History Facts

    Random History Facts

    There are 163 History Facts!

    Pierre Jaquet-Droz, a watchmaker, 240 years ago invented a robot that could write, and the parts could be interchanged to say whatever you want.
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    Queen Elizabeth II served as a mechanic and driver in World War 2.
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    The World Trade Center towers used to have two zip codes, 10047-10048, one for each building.
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    Until the nineteenth century, solid blocks of tea were used as money in Siberia.
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    The handbook issued to US soldiers in Britain during WW2 included the line "The British don't know how to make a good cup of coffee. You don't know how to make a good cup of tea. It's an even swap."
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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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    Rocket Mail
    Rocket Mail
    In 1959, the USPS attempted to deliver mail via cruise missile and successfully shipped 3,000 pieces of mail from Virginia to Florida in 22 minutes.
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    In 1518, a "dancing plague" struck Strasbourg, Alsace, whereby hundreds of people danced fervently in the streets over the period of a month. Some suffered heart attacks or strokes, and many others died from sheer exhaustion. It remains unexplained.
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