The flushing toilet was invented in 1596, not by Thomas Crapper as most people think, but by Sir John Harington.
98
In the 1830s, a Greek prime minister tried to spread the potato in Greece but people weren't interested so he put armed guards in front of shipments of potatoes so people would think they were important. People then started stealing these potatoes so much that the crop spread to all of Greece.
29
Although Nostradamus died in the middle of 1566, his 1567 almanac was published because he had the foresight to prepare it before his death.
19
In the great fire of London, in 1666, half of London was burnt down but only 6 people were injured.
78
In medieval Italy, if a man was caught kissing a woman in public, he had to marry her whether he liked it or not.
456
Genghis Khan exempted the poor and clergy from taxes, encouraged literacy, and established free religion, leading many peoples to join his empire before they were even conquered.
28
The first ever patent in the UK was Aaron Rathbone & Roger Burges, Map makers in 1618!
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