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Weird Facts

The world’s history books teach us about famous figures, ancient civilizations and important events that have shaped our world. But there is so much more to history than just the ‘big moments’. History is full of weird and wonderful tales, bizarre events, quirky people, and strange happenings, and it is these ‘weird facts’ that bring to life our past in a way that is fun, amusing and sometimes shocking!

Parmesan cheese on a smoky background. Source: AnneMarie / Adobe Stock
23 April, 2023 - 23:00 Cecilia Bogaard

Samuel Pepys Rescued His Parmesan Cheese During Great Fire of London

As the Great Fire of London swept through the city in 1666, destroying over 13,000 houses in its wake, the now-famed diarist Samuel Pepys was on a mission. On the third day of the fire, while London...
Mature ambergris, a.k.a. amber gris, is a valuable commodity which often washes up on the shore. Source: spline_x / Adobe Stock
11 April, 2023 - 22:50 Cecilia Bogaard

Arabians Used Ambergris Whale Feces To Make Perfume!

The origin of ambergris was a mystery for many hundreds of years. Christened “floating gold”, for millennium various cultures have been using ambergris and attributing it with fantastical qualities...
Guy Fawkes masks have become a symbol of anarchy and protest against tyranny, seen here during a protest in Madrid. Source: Daniel López García / CC BY 2.0
6 April, 2023 - 22:53 Cecilia Bogaard

Why Masks Depicting England’s Guy Fawkes Were Banned in Saudi Arabia

With its highly-stylized moustache, the so-called Anonymous mask has featured in multiple protests across the globe. Described by the Fair Observer as “a staple of anti-authoritarian activist...
Upper ivory denture with human teeth. Source: Science Museum, London / CC BY 4.0
4 April, 2023 - 01:56 Cecilia Bogaard

Teeth Scavenged from Fallen Soldiers at Waterloo Were Used as Dentures

Get ready to sink your teeth into a little-known fact about the infamous Battle of Waterloo! While many of us have heard of this bloody European battle that sent Napoleon Bonaparte packing, what you...
The Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan undergoing imaging to reveal the hidden text. Source: Lumiere Technology/Pascal Cotte and Salvatore Apicella
29 March, 2023 - 01:57 Cecilia Bogaard

Humans Have Been Keeping Dildos Handy for at Least 28,000 Years

When archaeologists assembled the pieces of an ancient stone artifact discovered in a cave in Germany, it was pretty clear what they’d found. Known as the Hohle Fels phallus, this prehistoric tool...
Tree-hugging has its ancient roots in environmental activism. Source: warnerbroers / Adobe Stock
26 March, 2023 - 22:55 Cecilia Bogaard

Tree-Hugging is Rooted in the Tragic Tale of the Khejarli Massacre

Throughout history there’s a multitude of examples of cruelty meted out by royalty , but the story of Abhai Singh of Marwar and the Khejarli massacre in India really stands out. In a David and...
Detail depicting the unusual death of King Edmund Ironside as portrayed in a 13th-century illustrated Anglo-Norman manuscript of the Life of St Edward the Confessor. Source: Cambridge University Library / CC BY-NC 3.0
22 March, 2023 - 00:59 Cecilia Bogaard

King Edmund Ironside Was Killed on the Toilet by a Cesspit Assassin

Having ruled England for less than a year, King Edmund is primarily remembered for his unusual death. In one of the most uncomfortable murders in history, legend has it the Anglo-Saxon king was...
Illustration by John Tensile of the Dodo from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.” Source: Archivist / Adobe Stock
15 March, 2023 - 00:51 Cecilia Bogaard

Scientists Plan to De-Extinct the Dodo!

Have you ever wondered where the phrase “dead as a dodo” comes from? Used to describe something obsolete, unimportant and unquestionably dead, the saying was inspired by the sad story of the long-...
Representational image of Chines paper armor. Source: AI generated
10 March, 2023 - 17:51 Cecilia Bogaard

Ancient Chinese Paper Armor Was Tougher Than Steel

You’ve probably heard the saying “the pen is mightier than the sword,” but have you heard of paper armor being stronger than metallic protective clothing? It goes against everything we’ve learned...
Portrait of Looty the Pekingese lion dog, commissioned by Queen Victoria and painted by Friedrich Wilhelm Keyl. Source: Public domain
8 March, 2023 - 13:54 Cecilia Bogaard

Queen Victoria’s Dog Was Stolen from Chinese Emperor and Mockingly Called ‘Looty’

What at first glance appears to be an unexceptional dog , actually started out its life in the household of the Chinese emperor before being looted by the English during their sacking of the Old...
Woman crossing the Queshuachaca Inca rope bridge near Huinchiri in Peru. Source: Danita Delimont / Adobe Stock
4 March, 2023 - 00:59 Cecilia Bogaard

Dizzying Inca Rope Bridges Were Grass-Made Marvels of Engineering

Spanish conquistadors couldn't believe their eyes while exploring the rugged terrain of the Andes during their invasion of Peru. On entering Inca territory in the 16th century, they were bowled over...
The Japanese Waseda he-gassen handscroll depicted farts so powerful they could uproot trees. Source: Public domain
26 February, 2023 - 21:58 Cecilia Bogaard

