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Never leave a fact behind!

36 Historical Bits of Trivia That Refuse to Be Forgotten

November 05, 2024

We wouldn’t consider ourselves “military men,” but we really admire their creed about never leaving a man behind. Because, years ago, after an impassioned lunchroom speech from some guy we can’t quite remember the name of right now, we vowed to never leave a fact behind.

We’ll never forget that vow. That guy though… Damnit, we're bad with names. Bill? Gary? Ah, whatever. The facts are all that matter now.

36

Iranian Yakhchals

CRACKED Ancient accomplishments Keeping things cold in the desert Ancient Iranians made and stored ice during winter in a vaguely pyramid- shaped structure called the Yakhchal. It was able to keep ice all year round. — Ramillah/Shutterstock
Max Fordham

35

The Parliament Oak

Parliament oak The Parliament Oak in Warsop, England, is thought to be over 1,000 years old and is really important in history. It was the place where King John and King Edward I held two parliaments in the 12th and 13th centuries. CRACKED — Ann Ballinger/Wiki Commons
Atlas Obscura

34

Ancient Political Ads

Ancient advertising Й VIN USCI ROGANT. Ancient political ads In Rome, people would write on the walls to show their support for political candidates. Some were just a few words, while others were more elaborate. One example: I beg you to vote for C. Julius Polybius for aedile. Не makes good bread. CRACKED — Karl Allen Lugmayer/Shutterstock
Anthropology in Practice/Scientific American

33

The Ancient Athlete’s Diet

ANCIENT ATHLETES' DIET From 500-400 В.С, ancient athletes and warriors would eat deer livers and lion hearts, hoping it would give them strength and coruage. CRACKED.COM — Source: The Journal of Nutrition

32

Drinking in Ancient Persia

It was a custom to debate while drunk in ancient Persia. CRACKED.COM In the ancient Persian Em- pire, men used to debate ideas twice, once when so- ber and once when drunk, because an idea had to sound good in both states in order to be considered a good idea. — On The Customs of the Persians

31

Ancient Greek Battles

Ceramic Fragments ANCIENT GREECE Ancient Greeks used to sometimes write the names of their enemies on the shards. BRB writing some choice Congress mem — Source: Scientific American

30

Ancient Greece

CRACKED Ancient Greek- statues-were-white. Ancient Greek statues weren't just white marble. They were actually painted in bright colors and designs, which just vanished over time. — Source

29

Ancient Egypt (Sorry, a Fourth Time)

Egyptian medicine was surprisingly specialized, and they even had proctologists. The Egyptian term for those literally translates to shepherd of the anus. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

28

Mt. Rushmore

There's a creepy secret chamber inside Mt. Rushmore. Its sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, wanted Mt. Rushmore to have a Hall of Records, where historic American documents would be stored. When he died in 1941, it was unfinished. In 1998, the government put a sealed titanium vault with copies of important documents in there. So he kinda got his wish. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

Ancient Rome

Slaves in ancient Rome weren't necessarily physical labourers or gladiators. There also were teachers, doctors and accountants. CRACKED COM — 26 Side By Side Comparisons That Fix Your Image Of History

26

Rita Hayworth

Rita Hayworth's face was painted on atomic bombs that were tested in the '40s, because she was a bombshell. When she found out she flew into a rage and want- ed to hold a press confer- ence announcing her con- demnation, but Harry Cohn, the president of Co- lumbia Pictures, told her it would be unpatriotic. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

25

Joseph Stalin

The little girl with Stalin didn't get much kindness from Stalin. Being used as a propaganda prop didn't help Gelya Marzikova or her family. Her fathe

24

Umbrellas

Umbrellas look French! The first man in London to use an umbrella was publicly ridiculed. Jonas Hanway took out an umbrella in the early 1750s. People pelted him with garbage, calling him effeminate (or, worse, French). — Source: NY Times

23

The Historian Who Says the Middle Ages Never Existed

GRACKED THE MIDDLE AGES WERE MOSTLY INVENTED OUT OF THIN AIR HERIBERT ILLIG Heribert Illig, a German historian, suggested in 1991 that the year is actually 1720, and that the Gregorian calendar is a fabrication. Не argued that a large part of the Middle Ages was invented. — The Archaeologist / History of European Fashion

22

Lovesickness

Being lovesick was thought to be an actual, serious disease. Doctors in the Middle Ages attributed lovesickness to an excess of black bile, one cure being to bleed the patient of all their bad humors by opening up their veins and letting the infected fluid just drip on out. CRACKED.COM — Source: Lovesick in the Middle Ages? A Doctor Might Slice You Open

21

The Middle Ages

Squirrel fur may have spread leprosy during the Middle Ages Red squirrels are the only known rodent that can carry leprosy, and researchers theorize that the disease may have come to the UK during the Middle Ages via Vikings who traded squirrel fur and meat. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source: Smithsonian

20

Witch Burning

Contrary to popular wisdom, witch burning wasn't really a thing in the Middle Ages. It only got going after the Middle Ages ended, and really kicked off around 1500. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

