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.
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Traces of cocaine were found on 99% of UK bank notes in a survey in London in 2000.
142
Leonardo da Vinci was dyslexic, and he often wrote backwards.
77
A female photographer in the 50s took tens of thousands of pictures and remained remained unknown until her death. She is now considered one of the most important street photographers ever.
20
In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.
130
The Taj Mahal took 20 years and 20 thousand men to finish!
83
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 University of Oxford (teaching since 1096) predates the Aztec empire (1428 - 1521).
14