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40 Random Bits of History That, Like Your Therapist, Unearth All Kinds of Forgotten Happenings

These all actually happened, whether history wants to admit it or not

40 Random Bits of History That, Like Your Therapist, Unearth All Kinds of Forgotten Happenings

December 02, 2024

History itself shouldn’t be blamed for events getting played up, played down or even swept under the rug. That’s humanity’s fault right there. There’s an old saying that history is written by the victors, and in that historical retelling, there are probably a lot of regrettable little tidbits that were conveniently left out of the story.

We’ll be as unbiased as possible today, though. Good, bad or wildly strange, we’re making up for humanity’s frivolity and telling it like it is!

40

Mary Todd Lincoln

Mary Todd Lincoln was not allowed to stay in the room as her husband took his last breath. Why? Edward Stanton, Secretary of War, was furious that Mrs

39

The Titanic

When the Titanic sank in 1912 706 people lived, 1517 people died, STNIC and 3 dogs survived. CRACKED.COM They were a Pekingese and two Pomeranians.

38

Submarines

The first submarine dates way back to the 1620s and was made by Cornelius van Drebbel. Called the Drebbel I, it was basically an enclosed GRACKED COM rowboat and was proprelled just like one. — Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel

37

Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City has the widest streets of any major U.S. city. At 130 feet, they're twice as wide as Manhattan's. CRACKED.COM Brigham Young, the Mormon president who planned the city, chose the wide streets so settlers could turn their cattle around without resorting to profanity. — Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel

36

The Apollo Missions

Apollo missions increased the moon's temperature by 1-3 degrees Fahrenheit. Dust on the surface is lighter than the soil underneath, and astronauts walking and driving during their explorations disturbed the top layer. With more of the darker soil showing through, the Moon absorbs more heat. CRACKED.COM — Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel

35

Silent Movies

Due to fire, decay, negligence, or deliberate destruction, 75% T US 42 la - of all American CRACKED.COM silent movies на RA no longer exist. — Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel

34

The Secret City of Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Greetings From The BX Secret B G TENNA City During WWII, Oak Ridge TN was commissioned to develop and build the first atomic bomb. The vast majority of the city's workers had absolutely no idea what they were working on and only found out after the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. CRACKED.COM — Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel

33

The Manhattan Project

On the Manhattan Project, safety standards basically didn't exist. In a key experiment, the plutonium was contained by one technician holding a screwdriver. But the screwdriver slipped, and the plutonium killed the technician. This happened twice. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Historical Facts That Don't Get Mentioned

32

Pollyanna, the World War II Reindeer

A WWII submarine had a reindeer onboard for six weeks. The British sub HMS Trident carried Pollyanna the reindeer, a personal gift from a Soviet admiral, back to England. She ate so much food (plus some navigation charts) that she got too big to walk out, and had to be lifted out with a winch (a sailor with a broom helped). CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Historical Facts That Don't Get Mentioned

31

Elizabethan England

In Elizabethan England, they played a weird game after Christmas dinner. It was called shoe the mare, and it involved one person running around bare — Source: Sky History

30

The Middle Attic

40 Random Bits of History That, Like Your Therapist, Unearth All Kinds of Forgotten Happenings — Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography

29

Greek Tragedy

40 Random Bits of History That, Like Your Therapist, Unearth All Kinds of Forgotten Happenings — Source: Suda Online

28

Watergate

Nixon's Watergate operation was blown by a piece of duct tape. Nixon's man used duct tape on the locks in the Watergate building to prevent doors from

27

World War II

WWII landmines are being dug up, and reused, by ISIS. Because the Sahara's dry, hot climate is great for preserving things, plenty of the 17 milliom landmines left there after WWII still work. So ISIS has been digging them up and MacGyvering them into IEDs. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Historical Facts That Don't Get Mentioned

26

Vaseline

Vaseline originated as a byproduct of the oil drilling - Vaseline - - - - process. - - HON In 1859, British chemist Robert Augustus Chesebrough visited a small town in Pennsylvania where petroleum had been discovered. Не noticed Vaseline's skin-healing properties after seeing how oilers used it to heal cuts and burns. CRACKED.COM — Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel

25

Astronauts

The first man returning from space was met by potato farmers. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin parachuted from his space capsule down to the village of Saratov, and walked up (in his orange spacesuit) to a woman farming potatoes with her granddaughter. They freaked out the moment they saw him, then he calmly told them who he was. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Historical Facts That Don't Get Mentioned

24

Ancient Dentistry

Dentistry goes all the way back to 7000 B.C. BAJE AR CRACKED COM Two thousand years later, a Sumerian text described tooth worms as causing den- tal decay, an idea that wasn't proven false until the 1700s. — Source

23

Ancient Peruvian Popcorn

CRACKED 4700 B.C. POPCORN People in Peru have been eating popcorn for a really long time - around 6,700 years, to be more specific. It's one of the oldest snacks around. — History / Britannica

22

Ancient Assassinations

40 Random Bits of History That, Like Your Therapist, Unearth All Kinds of Forgotten Happenings — Source: Smithsonian

21

Woolly Mammoths

CRACKED Woolly mammoths were alive when Egyptians built the pyramids. The last known group of woolly mammoths survived until 1650 B.C, about a thousand years after the Pyramids of Giza were built. — Source: National Geographic

20

The Olympics

The first Olympic Games took place in 8 B.C. in Olympia, Greece. And then every four years before it was banned in the 4th century A.D for being a pagan festival. The first modern Olympics took place in Athens, Greece, in 1896. CRACKED.COM — History.com

19

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

18

Ancient Gyms

The words gymnasium and gymnastics come from the Greek for nude. CRACKED.COM The Ancient Greeks commonly exercised naked, and athletes in the ancient Olympic Games would partici- pate in the nude.

