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.
19
Romans used a plant called Silphium as contraception. They had so much sex that they drove it into extinction.
24
The U.S. motto, 'In God We Trust', was not adopted as the national slogan until 1956.
72
Approximately 25,000 workers died during the building of the Panama Canal, and approximately 20,000 of them contracted malaria and yellow fever.
14
Contrary to popular belief, the first ironclad warships were built by Korea in the 16th century.
14
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
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
The University of Oxford (teaching since 1096) predates the Aztec empire (1428 - 1521).
14