Depending on how closely you paid attention during history class, you might be a treasure trove of historical facts, or you might know almost nothing about the past. But even if you remember every single story that your teachers ever told you, there are hundreds more that you may not have heard.
And if you’re interested in expanding your knowledge about the past, we’ve got a list of fascinating yet often overlooked stories right here. History buffs on Reddit have been sharing tidbits of information that sound too wild to be true, so we’ve compiled our favorites below. Enjoy reading through these tales full of fun facts to share with friends, and be sure to upvote the stories that prove that reality really is stranger than fiction!
#61
Historians mistakenly believed that there had been a pope named John between antipope Boniface VII and the true John XV. Therefore, they mistakenly numbered the real popes John XV to XIX as John XVI to XX. These popes have since customarily been renumbered XV to XIX, but John XXI through John XXIII continue to bear numbers that they themselves formally adopted on the assumption that there had indeed been 20 Johns before them. As a result, there was never a pope by the name of John XX.
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5points
#62
The Sea Peoples. I am totally fascinated by them, I am currently reading 1177 B.C The Year Civilization Collapsed by E.H Cline. It focuses on Egypt, who really was the only civilization to withstand the Sea People.
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4points
#63
A footnote in history but a classic one that I always enjoyed: LBJ had several Hilarious and inappropriate ways of interacting with others. He would constantly insist that colleagues go skinny dipping with him, as a way to gage their temperament and occasionally to negotiate deals. He would brag about the size of Johnson and make people few inferior if they couldn't measure up. He also would having meetings in the toilet with the door open, taking a dump and dictating his will. He also had a car that turned Into a boat and would drink unsuspecting passengers into the water making them think they were in mortal danger.
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4points
#64
One of my favorites is the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812, just the sheer blinding luck that happened on that day toward the American defenders would almost make you think that it was written for a Hollywood movie. The defenders had to enlist everyone from businessmen, farmers, and pirates, yes I said pirates, to help protect New Orleans. Also there were so few firearms to go around that only the defenders at the earthworks were allowed to carry them and everyone else was forced to carry basically anything they could, pitchforks, scythes, hunting knives or crude carved wooden spears. And arrayed against the defenders were one of the most professional and experienced armies the world had ever seen.
The British were fresh off of the Napoleonic War where the learned bloody lessons in war that they would surely be able to use against the Americans. Unfortunately there were just a ridiculous series of events that would almost be comical except for the fact that it happened in a time of war where men died in droves. The British chose to attack New Orleans because if you could control New Orleans you controlled the outflow of the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico and thereby the rest of the world.
Unfortunately for them the year of 1812 was basically the coldest year on record for Louisiana to that date and the British lost some of their Caribbean conscripts to desertion because of the cold. Next came the unfortunate choice of landing ground but to be fair they had limited options given the terrain of the region and the size of the ships the British needed to bring all of their troops and equipment for the battle. So they had to land in a semi-solid swamp, i.e. mostly mud, which meant that many of the heavier tools of war like their cannons were stuck in the mud or left on the ships after discovering how much mud they had to move through. Next came the fact that the Americans knew they were coming and were able to choose the location of the battle beforehand and were able to prepare the field with a hastily created earthworks "fort" and a cannon armed firing position set up across the river with a field of fire directly on the field where the British would have to attack from.
This particular position was amazingly lucky as they avoided detection until they began firing on the British at which time the British formed a detachment and sent it across the river to attack the cannons, unfortunately they had to row against the flow of the Mississippi and were unable to land anywhere near the enemy position thereby giving them more firing time. By the time the British attacked the cannon emplacement the Americans were out of ammunition of which they had little to begin with and immediately retreated allowing their position to be taken. All the while the British were attacking the defenders on the other side of the river.
The British had numerical advantage, more and better equipment for their soldiers and more importantly they were trained and battlefield experienced whereas most of the defenders were white and blue collar workers. The next unfortunate mishap for the British was that they for whatever reason had forgotten their siege ladders on the ships, meaning they had no easy way to scale the earthworks meaning that they took massive casualties and were unable to take the "wall". Also at this same time the Americans with rifles were ordered to target any officer they could in an attempt to breakup the enemies' cohesion which worked better than it had any right to.
As the higher ranks were decimated: Generals, Colonles, Captains, Lieutenants and in some cases even Sergeants from any given formation were [unalived] leaving the remaining men to fall back on their training which was to wait for orders and in these cases entire formations were slaughtered as they stood waiting for orders. This battle couldn't have gone any worse for the British, they had every advantage and honestly there was no logical reason for anyone involved on either side to expect that the British wouldn't win this battle. The defenders were simply trying to do the impossible because to do nothing was unacceptable to them. Now I'm an American but even I don't think we had any right to win that battle, it's one of the reasons I find it so fascinating.
The British were fresh off of the Napoleonic War where the learned bloody lessons in war that they would surely be able to use against the Americans. Unfortunately there were just a ridiculous series of events that would almost be comical except for the fact that it happened in a time of war where men died in droves. The British chose to attack New Orleans because if you could control New Orleans you controlled the outflow of the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico and thereby the rest of the world.
