31 Funny Bits of Historical Trivia That No-Doubt Embarrass the Ghosts of Our Ancestors

For shame, Great Great Great Grandfather. For shame
31 Funny Bits of Historical Trivia That No-Doubt Embarrass the Ghosts of Our Ancestors

You silly gooses got up to some pretty zany stuff back there, didn’t you? 

Sorry, we’re just having a conversation with the ghosts in our office. We were plugging away at this list of historical facts at the stroke of midnight when we heard some regretful sighs behind us. We weren’t scared in the slightest. Anyone who pulled off this silly stuff would elicit more laughs than screams.

The Birthday Party That Caused the Nazis to Lose D-Day

The Germans' loss at Normandy may have been because of a birthday party. Field Marshall Erwin Rommel US was in charge of defending Europe from Allied invasion, in 1944. Rommel took the weekend of June 6 off to celebrate his wife's birthday. It was that day that the Allies landed at Normandy, leading to the largest German defeat of World War II. You might know it better as D-Day. http://www.historynet.com/ield-marshall-erwin- CRACKED.COM rommels-defense-of-normandy-during-world-war-ii.htm

The Man Who Made Up the Martians

The Martian mythos exists because of a single letter. In 1877, Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli observed variations in the terrain on Mars. Не used the word canali, i meaning channels, to describe those trenches. In 1895, American astronomer Percival Lowell misunderstood that word to mean canals, which are by definition man-made. Or in this case, Martian-made. Lowell's wild speculation about life on Mars became so entrenched that it inspired works such as War of the Worlds. CRACKED.COM http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2008/04/27/the_man_who_invented_mars/

The Largest Unintentional Human-Made Explosion in History

A late coal delivery caused the largest unintentional man-made explosion on record. In 1917, a Norwegian ship called the SS Imo had to sit and wait in Halifax Harbor in Nova Scotia, Canada, because its coal delivery was two days late. By the time it was able to depart, a French ship called the Mont-Blanc was headed in through the channel it needed to navigate to get out. After unsuccessfully trying to one another, both ships made corrections that resulted in a collision. If just one had corrected, they would not have crashed. The Mont-Blanc was carrying explosives, which

The Printing Error That Made Adultery Mandatory

A printing error made adultery mandatory in 1631. Printers Robert nour thy father Barker and Martin may bee long vpon Lucas accidentally thy God giueth thee. Thou fhalt not kill. left the not out of the seventh Thou fhait commit adultery. Thou fhalt no Iteale. commandment in Thou thalt not beare falfe their printing of the eighbour. King James Bible, Thou that not conet thy giving a big thumbs- It not couet thy neighb up to adultery. - - rnor his maid-lo VES ESTINA - hina انه When King Charles I found - NO I be STATE - 45 NATURE out,

The Bay of Pigs’ Time-Zone Mix-Up

The Bay of Pigs invasion failed because the Pentagon forgot Middle BEAC about time zones. The plan for the 1961 invasion of Cuba was a 10 9 1 6 5 A 3 8 3 two-pronged attack: 7 6 4 5 ground troops and air 12 I working 3 2 10 II 12 I together. 2 47747 9 4 Unfortunately, the Pentagon neglected 7 to take the time 12 / difference between 2 3 9 10 II 5 12 / A 2 3 Nicaragua and Cuba into 8 9 . 10 12 , and the fighter AK المام PA PUERTO

The Unlocked Gate That Toppled Constantinople

Constantinople was defeated because of an unlocked gate. In the Middle Ages, the city of Constantinople was the citadel to the Eastern Roman Empire. It survived 1,000 years' worth of sieges. In 1453, Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire attacked. A couple of months into the siege, somebody forgot to lock Constantinople's Kerkoporta gate. That was all Mehmed's army needed to pillage the city and enslave its people. CRACKED.COM Georgios Phrantzés, Marios Philippides, 1908 The fall of the Byzantine Empire: a Chronicle.

