History Facts

    Random History Facts

    There are 163 History Facts!

    Napoleon constructed his battle plans in a sandbox.
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    Candle Clocks
    Candle Clocks
    Before clocks, there were candle clocks that when burned, indicated the passage of periods of time. To set an alarm, you pushed a nail into the desired point and the nail would fall and clank on the metal holder.
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    Picasso’s full name: Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso.
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    Approximately 40% of the U.S. paper currency in circulation was counterfeit by the end of the Civil War.
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    If Earth's history was condensed into twenty-four hours, life would've appeared at around 4am, land plants at 10:24pm, dinosaur extinction at 11:41pm, and human history would’ve began at 11:58:43pm.
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    During the Gold Rush in 1849, some people paid as much as $100 for a glass of water!
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    Capt. Robert Campbell
    Capt. Robert Campbell
    Capt. Robert Campbell, a British officer captured during World War I, was granted leave to visit his dying mother on one condition - that he return to captivity. He kept his word and returned, only to try escaping as soon as he returned.
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    Knocker-Up
    Knocker-Up
    Until the 1920s, there was a profession called 'knocker-up', which involved going from client to client and tapping on their windows (or banging on their doors) with long sticks until they woke up.
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