Even if you think you have a decent grasp on the past, chances are that you are still a little off here and there. Fortunately, through the vast resources of the internet, one can sit down and fill in the many, many gaps in their knowledge.
Someone asked “What’s a historical fact that would shock most people to find out?” and people shared their best examples. We also got in touch with archaeologist Ari Akkermans to learn more about how we see the past. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and share your thoughts in the comments below.
Someone asked “What’s a historical fact that would shock most people to find out?” and people shared their best examples. We also got in touch with archaeologist Ari Akkermans to learn more about how we see the past. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and share your thoughts in the comments below.
#41
The United States government intentionally poisoned 10,000 people by spiking the alcohol they drank during prohibition.
Report
60points
#42
George Washington’s dentures were not wooden, but were crafted from various materials, animal teeth, and the teeth of enslaved people.
Report
59points
#43
Constantinople, and thus, the Roman Empire, fell in 1453.
There is a 16th Century Spanish explorer named Juan de Fuca who is credited with exploring the strait that borders Vancouver Island, Canada, and Washington, USA (now called Juan de Fuca Strait).
Juan de Fuca is a Hispanicization of the Greek name Ioannis Phokas. His grandfather fled Constantinople and his family eventually ended up Spain.
This means an actual descendent of the Roman Empire was exploring North America.
Report
56points
#44
The third most deadly war in history (after the 2 world wars) was in China from 1850 to 1864. It was started by a cult leader who believed he was the younger brother of Jesus. He and his followers sought to overthrow the Emperor and set up a quasi-Christian theocracy. In the end the rebellion left 10% of China's population dead.
Edit: And of course fun fact- the leader of the Imperial forces was General Tso who later got a chicken dish named after him.
Report
54points
#46
There is no such date as September 3, 1752. Because of the conversion from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in England and its colonies, September 2, 1752 was followed by September 14, 1752.
There was also no such thing as any date between January 1, 1751, and March 24, 1751. Prior to 1751, the first day of the new year was March 25. Parliament changed that to January 1. As a part of that transition, March 24, 1750 was followed by March 25, 1751, but December 31, 1751 was followed by January 1, 1752.
Report
49points
#47
During World War II, the United States military developed a plan to use bats as bombs. The idea was to attach small incendiary devices to bats and release them over Japanese cities at night. The bats would then roost in buildings, and when the devices detonated, they would start fires, causing chaos and destruction. While the project, known as "Project X-Ray," never saw combat, it's a bizarre example of the lengths to which military strategists were willing to go during the war.
Report
47points
#48
There was only one monogamous emperor in Chinese history, the Hongzhi emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He apparently invented the toothbrush to impress his wife.
I think when most people think harem they think of a couple of hundred women, but ancient Chinese harems could get *crazy.* There was one emperor in the Tang dynasty who had like 40,000 concubines. A lot of lower ranking concubines never had sex with their emperor and never even saw him. I heard that Wu Zetian (only female emperor) had like 5,000 male lovers and it drove the traditional nobleman insane but I can't find any sources for that lol.
Report
44points
#49
Siaka Stevens was technically both the shortest and longest serving leader of Sierra Leone.
He was an opposition leader that won an extremely close election, and the ruling party that had been ruling the country since independence didn’t want to lose their power, so they planned to arrest him just before he could take the oath of office, but things didn’t go exactly to plan and he ended up being removed from office a little while after taking the oath of office, meaning he was technically president for a little less than an hour before being removed from office.
However, there was a counter coup a few months later and Siaka Stevens was brought back into power. During his time in office, Stevens became increasingly authoritarian and eventually established a one party state, ruling the country for 17 years.
Report
40points