Fart Battles of the He-gassen Handscrolls Brought Toilet Humor to Life

Japanese art is full of surprises, including rowdy depictions of phallic contests, intercourse tournaments, and the unforgettable he-gassen fart battles. Bawdy, boisterous and downright delightful,...
Representational image of a curious dinosaur. With such curious resident dinosaurs, why don’t we know more about the long-lost continent of Appalachia? Source: simon / Adobe Stock
17 February, 2023 - 01:00 Cecilia Bogaard

Long-Lost Appalachia Was Filled with Dinosaurs You’ve Never Heard Of

Believe it or not, but once upon a time, in the area we now know as North America, there existed a forgotten continent which was inhabited by a cast of peculiar dinosaurs you’ve probably never heard...
Walrus ivory snow goggles, created by the proto-Inuit Thule culture of Alaska, dating back to about 800 to 1200 AD. Source: Public domain
12 February, 2023 - 21:52 Cecilia Bogaard

Snow Goggles Are Masterpiece of Inuit Indigenous Innovation

While most readers would never expect to see the terms “snow goggles” and “ancient history” in the same sentence, snow goggles are actually nothing new. Despite being a modern-day necessity in snow-...
Representational image of a Roman soldier with a red-crested helmet. Source: Sunshower Shots / Adobe Stock
10 February, 2023 - 00:59 Cecilia Bogaard

Romans Wore Red-Crested Helmets to Avoid Fratricide on the Battlefield

We’ve all become accustomed to seeing iconic red-crested helmets depicted in Hollywood battle scenes set in the Roman era. But, are these red crests historically accurate or just a product of...
Geta Dying in his Mother's Arms by Jacques Pajou. His death at the hands of Caracalla has been remembered due to the subsequent use of damnatio memoriae to erase him from public memory. Source: Public domain
7 February, 2023 - 00:54 Cecilia Bogaard

Caracalla Erased Hated Brother’s Memory Using Damnatio Memoriae

We’ve all had issues with family at one time or other. But the lengths taken by the Roman emperor Caracalla really take the biscuit. To ensure he would never again be reminded of his younger brother...
Nursing Madonna (Madonna Lactans) by anonymous master from the School of Bruges. At the Chapel of the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem, Virgin Mary milk powder is sold as a cure for infertility. Source: Public domain
31 January, 2023 - 17:48 Cecilia Bogaard

Even Today, Virgin Mary Milk Powder is Used as a Cure for Infertility

The Virgin Mary’s breast milk has been the subject of veneration for centuries and even today couples battling infertility often imbue it with miraculous powers. This is especially true at the Chapel...
Saint Bernard and the Virgin by Alonso Cano. Source: Public domain
28 January, 2023 - 21:54 Cecilia Bogaard

The Virgin Mary Squirted Saint Bernard with Breast Milk

Mythology is filled with an array of outlandish and far-fetched stories. Christianity is no exception. One of the most surprising, at least for me, is the story of the 12th century monk, Saint...
Jonathan the tortoise at Plantation House on Saint Helena Island in the South Atlantic. Source: Darrin Henry / Adobe Stock
28 January, 2023 - 01:00 Cecilia Bogaard

190-Year-Old Jonathan the Tortoise is the Oldest Living Land Animal in the World

It’s incredible to envision all the changes which have taken place over the last two hundred years. But imagine actually living through them. Like a living time capsule , there is one land-based...
Representational image of Saint Theodora of Vasta. Source: Francis Valadj / Adobe Stock
22 January, 2023 - 22:00 Cecilia Bogaard

Saint Theodora of Vasta Spawned a Miraculous Church of Sprouting Trees

When discussing Saint Theodora , most people are referring to the rags-to-riches story of the prostitute-come-empress, and wife of Justinian I , who worked to promote women rights in the 6th century...
Women have been banned from the paradisiacal Mount Athos for over 1,000 years. Source: Alexey Achepovsky / Adobe Stock
21 January, 2023 - 21:57 Cecilia Bogaard

For 1,000 Years, Monks of Mt Athos Have Banned Women and Female Animals!

Believe it or not, but beside men’s toilets, gentlemen’s clubs and certain temples, there is actually an entire peninsula in northern Greece, now a semiautonomous republic of Eastern Orthodox monks,...
Lithography of Saint Helena by Fridolin Leiber. Source: Public domain
21 January, 2023 - 00:55 Cecilia Bogaard

St Helena, Discoverer of the True Cross, Was the First Archaeologist

In 326 AD the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine set out on a legendary pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Dubbed the world’s “first archaeologist,” Saint Helena was posthumously credited with...
Pedro González and his wife Catherine (c. 1575) by Joris Hoefnagel. Source: Public domain
19 January, 2023 - 01:00 Cecilia Bogaard

Beauty and the Beast Was Inspired by a Tragic True Story

While the fairytale Beauty and the Beast has a happy ending, the tragic true story on which it was based most certainly did not. Published in France as La Belle et la Bête , it seems that the 1740...
Allegorical portrait of an elderly Elizabeth I, who is said to have suffered the effects of poor dental hygiene and black teeth. Source: Public domain
8 January, 2023 - 21:59 Cecilia Bogaard

Queen Elizabeth I Had Beggarly Black Teeth

Queen Elizabeth I of England was particularly fond of sugar. This was a time of great conquests and explorations to the New World for the royal houses of Europe, accompanied by expanding trade and...

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