19

Piggy Banks

Piggy banks have nothing to do with swine. In the Middle Ages metal was expensive and jars used to save cash CRAG were made of an orange clay named py

18

Ancient Egypt

In Ancient Egypt, keeping your heart after death was an upper- privilege. In Egypt, the heart was the seat of consciousness, but embalmers secretly took out dead commoners' hearts (which would make their afterlife worse). CRACKED.COM — Source: USA Today

17

Newgrange

CRACKED AN IRISH MEGALITH PREDATES THE PYRAMIDS BY 600 YEARS. Newgrange, an ancient megalithic monument in Ireland, is six centuries older than the oldest pyramid in Egypt. Every winter solstice, the rising sun shines through a small opening and floods the main chamber with sunlight. — Pecold/Shutterstock
History

16

Ancient Egypt, Part II

There were a bunch of minor, petty kingdoms throughout Ancient Egypt. They all had varying degress of independence, and some of them later provided rulers that ruled over all of Egypt. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

15

Ancient Egyptian Currency

Radish CRACKED COM Radishes were used to pay workers in ancient Egypt.

14

Hatshepsut

She married her half brother CRACKED.COM At age 12, Hatshepsut married her half-brother, Thutmose II, and became queen of Egypt. When he passed away unexpectedly, she became regent for her stepson, the infant Thutmose III, and assumed powers of rulership over all of Egypt. — Source

13

Casablanca

Romantic? Yes. But Casablanca is also a masterpiece of World War I propaganda. Warner Brothers produced the film following a pro-war rubric outlined b

12

Irish Civil War

THE YEAR WAS 1922... THE IRISH CIVIL WAR BROKE OUT Following the end of the Irish War of Independence in 1921, the Anglo-Irish treaty was signed in London in December of that year. Some of the Irish republicans, however, were not on board with the treaty and a civil war broke out. CRACKED.COM — Source

11

The War of the Bucket

Bucket snatching leads to war. The War of the Bucket was a short-lived war between the Italian city-states of Bologna and Modena in 1325, which allegedly started when Modenese soldiers stole a wooden bucket. Modena eventually won the war, and the bucket is still a source of playful dispute between the two cities to this day. CRACKED — Tatiana Ivleva/Shutterstock
All That’s Interesting

10

The Pastry War

French pastry shop dispute leads to Mexican-French War. The Pastry War was a conflict between Mexico and France that lasted from 1838 to 1839. It was triggered by a dispute over a French pastry shop owner's claim for compensation for damages suffered during the Mexican civil war. CRACKED — Sonya illustration/Shutterstock
ThoughtCo.

9

Smedley Butler

One of the most decorated marines became an anti-war advocate. CRACKED.COM Smedley Butler wrote War is a Racket about war profiteering. Не said the best he could do was to operate his racket in 3 districts. I operated on 3 continents. — Source

8

The Prisoner War Effort

CRACKED PRISONERS: FROM BEHIND BARS TO BEHIND THE FRONT LINES. During World War II, prisoners in the U.S. got involved in the war effort in different ways, such as giving blood, buying war bonds, and making things for the military. Some prisoners even got out of jail temporarily so they could join the military. — Everett Collection/Shutterstock
JSTOR Daily

7

Coca-Cola

REFRESHING SERVING OF SODA TRIVIA... CRACKED.COM COKE WAS INVENTED BY A CONFEDERATE CIVIL WAR VETERAN. Dr. John Stith Pemberton, suffering from a war wound, was addicted to morphine and created it as an alternative painkiller. — Source: Atlas Obscura

6

The Shortest War

The Shortest War NOT THE 100-YEAR WAR GRACKED.COM In 1896, a British warship fired on Sultan Khalid's palace in Zanzibar. By 9:40am, he lowered his flag. And so ended the Anglo-Zanzibar War, which lasted 38 minutes. — Source

5

The Civil War

GRACKED.COM The federal government is still paying two Civil War pensions (to children of soldiers). The last Civil War widow died in 2003. http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/02/09/us- government-still-pays-two-civil-war-pensions — Source: 33 Little Facts About History

4

Gum

War gum, anyone? Wrigley's chewing gum was taken off the civilian market due to wartime rationing during World War II. SHOES RATIONING BOARD WAR BOOK I WAR BOOK 2 RATIONING BOARD TIRES NE WHISLITY BOARD DOUBLEMINT CHEMICS ... - DOUBLEMINT Its entire output of products was instead directed towards the US CRACKED.COM military. — Source: 30 Facts About Candy

3

The First Newspaper

CRACKED THE WORLD'S FIRST NEWSPAPER ORIGINATED IN CHINA. It dates back to 740 CE. — Jack.Q/Shutterstock
Interesting Engineering

2

Surfing

Surfing dates all the way back to 5,000 years ago. Cultures in ancient Peru fished in kay- ak-like watercraft (mochica) made of reeds that the fisher- men surfed back to shore. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

1

Benin

The African country of Benin got back 26 works of art taken by colonial soldiers. France officially returned those works to Benin, looted all the way back in 1892. CRACKED.COM — Source

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