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34 Trivia Tidbits About History

Facts from history’s cutting room floor

34 Trivia Tidbits About History

May 11, 2024

How dare you historians leave these gems out! You can’t just cherry-pick some facts and leave the others to rot on the branches of time. They happened too, and by golly, the people need to have the full story — the good, the bad and the strange.

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34

Napoleon's first wife performed a sex act that baffles modern historians. N.N.E.S.T HE - S They exchanged tons of extremely dirty letters, which mentioned, but never explained, something called a zig-zag. CRACKED.COM — Source

33

In WWI, the German ship SMS Cap Trafalgar was disguised to look like British ocean liner RMS Carmania in order to raise hell behind enemy lines. But the first ship the Trafalgar encountered was the real Carmania, which laid waste to the imposter. CRACKED.COM — Source

32

The largest bell ever made was lost by a greedy governor. Portugese warlord Filipe de Brito e Nicote was granted a governorship, then promptly declared independence. Не tried to melt the Shwedagon Pagoda's 23-ton bell to make cannons, then dropped it in a river. De Brito was executed at the stake. CRACKED.COM — Source

31

Ohio and Michigan once went to war - over Toledo. N.Est L MICHIGAN Maumee Toledo Bay Disputed Toledo Strip Perrysburg er OHIO Maumee River From 1835-36, the two states argued over a thin strip of land at their border. It escalated to a brawl wherein someone was stabbed with a pen knife, but that was the only casualty. CRACKED.COM — Source

30

Yang Kyoungjong was a Korean soldier in WWII who was forced to fight on 3 sides of the war. Не was conscripted into the Japanese army, captured and forced to fight by the Soviet army, then again by the German army, over the course of 5 years. CRACKED.COM — Source

29

When the Berlin Wall fell, banana sales exploded. Titanic adid - Zonen-Gaby (17) im Glück (BRD) Meine erste Banane f nt - Informa I East Germany only got mushy brown bananas, so when the Wall came down, East Germans went crazy for unripe green bananas. There's a joke that they rose up for bananas, not democracy, and whenever a long line forms, Germans say, Are they handing out bananas or what? CRACKED COM — Source

28

The infamous Milwaukee serial killer and cannibal, Jeffrey Dahmer, was a class clown in high school. 75 72 69 66 63 MILWAUKEE COUNTY MILWAUKEE COUNTY SHERIFF S DEPARTMENT His pranks and antics E 0 23 were known as doing a Dahmer around school. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

Due to fire, decay, negligence, or deliberate destruction, AP 75% T ط 500 of all American CRACKED.COM silent movies no longer exist. — Source

26

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

25

During the French Revolution, they caught Louis XVI because GNAT his face was on money. IBRE 17 NES s ASSIGNATS DES FRANCOIS NAT par le décr vvil 1790, sanctionné LOUISXVL.ROT B CU While running to the countryside, Louis and Marie Antoinette (both disguised) were stopped by a postmaster who thought he recognized Marie. Once he compared the guy with her to a 50-franc note, he was sure. Pretty soon, they were arrested, then beheaded. CRACKED COM — Source

24

At Mao and Stalin's first meeting, the USSR stole Mao's poop. On Stalin's personal orders, the sewage pipes in the house where the two met were rerouted to special storage boxes. The thinking was that an analysis of the chemicals in his poop would reveal secrets about Mao's psychology. (Did it work? Nobody knows.) CRACKED.COM — Source

23

Walt Disney himself helped to design a Mickey Mouse gas mask Though few remain, you can find several on display in various museums in the United States. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

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 CRACKED COM rowboat and was proprelled just like one. — Source

21

The repeal of the prohibition of alcohol in 1933 led to the emergence of the modern CRACKED.COM drug cartels. Crime syndicates needed a replacement for their source of income, and drug trafficking was the best alternative available. — Source

20

The U.S. was still paying a Civil War pension in 2016. Irene Triplett in 2016 The sum was $73.13 per month, paid to one Irene Triplett (b. 1929), the daughter of a soldier who fought on both sides of the Civil War. When she was born, her father Mose was a spry 83. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

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

The team searching for the Challenger's wreckage found cocaine worth millions. Experts spent nine weeks scanning 420 square miles of ocean with sonar. They found ordinary trash, a refrigerator, half of a torpedo, eight shipwrecks, and more. Oh, and a duffel bag with 25 kilos of cocaine (that came from who knows where), worth about $13 million. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

