Historical Chronicles: Odd and Captivating Trivia From The Past

Explore a variety of odd and captivating trivia curated from historical chronicles that unveil a more whimsical side of history.

“14 years before the Titanic disaster, a novel called “Futility” was published. It described an unsinkable ship, Titan, getting sunk by an ice berg in the Atlantic. Furthermore, it mentions that the ship did not have enough lifeboats to save everybody!”

“King Henry VIII had servants specifically to whipe his ass after he took a dump. These servants eventually got knighted.”

“Due to the cleaning properties of ammonia, which is found in urine, Romans used stale urine as mouth wash. There was such a large market for good urine, that those who sold it even had to pay a tax.”

“In Ancient Asia, some elephants were trained to torture and kill prisoners. They could crush skulls and break specific bones on command.”

“In 2011, scientists confirmed that the rumor that people dipped their handkerchiefs in the blood of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette at their executions was in fact true.”

“English statesman Oliver Cromwell banned the eating of pie back in 1644. Until the ban was lifted in 1660, pie making and eating was an underground pleasure.”

“The sound made by the Krakatoa volcanic eruption in 1883 was so loud it ruptured the eardrums of people 40 miles away, traveled around the world four times, and was clearly heard 3,000 miles away. ”

“A baboon once operated a railway in South Africa for 8 years without making a single mistake.”

“Written accounts of history only started roughly 6,000 years ago. Modern humans first appeared around 200,000 years ago. This means that nearly 97% of all human history has been lost over time.”

“Caesar was the first Roman to invade Britain, and he did it twice. Until then, the vast majority of Romans didn’t believe that Britain even existed.”

“During the Soviet-era rule of the late 20th century, simply mentioning Genghis Khan was a crime against the USSR. ”

“Methods of execution were ruthless throughout French history. Because of this, the guillotine was invented to create “equality in execution.””

“Ancient Egyptians used slabs of stones with a curve cut into them as pillows.”

“The first known artworks date back roughly 100,000 years ago.”

“During World War II, Americans called hamburgers “liberty steaks.” This was because “hamburger” sounded a little too German.”