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44 Random Bits of Historical Trivia That You’d Be Shocked to Find in Your Genealogical Research

Like it or not, you’re somehow linked to all this past insanity

44 Random Bits of Historical Trivia That You’d Be Shocked to Find in Your Genealogical Research

January 23, 2025

Directly or indirectly, every wild historical fact on this list has somehow affected you and/or the world around you. Borders lie where they are now because of sometimes pretty silly conflicts, and we socially interact with people based on norms created centuries ago.

In looking at all this insanity, we’re glad that a ton of this behavior died off quite a while ago. Some is sadly still alive and well, but we can work to right those wrongs, right? Who’s with us?!?!

44

Flamethrowers

Tlpade kouTwokdagwTpwoowtmup Kou joook FLAMETHROWERS WERE CREATED IN THE 7TH CENTURY. Byzatines used Greek fires in naval battles. They were especia

43

Giovanni Aldini

Giouanni HoO Aldini T= -3,14 This 9th-century Italian physicist liked electrocuting corpses. His most famous act involved displaying the body of a han — Source: Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences

42

6th Century Pope

A 6th century Pope suggested people say God bless you when someone sneezes. Two of the world's deadliest plagues wiped out half of Europe's population (100 million) during the 6th century. SInce sneezing was an early sign of the plague, the idea was that a prayer would protect the sneezer. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

41

17th Century Japan

Miyamoto T 00 Musashi CRACKEDCON Miyamoto Musashi was a swordsman and philosopher in 7th-century Japan. Wrote Musashi, The only reason a warrior is a — Source: Musashi's Book of Five Rings

40

The Aztecs

The Aztec city of Tenochtitlan employed street sweepers back in the 16th century. the There were about a thousand cleaners who swept the streets, washed them with water, and ferried human waste in canoes wy before Europe had anything similar. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: Mexicolore

39

Mayan Artifacts

In the early 20th century, an American explorer smuggled 30,000 Mayan artifacts. Не took them from a structure in Chichen Itza - basically a giant well - where they had piled up for centuries and smuggled them out of Mexico in his friends', colleagues', and own wife's luggage. CRACKED.COM — Source

38

The University of Oxford

THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD IS OLDER THAN THE AZTEC EMPIRE. 15th century m Tax 9th century GRACKED COM — Source: 25 Then/Now Demonstrations Of Time's Power

37

The Roman Empire’s Best-Kept Secret

CRACKED LEPTIS MAGNA: THE ROMAN EMPIRE'S BEST-KEPT SECRET. Not many people go to Leptis Magna, one of the most stunning cities from the Roman Empire. It's in Libya and it's really well looked after, so it's been kept safe from any kind of attack. It's even been given UNESCO World Heritage status. — Source

36

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

35

The Founding Fathers

The Founding Fathers thought that independence was a mistake. The aristocratic Founding Fathers saw regular Americans as vile ignoramuses, and had zero faith in the people's ability to govern themselves. Independence, however, was left as the only option when attempts to patch things up with King George III fell through. CRACKED.COM — Source

34

Racism

Human races are an 18th-century invention. Of all the ways people have ever looked down on others, racism is pretty recent. The classification of human — More: 7 Concepts We Totally Take For Granted, Like 'White People'

33

Adrian Carton de Wiart

CRACKED EVERYTHING WAR CAN THROW AT YOU Adrian Carton de Wiart lost an eye and a hand in battle, but still managed to fight in three wars over the course of six decades. Не was even able to survive plane crashes and being held as a prisoner of war. — BBC

32

The Pig War

Farmer shoots pig, U.S. and Britain face off. The Pig War of 1859 was an obscure and unusual war over a border dispute on San Juan Island, which was eventually settled by Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany in 1872. The conflict began when an American farmer shot a British pig that had wandered onto his land, leading to a stand-off between the two sides. CRACKED — Hein Nouwens/Shutterstock
Historic UK

31

The Dark Ages

The Dark Ages were a terrible time to be alive, between the disease, filth, poverty, and the Black Death. WHAT THE HISTORY BOOKS LEFT OUT It was a time of unprecedented scholarship, discovery, and innovation in the Middle East. Islamic caliphs blanketed every land they conquered with schools, libraries, public works, and the most comprehensive system of social welfare on the planet. CRACKED COM hittp://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages — Source