Unfortunately for them the year of 1812 was basically the coldest year on record for Louisiana to that date and the British lost some of their Caribbean conscripts to desertion because of the cold. Next came the unfortunate choice of landing ground but to be fair they had limited options given the terrain of the region and the size of the ships the British needed to bring all of their troops and equipment for the battle. So they had to land in a semi-solid swamp, i.e. mostly mud, which meant that many of the heavier tools of war like their cannons were stuck in the mud or left on the ships after discovering how much mud they had to move through. Next came the fact that the Americans knew they were coming and were able to choose the location of the battle beforehand and were able to prepare the field with a hastily created earthworks "fort" and a cannon armed firing position set up across the river with a field of fire directly on the field where the British would have to attack from.
This particular position was amazingly lucky as they avoided detection until they began firing on the British at which time the British formed a detachment and sent it across the river to attack the cannons, unfortunately they had to row against the flow of the Mississippi and were unable to land anywhere near the enemy position thereby giving them more firing time. By the time the British attacked the cannon emplacement the Americans were out of ammunition of which they had little to begin with and immediately retreated allowing their position to be taken. All the while the British were attacking the defenders on the other side of the river.
The British had numerical advantage, more and better equipment for their soldiers and more importantly they were trained and battlefield experienced whereas most of the defenders were white and blue collar workers. The next unfortunate mishap for the British was that they for whatever reason had forgotten their siege ladders on the ships, meaning they had no easy way to scale the earthworks meaning that they took massive casualties and were unable to take the "wall". Also at this same time the Americans with rifles were ordered to target any officer they could in an attempt to breakup the enemies' cohesion which worked better than it had any right to.
As the higher ranks were decimated: Generals, Colonles, Captains, Lieutenants and in some cases even Sergeants from any given formation were [unalived] leaving the remaining men to fall back on their training which was to wait for orders and in these cases entire formations were slaughtered as they stood waiting for orders. This battle couldn't have gone any worse for the British, they had every advantage and honestly there was no logical reason for anyone involved on either side to expect that the British wouldn't win this battle. The defenders were simply trying to do the impossible because to do nothing was unacceptable to them. Now I'm an American but even I don't think we had any right to win that battle, it's one of the reasons I find it so fascinating.
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3points
#65
Attila the Hun had a son named Erp.
He also left this son absolutely nothing (dividing his kingdom between three other sons).
So he got no inheritance, and a hysterical name.
He also left this son absolutely nothing (dividing his kingdom between three other sons).
So he got no inheritance, and a hysterical name.
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3points
#66
In the events leading up to the Meiji Restoration in Japan (1860s), a man named Takasugi Shinsaku formed one of the first armies consisting of soldiers from all classes of society - until then only members of the Samurai class could fight. There was one unit made up of Sumo wrestlers, and I just think that's pretty cool.
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3points
#67
This is better known after the success of Hamilton, but Alexander Hamilton was hella gay for John Laurens (allegedly) to the point where one of his descendants hacked up parts of their letters.
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3points
#68
Disagree with me if you like but I think WWI gets way overlooked (in the USA at least). I think it's because WWII was a conflict with much more American involvement and a clearer cut version of "good versus evil." I'm not trying to say it's a popularity contest or talk down any importance of any events in either. But I will say I think WWI and it's plethora of technological advancements gets a little less press.
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2points
#69
George Washington's bar tab.
It was a farewell celebration in his honor. The site mentions the number of guests as well as what alcohol was stocked. You think that night you went clubbing and puked on a bouncer was "partying hard?" George Washington and his buddies would've laid us all under the table.
It was a farewell celebration in his honor. The site mentions the number of guests as well as what alcohol was stocked. You think that night you went clubbing and puked on a bouncer was "partying hard?" George Washington and his buddies would've laid us all under the table.
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1point
#70
Pretty much all of African history except Mandela's fight against apartheid and the history of Egypt. I barely know anything about it, but it boggles my mind how many people dismiss the idea of African civilizations and all that jazz. A lot of people still have bad misconceptions about Africa such that there was barely any civilization and it being a haven for barbarism (what does that even mean btw?).
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1point
#71
In 1800 Robert Fulton invented the torpedo which actually just floated, because nothing could propel it.
A year later in 1801 he invented the steam boat.
I'm guessing so he'd have something to sink.
A year later in 1801 he invented the steam boat.
I'm guessing so he'd have something to sink.
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1point
#72
I thoroughly enjoyed hearing how Kamikaze pilots would crash into things to damage them. However, this wasn't as effective as they thought. Unfortunately and hilariously, the ironic problem was that nobody was able to go back and report that it wasn't working that great.
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0points
#73
Europeans may know but as an American, I found out the royal family is actually German in music history in my 2nd year of college.
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0points
#74
The Toledo War - a border dispute between Michigan and Ohio that almost broke out into armed conflict between the states' militias. Ever wonder why Michigan has the "upper peninsula" when it logically should be part of Wisconsin? The Toledo War is why.
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-1point