17

Unionizing Gladiators

CRACKED Ancient accomplishments Gladiators unions Ancient Roman gladiators had their own unions, with elected leaders and a system designed to take care of the families of those who died in battle. — David Gonzalez Rebollo/Shutterstock
History

16

Ancient Bandages

CRACKED Ancient accomplishments Using spider webs as bandages Back in the days of Ancient Greece and Rome, doctors would use spider webs as bandages for their patients. Webs have natural antiseptic and antifungal properties, as well as a lot of vitamin K, which helps with clotting. — Anna-Nas/Shutterstock
Opera News

15

Ancient Rome

Ancient RomE CRACKED CON In ancient Rome, laundromats pretty much ran on urine. The practice continued even after the invention of soap, as many Europ — For details, read 5 Insane Facts From History Nobody Taught You In School

14

Ancient Engineering

ANCIENT ENGINEERING SHUSHTAR HISTORICAL HYDRAULIC SYSTEM This complex system of tunnels, dams, tubes, and mills, created centuries ago, takes water from the Karun River and brings it to the city of Shushtar, Iran. This provides power to several mills. CRACKED — Faraz Habiballahian/Shutterstock
Atlas Obscura

13

The Nazca Civilization

ANCIENT CRACKED ENGINEERING PUQUIOS OF THE NAZCA CIVILIZATION The Nazca civilization used an ancient engineering system called puquios to get water in one of the driest places on Earth. The puquios had underground tunnels, reservoirs, and spiraling holes that helped move the water. — Daniel Prudek/Shutterstock
Atlas Obscura

12

Ancient Cooling Hack

CRACKED 400 В.С. REFRIGERATION 2,400 years ago, people in the desert had been using an ancient Persian invention called a Yakhchãl to make ice. It's a huge dome made of mud-bricks with a clever cooling system that allowed people to store ice even in the scorching desert heat. — Owlcation

11

Ancient Egypt

Facial hair was surprisingly strictly regulated back in ancient Egypt. Men had to keep their beards, and couldn't even shave them - unless they happened to be in mourning. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

10

Early Pillows

The earliest pillows were made of stone. Ancient Egyptian Pillow Neck-rests Ancient Chinese Pillow from Tutankhamen's tomb Originally more about keepi

9

Bull Run

The First Battle of Bull Run was watched by a large number of spectators. CRACKED.COM They packed picnic baskets and followed the Union to watch the battle. They ultimately got in the way and hampered the retreat of the Union Army. — Source

8

The Battle of Waterloo

The Battle of Waterloo was a windfall for the denture industry. CRACKED.COM Dentures were often made from dead people's real teeth - often soldiers, specifically. Sadly, the Battle of Waterloo produced about 50,000 dead soldiers. Some chomper mogul saw piles of dead young men and said Hey! Free teeth! — Source: BBC

7

Civil War Fistfights

A Civil War battle stopped SO the soldiers could watch a fistfight. In the Battle of the Wilderness, a Confederate and a Union soldier hiding in the s

6

Civil War Generals

During the Civil War, generals were 50% more likely to die in battle than privates. Unlike modern warfare, generals back then had to lead by example - by being the first person to charge into battle. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

Blind King John

A blind king fought and died in a battle during the Hundred Years War. CRACKED GOM Blind King John of Bohemia ordered his men to tie their horses to his and guide him into the battle. As the battle turned sour, he was advised to flee but he replied Far be it that the King of Bohemia should run away. — Source

4

The First Recorded Battle in History

The first recorded battle in history was the Battle of Megiddo in 1457 В.С. It left such an impression on the Levantine people there that they believed the final battle of humani- ty would take place there as well. That's where the word Armageddon comes from. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — The Battles of Armageddon

3

The Hundred Years’ War

When the Hundred Years' War started, the blind King of Bohemia wanted to fight. So he got his men to tie their own horses to his horse, and to lead him into battle. Не refused to retreat, and died in battle. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

Blair Mountain

CRACKEDc A huge battle was fought to stop a strike. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest on American soil since the Civil War. 10,000 striking — More: American Horror Stories That Didn't Make It Into Your Textbooks

1

The Battle of Stalingrad

In one day of heavy fighting during the Battle of Stalingrad, a local railway station changed hands from Soviet to German control and back again fourteen times in six hours. CRACKED.COM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle of Stalingrad — Source: 33 Little Facts About History

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