The Reason the Berlin Wall Really Came Down

The Berlin Wall came down because a bureaucrat misspoke. In 1989, East German politician Gunter Schabowski held a press conference explaining some minor revisions to the travel code. His speech mistakenly implied that travel restrictions were being completely removed. Hearing this, a reporter asked when the changes would take effect. Schabowski shrugged and said, immediately, right away. The press ran with the story, and travelers swarmed the border and demanded age. Rather than deal with a full-on riot, authorities let the wall come down. CRACKED.COM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/30/AR2009103001846.html

Why Hannibal Lost Nearly Half of His Army

Hannibal lost nearly half his army because of a cane. It was during Hannibal's legendary crossing of the Alps to invade Italy, in 218 BC. In order to prove to his 38,000 troops that the way was safe, he rammed his cane into the snow. The cane triggered an avalanche that killed 18,000 of his men, 2,000 of his horses, and a ton of his elephants. Yeah, Hannibal crossed the Alps with elephants. CRACKED.COM Stephen Weir, 2005. History's Worst Decisions and the People who Made Them

The First Copyrighted Motion Picture

The first copyrighted motion picture. 1894 CRACKED.COM W.K. Dickson copyrighted Fred Ott's Sneeze, a 5-second film of Thomas Edison's assistant snorting some sketchy 1800's stimulant and then, spoiler alert, sneezing.

The Battle of Stalingrad’s Battle for a Local Railway Station

In one day of heavy fighting during the Battle of Stalingrad, a local railway station changed hands from Soviet to German control and back again fourteen times in six hours. CRACKED.COM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle of Stalingrad

The Civil War Battle That Stopped So Everyone Could Watch a Fistfight

A Civil War battle stopped so the soldiers could watch a fistfight. In the Battle of the Wilderness, a Confederate and a Union soldier hiding in the same gully began to duke it out after trying, and failing, to capture each other. Soon, both sides stopped firing and got closer so they could cheer on their dude. (The Union guy lost, and got captured.) CRACKED.COM

Stone Pillows

The earliest pillows CRACKED.COM were made of stone. Ancient Egyptian Pillow Neck-rests from Tutankhamen's tomb Ancient Chinese Pillow Originally more about keeping the head away from crawling bugs or protecting an elaborate hairstyle during sleep than a cushion, they evolved into elaborate works of art for the wealthy. They only become a cloth-covered stuffing-filled accessory after the textile revolution.

Ancient Roman Laundromats Ran on Urine

Ancient Rome CRACKED COM In ancient Rome, laundromats pretty much ran on urine. The practice continued even after the invention of soap, as many Europeans preferred the all-natural goodness of bladder water. And long before toothpaste, 9 out 10 Romans agreed that gargling urine was the best way to keep your teeth clean and sparkly.

Spider Webs As Bandages

CRACKED Ancient accomplishments Using spider webs as bandages Back in the days of Ancient Greece and Rome, doctors would use spider webs as bandages for their patients. Webs have natural antiseptic and antifungal properties, as well as a lot of vitamin K, which helps with clotting.

The Naked Truth Behind the Word Gymnasium

The words gymnasium and gymnastics come from the Greek for nude. CRACKED.COM The Ancient Greeks commonly exercised naked, and athletes in the ancient Olympic Games would partici- pate in the nude.