In WWI, a random Russian got kidnapped by his own country's peace negotiators. 6281 The team negotiating Russia's withdrawal from WWI planed to bring a peasant (to represent the common people), but on the way to the train, they realized they forgot him. So they snatched a badly dressed guy off the street, and next thing he knew, he was talking to European princes. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

During WWII, brothers Rudolf and Adolf Adi Dassler manufactured boots for the German soldiers, as well as anti-tank weapons. УБ Panzerschreck Adolf plotted against his brother When Rudolf to get him captured recovered his as a prisoner of war, freedom, he also in order to develop started his own a new business of sport clothing his own called: company called: adidas PUMA® CRACKED.COM — Source

15

CRACKED.COM THE FBI KEPT FILES ON... ARETHA FRANKLIN The FBI spent years surveilling Franklin's involvement in the civil rights movement. The Queen of Soul performed and attended events organized by the NAACP and SCLC. Her father C.L. Franklin, a close friend of Martin Luther King, Jr., was also closely monitored. — Source

14

Leonardo da Vinci fought for animal welfare. Leonardo had a habit of buying caged birds at the marketplace just to release them. Не was furious about the fact that humans raise animals just to slaughter them, and apparently refused to eat meat. CRACKED.COM — Source

13

Frisbee Creator Ed Headrick WORLD KARA WORLD make CLASS CHAMPIONS FLYING DISC 165 G. CRACKED.COM Per his request, Headrick's ashes were molded into frisbees and given to his family and friends. — Source

12

The Viking Hastein GET HELP CRACKED COM Hastein entered a Roman city by arriving on a stretcher with his men asking for aid. The Romans let them through the gates, then the Vikings sacked the city. — Source

11

Corporal Jackie IT WAS EARTH ALL ALONG CRACKED.COM During World War I, a baboon named Jackie was enlisted in the South African Infantry Brigade. Among other things, he would stand at attention and salute superior officers. — Source

10

The Cornfield Bomber F-106 DELTA DART U.S.AIR FORCE GRAGKED.COM In 1970, pilot Gary Foust ejected after his jet entered a flat spin at 15,000 feet. The jet, on its own, recovered, landed smoothly in a field, then returned to service. — Source

9

The Kettle War SALTY SAILORS CRACKED.COM In 1784, Austria attacked the Dutch by sea. A small Dutch ship fired a single shot, which toppled a kettle of soup, soaking the Austrians and making them surrender. — Source

8

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

7

Abandoned Rear HOLY SHIT AbundonadReio GRACKED.COM In World War I, French villagers mistook a latrine pit labeled Abandoned Rear for an American grave. Decades later, they still maintained and honored the grave. — Source

6

Astronauts reported Santa BETTER WATCH OUT CRACKED.COM TO In December 1965, astronauts aboard Gemini 6A reported a UFO, with its pilot wearing a red suit. Then they rang bells and played Jingle Bells on the harmonica. — Source

5

Isaac Newton was a waiter. Until he got an undergraduate scholarship, he waited tables at Cambridge. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

Like wearing pajamas? You have WWI air raids to thank. In WWI, people were being driven out of their homes by night-time air raids, and they needed warm, practical, and decent-looking sleepwear. So pajamas became hugely popular: they were loose, covered you up, and could be very stylish. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

When people think of Joan of Arc being burned at the stake it's usually for the crime of being a witch. In actuality she was burned alive for wearing men's clothing, the only thing she was ever formally charged with. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

Ariel-1, Britain's very first satellite, was put into orbit on April 26, 1962. It was accidentally destroyed weeks later after the US military detonated a 1.4 megaton nuclear weapon called Starfish-Prime in the upper atmosphere. CRACKED.COM — Source

1

The earliest pillows CRACKED.COM were made of stone. Ancient Egyptian Pillow Neck-rests from Tutankhamen's tomb Ancient Chinese Pillow Originally more about keeping the head away from crawling bugs or protecting an elaborate hairstyle during sleep than a cushion, they evolved into elaborate works of art for the wealthy. They only become a cloth-covered stuffing-filled accessory after the textile revolution. — Source

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