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40 Bizarre Bits of Historical Trivia That Were Surgically Removed From Your Textbooks

Your history book’s most interesting set of CliffsNotes

40 Bizarre Bits of Historical Trivia That Were Surgically Removed From Your Textbooks

December 30, 2024

Saving you time and sparing you boredom are two of our most proud accomplishments. The thought of you flipping through some thick, dusty old history book is soul-crushing, so we did it for you. Every time a seriously fun fact popped up, we jotted it down and moved on. Little by little, we gathered up an entire list’s worth, and we’re excited to present it to you now.

40

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

39

Persia

Timur was Great Khan of Persia in the 1300s. And the day Russians excavated his tomb, Russia was hit with the most brutal invasion of WWIl. Timur's to

38

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

37

Cotton

People in the 1300s confused cotton with some sort of vegetable lamb. Sir John Mandeville told tales of his travels, such as the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, which was said to have been a lamb that sprouts from the ground. The evidence of the animal was wool, seemingly bound to plants, which we now know had been cotton. CRACKED.COM — Source: The Fabulous Legend Of The Vegetable Lamb

36

Prisoners of War

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. — Source

35

The Great Plague

Q: How did Grim we come to depict the Reaper with a scythe? A: The Great Plague happened. Where: Asia and Europe When: mid-1300s Death toll estimation

34

Revolutionary War

Marquis De Lafayette became a major general at age 19 When he was 16, he was a second lieutenant. Не was considered a war hero in both the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolution. CRACKED.COM — Source

33

Uncivil War

CRACKED MASS OVER 2% OF AMERICANS WERE KILLED DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 620,000 people died during the war, or around one in four people involved in battle. — Everett Collection/Shutterstock
American Battlefield Trust

32

Trick or Treating

40 Bizarre Bits of Historical Trivia That Were Surgically Removed From Your Textbooks

31

Facial Hair

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

30

Pumping Gas

Gross and weird things before modern technology PUMPING GAS Since 1905, Americans have been able to pump their own gas. Before that, they had to buy it in cans and fill up themselves. ALL- PURPOSE GASOLINE and CAN CRACKED — Skitterphoto/Pixabay,
bpcraddock/Pixabay
Smithsonian Magazine

29

Film Firsts

Historical Firsts in Practical Effects The earliest known 1902 color film footage British inventors Edward Turner and Frederick Lee produced color motion picture tests of Turner's children playing. Не died before perfecting it, but his work led to Kinemacolor in 1906 (the world's first motion picture in natural colors.) CRACKED — Source

28

Past Predictions

50 FASHION 5 FEBRUARY 1939 CRACKED G COM The man of the next century will revolt against shaving... His hat will be an antenna. His socks, disposable. His belt will hold all his pockets ever did. -Vogue. They were right about beards, at least. — Source: 15 Really Inaccurate Predictions About The Future

27

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome CRACKED COM In ancient Rome, laundromats pretty much ran on urine. The practice continued even after the invention of soap, as many Europeans preferred the all-natural goodness of bladder water. And long before toothpaste, 9 out 10 Romans agreed that gargling urine was the best way to keep your teeth clean and sparkly. — Source

26

Vietnam

The country now known as Vietnam wanted to be called Nam Viêt. ViBank auoc mL VIB on WEL APEC VIE CRACKED.COM In the 1800s, Vietnam asked the Qing dynasty to change their name to Nam Viet. The dynas- ty said no, and changed their name to Viet Nam instead. — Vietnam and the Chinese Model

25

Tumbleweeds

Tumbleweeds are actually an invasive species that came from Russia. Russian immigrants apparently brought it by accident to South Dakota in the 1870s on contaminated flax seeds, and it spread from there. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

24

Cleopatra

Cleopatra's handwriting is on display on a papyrus document at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute. GRAGKED.COM The document refers to a tax break for a friend of her husband Mark Antony. Cleopat- ra signed it with a Greek word meaning make it happen. — Reuters

23

King Cao Cao

CRACKED GROUNDS FOR EXECUTION Suggesting surgery to a king In the third century, the Chinese doctor Hua Tuo was killed by King Cao Cao of Wei after the king got mad and thought that his enemies had paid Hua Tuo to murder him. Hua Tuo had simply suggested surgery to cure the king's dizziness. — beibaoke/Shutterstock
Britannica

22

Japanese POWs

Japanese POWs provided a vast wealth of information during World War 2. CRACKED.COM Most Japanese soldiers were unaware of the rights they retained as prisoners under the Geneva conven- tion. Many also felt indebt- ed to American troops for the courteous treatment they received. — The Enemy in Our Hands

21

Julius Caesar

After the assassination of Julius Caesar, a large comet hit the Earth's atmosphere. GRACKED.COM It was seen in Rome and China and may have been the brightest daylight comet in recorded history. It led to Caesar being dei- fied, an Imperial Cult, and the building of the 'Temple of the Comet Star.' — Source

20

Rocky Rhodes

GRACKED THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES WAS DESTROYED BY AN EARTHQUAKE JUST 56 YEARS AFTER BEING BUILT. One of the ancient wonders of the world, the statue's ruins lay on the ground for over 800 years before they were finally melted down and sold as scrap metal. — Arthur Balitskii/Shutterstock
Britannica

