20 Strange and Bizarre Facts They Didn't Teach in History Class

in #history7 years ago

Weird yet interesting facts you'll be glad you learned.

1 British spies used semen as invisible ink during World War I. Their motto was “Every man has his own stylus,” and was developed by Sir Mansfield Cumming.

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2 Animals were routinely sentenced to death after being put on trial in medieval times.

3 The romans used human urine as mouthwash.

4 After Pope Gregory IX publicly associated cats with devil worship, felines were mass exterminated throughout Europe.

5 The sudden lack of cats led to rampant spread of disease by the overpopulation of rats. The Bubonic Plague was the most devastating, killing 100 million people.

6 Flour sacks were sexy during the great depression. With money being tight, people s3ewed their empty flour sacks into clothes. When the flour factories caught on, they made the bags colorful so the subsequent clothing would be stylish.

7 Heroin was widely used for pain when morphine wasn't handy. And it was prescribed to young children for teething, headaches and cough.

8 Albert Einstein declined the offer of Presidency of Israel in 1952.

9 George Washington was super strong, and could break walnuts between his forefinger and thumb.

10 Hitler was a vegetarian and advocate against animal cruelty.

11 Mt. Vesuvius erupted and buried the city of Pompeii the day after the annual festival of Vulcanalia which celebrated the mountain. The residents didn't even know it was a volcano.

12 The Soviet Union Government urged the population to drink more Vodka to reduce the chances of thyroid cancer during the Chernobyl disaster.

13 Ancient Greeks refused to eat beans because they believed they harbored the souls of dead.

14 Napoleon was once attacked by a band of vicious rabbits.

15 Despite destroying 14,000 homes, the 1666 Great Fire of London only killed 8 people.

16 Ancient Egyptians used stones as pillows.

17 Saint Nicholas didn't even live near the North Pole. He spent his life in Demre, Turkey, where they don't even celebrate Christmas.

18 Lab testing of lipsticks used to involve a group of volunteer ladies kissing a lucky bald dude.

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19 Cambridge University refused to allow Lord Byron to have his dogs on campus. So he went out and bought a tame bear cub, lived with it in his dorm room, and took it to class on a leash.

20 The vibrator was developed to treat hysteria because doctors were were taking too long to manually masturbate women. It soon became the best selling household appliance.

They say if you don't know history, you're bound to repeat the same mistakes.

Or you were too busy skipping class.

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Gotta call BS on number 14. You stole that from a Monty Python skit, LOL

And for number 20, what exactly is "too long"? I'm suddenly worried I may have been doing this wrong all these years.

STEEM On!!
DaveB

LOL!

Actually, I used to think that was a funny made up for the media! But, come to find out, it's true. Napoleon had just signed the treaty to end the war with Russia and went on a rabbit hunt with his buddies to celebrate. Well, the cute little furrballs weren't having it- they all turned on him! Ignoring the other members of the hunting party, they attacked Napoleon lol

And for "too long" um, well, some take longer than others I suppose? Especially when ravaged by "hysterics" lol!

Thank you, thank you very much :)

I want to make paper bag dresses for my cats! How are you? Just popping by to say hi!

Karen! Hi! How are you hun?

I was recently turned on to bowties for cats. I am hoping someone donates some to my rescues- it'll even help make them handsome for potential forever homes :)

Interesting .... :)
Let me contribute another fact:
Female kangaroos have three vaginas.

Wow! It's always good to have a backup! (afaik are two vaginas internal).

Oh wow!

Is one strictly for the infant Joey, or does that depends?

I didn't understand the article but this part is interesting:

The side-vadges are where sperm — from the males’ two-pronged penises — travel up, the middle-vadge is where the baby joey slides down to develop externally in the mother’s pouch after growing to the size of a jellybean in one of her two uteri. Fun fact: Female kangaroos can be “perpetually pregnant” because of how their plumbing works. Because once one joey has left a uterus for the pouch, another embryo can go ahead and start developing internally. So, basically, kangaroos can be pregnant forever.

Source: https://www.themarysue.com/kangaroos-have-three-vaginas/

Oh wow.

That is interesting. Huh. Funny how a select few creatures can be made so very different and complex...


I love that!!!

I love ducks, they are my favourite birds, hilarious

Ducks are the only creatures whose sound does not echo. I find that fascinating and erie!

Sorry babe but that's a common misnomer.
They do echo but are hard to differentiate from the original quack.
Here's the science.
https://www.thoughtco.com/myth-busted-a-ducks-quack-doesnt-echo-3298983

Masturbate women? Wtf? lol. That's a new one on me. I knew about St Nicholas though. Christmas of what we know it as now is a fairly new concept :)

Yup. The doctors actually did that in their exam room for women with "hysterics"...

...but if she did not respond they put her in a hug-me jacket and sent her to the sanitarium- no lie.

In Italy the equivalent to Santa is Befana- a woman who was said to go door to door delivering treats for children on Jan 5. She then sweeps the floor and leaves a glass of wine for the parents.

I bet you whenever a sexy doctor was placed in a town, suddenly there would be an epidemic of hysterics lmao

I believe you are correct, Sir.

You've definitely become one of my favorite ppl that I'm following. It cheered me up to read this particular post on this dreary Monday.

Keep that good content coming!

Thanks hun :). You make my heart happy :)

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