30

Silver Mining

The Roman Empire mined so much silver that at peak production they were mining 220 tons per year. Scottsdale Silver - Loo list China us CRACKED.COM This was 5 to 10 times larger than the com- bined amount of silver available to Medieval Europe and the Ab- basid Caliphate around 800 A.D. — Vaulted

29

John Murray Spear

A 19th-century preacher built a mecha-Jesus. John Murray Spear was ahead of his time in his ideas about slavery and gender equality - and also about technology, as he tried to build a mechanical Messiah (as commanded to him by the spirits of the Founding Fathers). But Spear's New Motor failed to even start, let alone save humanity. CRACKED.COM — Source

28

The Greco-Turkish War

THE YEAR WAS 1922... THE END OF THE GRECO-TURKISH WAR Greek forces were finally overcome by those of the Turkish Nationalist Movement following their clashes over the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after WWI. Basically, the Allies decided to divide southeastern Europe after the war, leading to Greece marching right in and taking over Anatolia which used to belong to Ancient Greece before the Ottomans captured it. But the Turkish Nationalist Movement said forget about it, some war was fought, and the Greeks finally retreated from Smyrna in August, 1922. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

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

26

Ancient Airbnb

Ancient advertising Ancient Airbnb Maius, a Roman in Caesar's time, advertised high-quality rental properties in the Arrio Pollian Block. Interested parties should apply to Primas, Maius' slave, the ad said. Today we call them customer service agents. CRACKED — Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
Chron

25

Roast Battles

In medieval England and Scotland, public insult battles were all the rage. It was called flyting, and it was basically the rap battle of its day people would insult each other in all kinds of funny and clever ways. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

24

France

A pig was executed in France for leading to the death of a child in the middle ages. CRACKED COM The young pig attacked a three-month-old in the French village of Fonte- nay-aux-Roses in 1386, who died after surgery complica- tions. The pig stood trial and was publicly executed. — Source

23

The War of Jenkins

British sea captain's ear sparks war. The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict between England and Spain in 1739, sparked by the presentation of a severed ear belonging to British Sea Captain Robert Jenkins. It became a symbol of English pride and led to a war between the two countries. CRACKED — Arthur Balitskii/Shutterstock
Historic UK

22

Ancient Persia

Engineers built giant coolers in ancient Persia that could store ice in the middle of summer. Called a Yakhchal, the ancient type of ice house functions as an evaporative cooler. The structure had a domed shape above ground and a subterranean storage space that was used to store ice and. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Assessment of Ancient Fridges

21

Oxford Predates the Aztecs

Oxford University is older than the Aztec Empire. BE x CRACKED.COM Oxford is the oldest university still in continuous operation, starting in 1096. The founding of the city of Tenochtitlán, which many mark at the beginning of the Aztec Empire, happened in 1325, and by 1521 Tenochtitlán was captured by Spanish conquerors. — Smithsonian Magazine

20

Empires

THE EGYPTIAN GOLDEN EMPIRE LASTED TWICE AS LONG AS THE US HAS BEEN A COUNTRY The New Kingdom era (the most powerful time in Ancient Egypt) lasted from 1550 ВС until 1070 вс, 480 years. Compare that to the U.S.'s 244 years. CRACKED.COM — Source: PBS International

19

The First Shopping Mall

The first shopping mall was built in ancient Rome. CRACKED.COM In Rome, Emperor Trajan built the first traditional shopping mall at around 100 AD. — Source: The Culture Trip

18

Independence Day

Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826. CRACKED.COM The Founding Fathers died within hours of each other, exactly 50 years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. — SSource: CNN

17

Ancient Greece

SECRET ORIGINS GAME OF JACKS JACKS WAS PLAYED IN ANCIENT GREECE, EXCEPT AT THAT TIME THE JACKS WERE TINY SHEEP BONES. FOR MOST OF HISTORY THIS GAME WAS KNOWN AS KNUCKLEBONES. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

