History — Page 2

Queen Elizabeth II served as a mechanic and military truck driver during WWII.

Then a young princess, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945, becoming the first female member of the…

In the 19th century, people hosted 'mummy unwrapping parties' as a form of entertainment.

Wealthy Victorians would buy Egyptian mummies and unwrap them in front of guests for amusement, unknowingly…

The first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel was a 63-year-old woman.

In 1901, Annie Edson Taylor, a schoolteacher looking for financial security, famously took the plunge and survived…

Winners of the ancient Olympic Games received olive wreaths, not gold medals.

The olive branch was a sacred symbol of peace and victory in ancient Greece. Gold, silver, and bronze medals were…

The city of Venice is built on millions of wooden stakes.

Venice sits on millions of oak and larch wooden stakes buried in mud. The lack of oxygen in the mud prevents the wood…

The 'OK' sign originated from a 19th-century joke.

In the 1830s, young people in Boston created the expression 'oll korrect' as a joke on the spelling of 'all correct'…

The showers at Alcatraz prison had heated water to keep prisoners from getting used to the cold.

The waters of San Francisco Bay are freezing. Officials feared that if prisoners adapted to cold showers, they might…

The 'D' in D-Day simply stands for 'Day'.

It is a military term used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is set to begin. The 'H' in H-Hour…

Beethoven used a metal rod to feel the music.

After becoming completely deaf at age 40, Ludwig van Beethoven held a metal rod between his teeth and pressed it…

British tanks are equipped with facilities to make tea.

Since the end of World War II, British war tanks have included equipment called a boiling vessel, which allows the…

Leonardo da Vinci wrote backwards.

Leonardo da Vinci used a writing style known as mirror writing, writing from right to left. His notes could only be…

The longest year in human history lasted 445 days.

In 46 BC, Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar and, to correct accumulated discrepancies, the year was…

The guillotine was still in use when Star Wars premiered.

The last execution by guillotine in France occurred on September 10, 1977, the same year the first Star Wars film was…

Ancient Olympic athletes competed completely naked.

The word 'gymnasium' comes from the ancient Greek word 'gymnos', meaning naked. Athletes competed nude to celebrate…

Ancient Romans used to clean their teeth with a paste made from crushed bones, eggshells, and ashes.

While abrasive, the crushed bones and oyster shells provided some gentle polishing, while the ashes acted as a…

The fear of the number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia, and many skyscrapers skip the 13th floor entirely.

The superstition is so widespread in Western culture that hotels, hospitals, and airports often jump straight from…

The term 'OMG' (Oh My God) was first used in writing in 1917 in a letter sent to Winston Churchill.

Admiral Lord Fisher wrote it to Churchill to express his shock about a new order of Knighthood, showing that internet…

The first person to ever be convicted of speeding was going just 8 mph (about 12 km/h).

In 1896, Walter Arnold was fined for speeding in his car. At the time, the speed limit in the UK was just 2 mph in…

The Titanic was equipped with only 20 lifeboats, enough to hold about half of the people on board.

Although the ship could carry over 3,000 people, it only had lifeboat capacity for 1,178, as regulations at the time…

The Great Pyramid of Giza was built without the use of the wheel.

The ancient Egyptians did not have the wheel or pulley systems when the pyramid was built; they used sledges, ramps…

The first recorded ancient Olympic Games took place in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece.

These games were held every four years to honor the god Zeus, and the only event recorded in the earliest games was a…

William Henry Harrison was the shortest-serving US President, holding office for only 32 days.

He caught a cold that developed into pneumonia just weeks after his inauguration in 1841, becoming the first US…

The musicians on the Titanic continued playing as the ship sank to keep passengers calm.

The eight-member band played uplifting music on the deck and reportedly stopped only when the ship was about to go…

It is estimated that about 100 billion human beings have ever lived on Earth.

This means that for every person alive today, there are roughly 15 people who have died in all of human history…