The Duct Tape That Exposed Watergate

Nixon's Watergate operation was blown by a piece of duct tape. DENT OF THE Nixon's man used duct tape on the locks in the Watergate building to prevent doors from locking. Security Guard Frank Wills found one of the doors but thought nothing of it and simply removed the tape. When he later found the same lock had been taped again, he became suspicious and alerted the authorities. CRACKED.COM

Draco of Athens Was Smothered by Gifts

Draco of Athens was smothered by gifts. Draco created the first written laws for Athens, most notable for his generous use of the death penalty. While being honored on stage, people threw so many hats and coats in adoration on his head that he suffocated. CRACKED.COM

Antiphanes’ Prickly (Pear) Death

Antiphanes died when struck by a pear. The writer of the Middle Attic comedy taught us to be on the lookout for any wayward fruits. They are obviously deadly. CRACKED.COM

Shoe the Mare Christmas Dinner Game

In Elizabethan England, they played a weird game after Christmas dinner. It was called shoe the mare, and it involved one person running around barefoot and acting like an unruly horse while everyone else tried to catch them. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM

The World War II Reindeer

A WWII submarine had a reindeer onboard for six weeks. The British sub HMS Trident carried Pollyanna the reindeer, a personal gift from a Soviet iral, back to England. She ate so much food (plus some navigation charts) that she got too big to walk out, and had to be lifted out with a winch (a sailor with a broom helped). CRACKED.COM

Salt Lake City’s Wide Streets

Salt Lake City has the widest streets of any major U.S. city. At 130 feet, they're twice as wide as Manhattan's. CRACKED.COM Brigham Young, the Mormon president who planned the city, chose the wide streets so settlers could turn their cattle around without resorting to profanity.

Mary Todd Lincoln at Lincoln’s Deathbed

Mary Todd Lincoln was not allowed to stay in the room as her husband took his last breath. Why? Edward Stanton, Secretary of War, was furious that Mrs. Lincoln would not stop crying! GRACKED.COM

Coffee Sniffers

Jobs that no longer exist Coffee Sniffers The Kaffeeriecher were a group of 400 people hired in 18th-century Prussia by King Friedrich II to literally sniff out coffee smugglers, like human sniffer dogs. CRACKED

Ornamental Hermits

Jobs that no longer exist Ornamental Hermits In the 18th century, wealthy estate owners in England, Scotland, and Ireland hired people to dress as druids and live in hermitages in their gardens, and were expected to not wash for years. CRACKED

Knocker Uppers

Jobs that no longer exist Knocker Uppers Knocker uppers were a common sight in Britain until the 1970s, waking up workers with long sticks, soft hammers, rattles, and even pea shooters. They were night owls and slept during the day, and had to modify their sticks to make sure they only woke up paying customers. CRACKED

Lice Feeders

Jobs that no longer exist Lice Feeders A WWII lab in Lviv employed Polish intellectuals and resistance fighters as lice feeders, allowing lice to suck their blood in order to study typhus. This lab also served as a safe haven for these individuals, providing a place for them to do their work while the lice fed on their blood. CRACKED

Professional Mourners

Jobs that no longer exist Professional Mourners Victorian professional mourners, known as mutes, were hired by wealthy families to make funerals seem well attended, and were expected to be quiet and somber. CRACKED

Crossing Sweepers

Jobs that no longer exist Crossing Sweepers Sweepers were common in the streets of English cities in the 18th-19th centuries, mainly poor boys who would sweep the path ahead of a wealthy lady in exchange of payment. CRACKED

The Smelly Bull Cryptid

European folklore has a smelly bull cryptid called the Bonnacon. CRACKED.COM This mythological crea- ture is said to have in- ward curling horns that are useless for defense, so it sprays caustic poop from its butt to escape pursuers.

The First Ever Sci-Fi Convention

The first sci-fi convention happened in Victorian England. Edward Bulwer-Lytton's book Vril: The Power of The Coming Race garnered such a following that a five day long Vril-Ya Bazaar and Fête was held in London in 1891. This is considered the very first sci-fi convention, complete with merch booths and cosplayers. GRACKED COM

The Guy With a Famously Long Beard Who Almost Died from It

CRACKED A GUY WITH A FAMOUSLY LONG BEARD ALSO DIED FROM IT. In 16th century Austria, a politician was famous for his long beard - until a house fire broke out one night, and he tripped over the beard and broke his neck trying to get out.

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