Bread Bowls

MEDIEVAL CUISINE Bread bowls aren't a recent invention Some people in the Middle Ages used pieces of breads as plates. Trenches were pieces of bread (often stale) that were slightly hollowed out before holding food. CRACKED.COM — Source: British Library

15

Constantinople

Fall of Constantinople (Eastern Roman Empire) 1453 THE ROMAN EMPIRE WAS STILL AROUND WHEN THE PRINTING PRESS WAS INVENTED. Printing press 1440s CRACKED.COM — Source: 25 Then/Now Demonstrations Of Time's Power

14

Justin II

Justin II was a 6th century Byzantine emperor. He's considered one of the most important figures of his era, as he sought to restore the empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the historical Roman Empire. THE CRAZY: He heard voices and bit people. According to ancient historian John of Ephesus, Justin II would hear voices in his head and scream and hide under his bed to escape them. His servants would play organ music throughout the palace to drown out the voices and keep him from biting their heads. Legend has it he actually ate two of — Source: 24 Famous (And Insane) Historical Figures

13

Swords

Greatswords aren't medieval. Two-handed greatswords became a thing in the late 1500s- during the Renaissance, not the Middle Ages. Terms like Zweihander are even more recent, and weren't used historically. CRACKED.COM — Source: The Association for Renaissance Martial Arts

12

The Middle Ages

Blue pigment found in the tooth of a medieval skeleton shows women were artists During the Middle Ages, women, not just monks, may have painted illuminated manuscripts. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED COM — Source

11

The Civil War

When Robert E. Lee invaded Pennsylvania for the Battle of Gettysburg, his army kidnapped free Black civilians. They sold them into slavery in the Sout — Source: Lies Across America

10

Ancient Persian Torture

44 Random Bits of Historical Trivia That You’d Be Shocked to Find in Your Genealogical Research

9

Collecting Holy Foreskins

44 Random Bits of Historical Trivia That You’d Be Shocked to Find in Your Genealogical Research — Source: Buzzfeed

8

Ancient Egypt

WE ARE AS FAR FROM THE BEGINNING OF ANCIENT EGYPT AS THEY WERE TO THE EARLIEST PERMANENT SETTLEMENTS Ancient Egypt started around 3100 вс. Compare that to around 6500 вс, during the Neolithic period when people were beginning to settle in the Nile Valley, using domesticated animals and plants. CRACKED.COM — Source: The Met Museum

7

The Fall of Rome

THE ROMAN EMPIRE DIDN'T JUST FALL OVERNIGHT. Yes, Rome was taken by Germanic invaders in 479. -which had happened other times, SO not much changed tha

6

The Roman Empire

THE ROMAN EMPIRE WAS BIG. JUST NOT THAT BIG. Rome, the biggest empire that ever was... Except that, by surface area, it was more like the 25th, with a

5

Borders

Dog causes deadly war. Tensions between Greece and Bulgaria had been high since the end of the Balkan League, leading to border skirmishes and the Second Balkan War of 1913. In 1925, a dog running across the border sparked a skirmish that ended with a Greek captain and his aide being killed. CRACKED — Paulina Rosales/Shutterstock
War History Online

4

Water Tanks

CRACKED TANKS: TANKS The first tanks were created by the British and were nicknamed water tanks or just tanks by the people who made them. They were told, as an elaborate ruse, that the machines were designed to carry water in the deserts of Mesopotamia. — The World

3

World War I

During WWI, to get around British blockades, a German company built a merchant submarine to trade with then neutral America. LUSITANIA CRACKED.COM It made 2 trips before America entered the war after which it was converted to a war- ship and it went on to sink 42 ships on 3 ра- trols. — Source

2

The NFL

WHAT'S THE DEAL: FOUNDING OF THE NFL Teaming Up sun BRADY 2 CRACKED.COM By 1966, there were two pro football leagues: The APFA (now the NFL) & the American Football League (AFL). On June 8, 1966, the leagues announced a merger, creating not only the modern NFL, but the Super Bowl. The years since are often referred to as the Super Bowl Era. — Source: History

1

Jamestown

In 1524, Spain created a settlement close to Jamestown's site. It failed a few years later, though - - long before Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement on the continent, was founded in 1602. CRACKED.COM — Source

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