During the Black Plague, it was thought that bad smells were the cause of the plague. "Plague Doctors" therefore wore masks with long beak-like noses stuffed with flowers or smoke to hide the smells.
19
In 1799, a boy found a 17lb. rock in a creek in North Carolina and used it as a doorstop. It was actually gold.
34
Tablecloths were originally meant to serve as towels with which guests could wipe their hands and faces after dinner.
78
In Ancient Greece, if a woman watched even one Olympic event, she was executed.
40
No one knows how many people died during the sinking of the Titanic.
11
The oldest stone tools found are dated from 2.7 - 2.9 million years ago. The species that made these tools is unknown.
13
France’s King Louis XIV was offered biological weapons by an Italian chemist. He not only refused, but also paid the chemist an annual salary to never reveal the technology to anyone else.
21
The Titanic was the first ship to use the SOS signal.
149