Equipped a bionic hand that was a 16th-century technological marvel, Götz von Berlichingen is said to have delivered the invitation to rim him to a general who invited him to surrender, and in Germany, his name alone is now interpreted as the same
When Hans Christian Andersen wasn’t putting pen to paper crafting ‘The Little Mermaid’ or ‘The Princess and the Pea,’ he was rubbing himself raw and documenting the aftermath
‘Premature burial’ is basically everyone’s worst nightmare, but back in the 1800s, it was prevalent enough that a whole funereal economy sprang up around it
She was said to have had a lifetime batting average of a Ted Williams-esque .400. Unfortunately, that lifetime was cut short when she was publicly hung in front of 2,500 spectators
The ‘Mechanical Turk’ blew minds. It was taken around Europe and America, presented as a sophisticated automaton that could beat almost anyone at chess — including Benjamin Franklin. Crowds flocked to see this technological marvel, a machine that could outwit the strongest of human minds. But it wasn’t nearly as ingenious as it seemed
Pioneering surgeon Robert Liston swung a bone-saw with such ferocity that he was allegedly able to kill three men on or around the operating table (such as it was back then) in one fell swoop
In 1601, 54-year-old Tycho Brahe attended a banquet in Prague, and despite really needing to use the bathroom, decided to hold it instead. A few days later, he was dead
A 16th-century Dutch mayor named Hans Staininger had the most magnificent face full of whiskers the world had ever seen — a hirsute magnificence that ultimately proved to be his undoing
Alfonso XIII of Spain had endless affairs, tons of illegitimate children (in addition to seven with his wife) and a sideline in commissioning pornography for his own private consumption
Despite the harrowing flames, instead of running to safety, many Irish boozehounds chose instead to drink the industrial-strength whiskey that filled the streets and set the city ablaze in the first place
In 1923, jockey Frank Hayes began his first-ever steeplechase alive and well. He placed first, his horse winning by a head, but unfortunately, he didn’t live long enough to see the winner’s circle, perishing sometime before he crossed the finish line