19

George Washington

George Washington didn't want a Washington Monument. CRACKED.COM Не didn't want to use pub- lic money for a personal memorial monument. In 1833, a small group of Washingtonians estab- lished a society to raise private funds for the proj- ect and got it built. — History of the Washington National Monument

18

Trampolines

YOUNG INVENTORS A TEENAGER INVENTED THE TRAMPOLINE. Today we have to tell kids to stop messing around with the trampoline, but in 1930 someone had to start messing around with it. 16-year-old George Nissen thought it'd be cool if circus acrobats could continue doing tricks after falling in their nets. After a few tries, he created a metal frame with a nylon canvas, for more bounce. CRACKED.COM — Afanasiev Andrii/Shutterstock
Insider
Inventionland
Wikipedia

17

The Viking

26 people died filming the 1931 movie, The Viking. CRACKED.COM An explosion on the sealing ship SS Viking killed 25 crew members, including the pro- ducer, and one stowaway. The incident remains the largest loss of life in film his- tory. The movie was re- leased, and panned. — Newfoundland Shipwrecks

16

The Olympics

Drinking alcohol used to be a regular part of participating in the Olympics. For example, runners drank it in the 1908 London olympics - i it was believed to be a performance enhancer. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

The National Archives

The National Archives started out as a two man committee to determine which executive papers weren't important. CRACKED.COM The Committee on Dispo- sition of Useless Executive Papers was started in 1889 and its job was to discard papers both members agreed weren't important and report why. — Source

14

Traumatizing Babies

Encouraging babies to crawl off a cliff 1960 CRACKED.COM Known as the visual cliff, this experiment demonstrated the overwhelming majority of babies will refuse to crawl across a pane of glass that appears to be a steep dropoff, even when their mothers beckon them to their deaths. It also presumably succeeded in making future therapists lots of money. — Simply Psychology / Money on the Left

13

Chrysippus

40 Bizarre Bits of Historical Trivia That Were Surgically Removed From Your Textbooks — Source: Culture Trip

12

Louis the XIV

Louis the XIV popularized black pepper Louis the XIV was a picky eater who preferred lightly seasoned food, banning spices besides salt, pepper, and parsley. CRACKED.COM — Source: Gizmodo

11

Mt. Tambora

THE YEAR WITHOUT SUMMER CRACKED.co COM Indonesia's Mt. Tambora exploded in April 1815, killing tens of thousands of people and sending an ash cloud into the stratosphere. As the cloud moved over the globe, it blocked the sun and sent temperatures down by 3 degrees, causing droughts, floods, and snow that disrupted areas from Southeast Asia to the United States. — Source: Smithsonian Magazine

10

Cigarettes

CRACKED THE BRIGHTEST MINDS OF THE 1960S WERE HEAVY SMOKERS. In the '60s, healthcare professionals smoked in hospitals, pilots smoked in the cockpit, and three of the seven NASA astronauts introduced at a huge press conference were smokers. Cigarettes were part of the atmosphere, in every sense, of Mission Control during Apollo missions. — NASA
Fast Company

9

Iced Tea

CRACKED.COM Iced tea was invented to cater to Americans' masculinity. Tea is not considered manly in the US, English social critic William Hogarth wrote as early as 1757. Lipton started marketing iced tea in the 19th century to be able to sell their stuff to Americans without making them feel emasculated. — Source

8

Russia

Shortest Reigns 18 hours Michael II of Russia Right between Nicholas Il's abdication and the Russian Revolution, Michael II was briefly Emperor of Russia in March, 1917, and we do mean briefly. Не was not ratified, though, as Russia's provisional government did not agree with the succession. Ultimately, Michael was killed by the Revolution. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK Jr. was born Michael King. His dad, a Baptist pastor, renamed himself and his son Martin Luther after traveling to Germany -- Martin Luther, the Protestant leader, had seriously inspired him. MLK Jr. was five at the time. NOW YOU KNOW — Source: History.com

6

Hitler

Hitler granted his childhood doctor, Eduard Bloch, special protection by the Gestapo. CRACKED.COM When Hitler's mother couldn't afford cancer treat- ment, Bloch reduced his prices. Teenage Adolf de- clared undying gratitude, and when Austria was an- nexed, Hitler kept his word to the Jewish doctor. — LBV

5

Corkscrews

Product CORKSCREWS Original BULLET REMOVER Purpose Bullets used to commonly get stuck in guns, and people needed a safe way to dislodge them, which is — Read More: The 5 Most Insane Original Uses For Famous Products

4

Uranus

The planet Uranus was discovered before the continent of Antarctica. GRACKED.COM In 1781, Uranus was the first planet to be discov- ered with a telescope. In 1820, 39 years later after Uranus was discovered, the first expedition in Antarcti- ca was led and proved its existence. — Source

3

The Polish Plait

17TH-CENTURY POLES WORE A COMPLETELY DISGUSTING HAIRSTYLE. A Polish plait is a gross, smelly mass of crusty, matted hair cemented together by pus, nits, and dirt-and many gave themselves one intentionally, as they thought it kept them healthy. CRACKED.COM — Source: 25 Details From History That Are Just So Gross

2

The Old-Timey Bicycle Tank

The old-timey bicycle tank CRACKED.co The Russian Tsar Tank harnessed the grace and mobility of the e penny-farthing, and blew it up to a Ferris wheel scale. The prototype got stuck in the mud and rotted there until the end of WWI. — Source: 7 WTF Military Weapons You Won't Believe They Actually Built

1

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

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