The site where the Parthenon was built had to be cleared of hundreds of dinosaur bones (then called giants' bones) before construction could begin.
13
The native Americans planted three sisters (corn, beans, and squash) together so that they would benefit each other. The corn provides a structure for the beans to climb. The beans provide the nitrogen to the soil, and the squash spreads along the ground preventing weeds.
30
The University of Oxford (teaching since 1096) predates the Aztec empire (1428 - 1521).
14
After Germany surrendered in WW2, people in Moscow partied until the entire city actually ran out of vodka.
66
Beethoven, was told by a music teacher that he had no talent for music. In fact, this teacher once remarked, “As a composer he is hopeless.”
184
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
In 1987 American Airlines saved $40,000 by eliminating one olive from its First Class salads.
86