History
Discover facts about history. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
History
Thomas Crapper's real business was selling better plumbing.
Thomas Crapper's real business was selling better plumbing. The Victorian plumber built a successful sanitary-ware company and put his conspicuous name on…
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A child pharaoh sent very excited instructions about a dancer.
A child pharaoh sent very excited instructions about a dancer. Pepy II's letter to the explorer Harkhuf demanded the safe arrival of a dancer described in the…
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The Mongol Empire moved messages by changing horses instead of waiting for them to recover.
The Mongol Empire moved messages by changing horses instead of waiting for them to recover. Its yam relay network provided stations where couriers could…
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One engineer helped develop both leaded gasoline and CFCs.
One engineer helped develop both leaded gasoline and CFCs. Thomas Midgley Jr. worked on two celebrated industrial fixes: an additive that reduced engine knock…
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Mary Stuart's execution failed to look dignified.
Mary Stuart's execution failed to look dignified. Accounts describe repeated blows before Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded in 1587. When the executioner…
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An Olympic marathon winner was given strychnine and brandy.
An Olympic marathon winner was given strychnine and brandy. At the 1904 St. Louis Games, Thomas Hicks struggled through heat and dust while his handlers gave…
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Women brewed much of medieval England's everyday ale.
Women brewed much of medieval England's everyday ale. Brewing was often domestic work, and women could sell surplus ale to neighbors. Later commercial changes…
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Austrian soldiers accidentally attacked their own army during the Battle of Karánsebes in 1788, reportedly suffering massive casualties without a single enemy Ottoman soldier ever stepping onto the battlefield.
Austrian soldiers accidentally attacked their own army during the Battle of Karánsebes in 1788, reportedly suffering massive casualties without a single enemy…
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Lincoln's store sent him deeper into debt.
Lincoln's store sent him deeper into debt. In 1833, Abraham Lincoln partnered with William Berry to buy a small store in New Salem. The venture struggled, and…
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A doctor described Tarrare as a man whose hunger never stopped.
A doctor described Tarrare as a man whose hunger never stopped. Surgeon Pierre-François Percy recorded the extraordinary case of an eighteenth-century…
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London's sewage problem became urgent when MPs could smell it.
London's sewage problem became urgent when MPs could smell it. During the hot summer of 1858, waste in the Thames produced the Great Stink beside Parliament.…
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German knight Götz von Berlichingen lost his right arm to cannon fire in 1504, so he had a local blacksmith forge him an intricate mechanical iron prosthetic capable of holding both a sword and a delicate quill pen.
German knight Götz von Berlichingen lost his right arm to cannon fire in 1504, so he had a local blacksmith forge him an intricate mechanical iron prosthetic…
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A royal meeting in Erfurt ended with nobles falling into a cesspit in 1184.
A royal meeting in Erfurt ended with nobles falling into a cesspit in 1184. A floor collapsed beneath the assembled crowd, plunging people through the…
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Suetonius described Caligula ordering soldiers to collect seashells as spoils.
Suetonius described Caligula ordering soldiers to collect seashells as spoils. In the ancient biographer's account, the emperor assembled troops on the coast…
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Andrew Jackson invited the public to eat a 1,400-pound cheese.
Andrew Jackson invited the public to eat a 1,400-pound cheese. A huge cheddar given to the president eventually became the centerpiece of a White House…
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Polish soldiers in World War II enlisted a Syrian brown bear named Wojtek, giving him an official rank, a paybook, and a steady supply of beer and cigarettes.
Polish soldiers in World War II enlisted a Syrian brown bear named Wojtek, giving him an official rank, a paybook, and a steady supply of beer and cigarettes.…
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A medieval pope's warning included a demonic black cat.
A medieval pope's warning included a demonic black cat. In Vox in Rama, issued in 1233, Gregory IX repeated allegations about heretics and rituals involving a…
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Plots against Castro included poisoned cigars and a contaminated diving suit.
Plots against Castro included poisoned cigars and a contaminated diving suit. U.S. investigations documented assassination schemes involving poison,…
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British and American military forces engaged in a tense, months-long standoff in 1859 on San Juan Island, all because an American farmer shot a British-owned pig that was eating his potatoes.
British and American military forces engaged in a tense, months-long standoff in 1859 on San Juan Island, all because an American farmer shot a British-owned…
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A Roman biographer described Caligula's horse living like an aristocrat.
A Roman biographer described Caligula's horse living like an aristocrat. Suetonius wrote that Incitatus had a marble stable, an ivory manger, fine…
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The Royal Navy kept a daily rum ration until 1970.
The Royal Navy kept a daily rum ration until 1970. The amount changed across the centuries, but the issue of a daily tot survived into the age of modern…
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Topsy's execution became an early Edison-company film.
Topsy's execution became an early Edison-company film. When Topsy the elephant was killed at Coney Island in 1903, a crew from Edison's film company recorded…
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Plutarch described a Spartan newborn test involving wine.
Plutarch described a Spartan newborn test involving wine. Writing centuries after the customs he described, Plutarch said Spartan women washed babies in wine…
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Animals once faced formal court proceedings alongside humans.
Animals once faced formal court proceedings alongside humans. In some European cases, livestock were prosecuted for harming people, while church proceedings…
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