Tablecloths were originally meant to serve as towels with which guests could wipe their hands and faces after dinner.
78
The original Cinderella was Egyptian and wore fur slippers.
27
Ancient Romans at one time used human urine as an ingredient in their toothpaste.
37
In 1897, Bayer, who is the maker of Aspirin, marketed the drug heroin.
56
After Germany surrendered in WW2, people in Moscow partied until the entire city actually ran out of vodka.
66
The range of a medieval long-bow is 220 yards.
78
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.
19
The flushing toilet was invented in 1596, not by Thomas Crapper as most people think, but by Sir John Harington.
98