You may find lengthy historical write-ups boring, but that is no excuse to stay unaware of the various happenings, notable people and century-long cultures worldwide. However, we empathise with you. What if we told you that you needn’t read through long articles? We bring to you, quick historical facts that are sure to blow your mind daily!
Did you know that Jimmy Carter was the American president to be born in a hospital and that John F Kennedy carved a distressed message on a coconut when stranded on an island? If you didn’t, you need to step up your game!
Here are some facts based on several historical genres made so concise that you can have access to fascinating information in under a minute!
In 1669, Swedish Bishop Erik Emporagrius wrote in his book that a “wife should be considered the finest item in a man’s possessions or moveable property”. It annoyed Dowager Queen Hedvig Eleonora so much she banned the book from Sweden.…
Bishop of Winchester Henry of Blois was the largest brothel owner in the UK back in 1161. He called his prostitutes “Winchester Geese”. King Henry II granted him special permission to run the brothel. Moreover, he collected license fees and…
During WWII a man called Bob Fletcher took care of the farms of three Japanese American families while they were interned. Bob kept their farm running, paid taxes and mortgages until they returned despite being shot at for supporting them.…
John F Kennedy claimed he only learned about the great depression in textbooks while attending Harvard. Kennedy had a privileged upbringing and went to elite schools and was brought up with servants. So he was never affected by the Great…
Britain is responsible for 63 independence celebrations throughout the world. This makes it almost every week a country celebrates its independence from the UK. Guess the hilarious prank that the Royal Princes pulled on Her Majesty.
In 2015, Queen Elizabeth II decided not to breed Welsh Corgis anymore as she did not want to leave any behind when she died. She owned over 30 Corgis since she became a Queen and sadly her last one died…
Lionel Royce was an actor in Nazi Germany who lost his job for being a Jew. He went to the Alps, grew a beard and bathed in hydrogen to dye all his hair. Nazis praised him as living proof of…
Persian King Agha Mohammad ate half of a melon, asked to store the rest & said to 3 of his servants, if any pieces were missing, he would behead all three of them. One of them forgot & ate a…
Cleopatra was well educated and spoke a dozen languages. She was known for her intellect more than her beauty. She earned a name as “who elevated the ranks of scholars and enjoyed their company.” However, she did not know Latin.…
Pig’s snout, mare’s arse, grandson of the Serpent, an idiot before God, unchristened brow, fool of all the world and slaughterhouse cur. These are some of the words Cossacks used in their letter to describe the Turkish Sultan.
Just before George Washington died in 1799, he allegedly said he would never set foot on English soil ever again”. So, when they erected his statue in London, they had to put US soil under his foot to honour that…
During the coronation of Napoleon in 1804, he went against the tradition and crowned himself instead of having the Pope put the crown on his head. He wanted to symbolise he is becoming the emperor on his own merits and…
Justinian II of Byzantine Emperor was called “the slit nosed”. His nose was cut off in 695 to stop him from seeking the throne as tradition prevented mutilated people from imperial rule. He replaced his nose with solid gold prosthesis…
The oldest continuously run business in the world is a hot spring hotel in Japan that’s been in operation since 705 A.D! Founded by Fujiwara Mahito 1313 years ago, The Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan is close to Mount Fuji and Guinness World Records…
German theoretical physicist Max Planck was told by his professor not to go into Physics as “almost everything is discovered already”. So Planck said he did not want to discover anything & just wanted to learn the fundamentals. He went…
Imperial China had strict laws on how one depicts the dragon in the artwork. Commoners can only draw three claws. Nobility and high officials can use four and only the Emporer could use five. He could execute you for treason…
In 1925, Victor Lustig, a conman in France, impersonated a government official and managed to sell the Eiffel Tower twice. He decided to sell the Eiffel tower for metal scrap when he came across an article advocating its demolition. Lustig…
High-class women from Tudor time isolated themselves in the dark for a period of time before they give birth. They called this period “Lying in”. No men were allowed in their rooms. They believed being exposed to light could harm…
When Christoper Columbus returned to Spain, he was jailed for mistreating the native population of Hispaniola. The king jailed him and a few of his men for six weeks for subjecting the Hispaniola people to brutal acts of torture. After…
Swedish King Gustav III disliked coffee. He believed it was unhealthy. To prove this, he hired identical twins and made one drink coffee every day and the other tea for the rest of their lives. The twins outlived both the…
