, rambling for over two hours in freezing rain without wearing a coat or a hat…
President William Henry Harrison delivered the longest inaugural address in American history in 1841, rambling for over two hours in freezing rain without…
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Victorian era eccentric William Buckland served as the Dean of Westminster but spent the majority of his free time trying to systematically eat his way through the entire animal…
Victorian era eccentric William Buckland served as the Dean of Westminster but spent the majority of his free time trying to systematically eat his way…
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Ancient Greek physician Agnodice disguised herself as a man to practice medicine in Athens around the 4th century BCE because women were legally forbidden from entering the medical profession under penalty of death.
Ancient Greek physician Agnodice disguised herself as a man to practice medicine in Athens around the 4th century BCE because women were legally forbidden…
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