History — Page 9

Ancient Romans used human urine to bleach their clothes.

Urea decomposes into ammonia, a highly effective alkaline cleaning agent for removing tough stains and whitening…

The first text message in history said "Merry Christmas".

It was sent in December of nineteen ninety-two by a computer engineer to the director of a telecommunications company…

Queen Victoria survived at least seven assassination attempts.

During her long reign, several individuals tried to attack her with firearms or knives, but failed due to poor aim…

Nintendo was founded in the same year the Eiffel Tower was completed.

The Japanese company opened its doors in eighteen eighty-nine as a manufacturer of traditional playing cards, long…

The first mechanical alarm clock could only ring at 4 AM.

Invented in Ancient Greece and later improved, the primitive mechanism did not allow adjusting the alarm time…

Ketchup was originally sold in pharmacies as medicine.

In the eighteen thirties, it was marketed as a cure for indigestion and other stomach ailments, long before becoming…

Napoleon Bonaparte was actually taller than the average Frenchman of his era.

The confusion arises because the French measurement of the time was different from the English one, and British…

The Great Emu War was a real military operation in Australia.

In nineteen thirty-two, the Australian army sent soldiers armed with machine guns to control the emu population that…

Heroin was originally marketed as a children's cough syrup.

In the late nineteenth century, the pharmaceutical company Bayer sold the drug as a non-addictive cough suppressant…

Ancient Egyptians slept with pillows made of stone or wood.

These "pillows" were rigid supports with a neck groove, designed to keep the head elevated, protect elaborate…

The Great Wall of China was built using sticky rice mortar.

Builders mixed slaked lime with a sticky rice porridge, creating an organic-inorganic binder so strong and…

Abraham Lincoln is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Before being president, Lincoln was known for his exceptional strength and wrestling skill, having lost only one of…

The CIA spent millions training cats to spy on the Soviet Union.

In the "Acoustic Kitty" project, agents implanted microphones and transmitters in cats, but the project was cancelled…

Ancient Egyptians shaved their eyebrows to mourn the death of their cats.

Cats were considered sacred animals and family members. According to historian Herodotus, owners shaved their…

The Great Pyramid of Giza was originally covered in smooth, white limestone.

These casing stones reflected sunlight so intensely that the pyramid shone like a white star, but most were removed…

In eighteen thirty-five, the US national debt was exactly zero.

President Andrew Jackson, who hated debt and central banks, managed to completely pay off the federal debt, the only…

Ancient Romans used crushed mouse brains as toothpaste.

The writer Pliny the Elder documented this bizarre practice, believing that the ashes and tissues of rodents helped…

The Great Wall of China was built by paid laborers and soldiers.

Contrary to the popular myth that it was built by slaves, most builders were peasants doing mandatory military…

Ancient Greeks used olive oil to bathe instead of soap.

They would spread olive oil over their bodies to loosen dirt and sweat, then scrape the mixture off with a curved…

The Romans used urine to whiten teeth and wash clothes.

Urine decomposes into ammonia, a very effective cleaning and bleaching agent. It was so valuable that Emperor…

Cleopatra lived closer in time to the Moon landing than to the building of the Great Pyramid.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was built around 2560 BC. Cleopatra lived around 30 BC, and the Apollo 11 mission landed on…

The Romans used human urine as a whitening mouthwash for their teeth.

The ammonia present in decomposed urine had effective bleaching properties. The Romans even imported urine from the…

The shortest war in history lasted only 38 minutes, between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.

On 27 August 1896, when the new sultan of Zanzibar took power without British approval, the Royal Navy bombarded the…

Napoleon Bonaparte was not short, having an average height for his time.

The confusion arose due to the difference between French and English inches of the era. Napoleon measured about one…