To take an oath, ancient Romans put a hand on their testicles
426
In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.
130
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
Scientists are excavating the ruins of a major civilization which pre-dates both the pyramids and Stonehenge by over 7,000 years. In 15 years, they have uncovered only about 5% of the site.
21
The ancient Egyptians thought the function of the brain was to produce snot.
16
There was a bear called Wojtek who was adopted by Polish soldiers during WW2. It carried ammunition, wrestled with soldiers, and drank beer.
40
Pineapples were such a status symbol in 18th century England that you could rent one for the evening to take to a party.
25
Leonardo Da Vinci loved animals so much that he used to buy caged animals at the market just to set them free.
57