History Facts

107 facts tagged with History Facts

1054 AD Supernova

In the year 1054 AD, there was an explosion in the sky so bright that it was visible for 23 days straight, even during the day.

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Knocker-Up

Until the 1920s, there was a profession called 'knocker-up', which involved going from client to client and tapping on their windows (or banging on their doors) with long sticks until they woke up.

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Roman Farting Edict

After hearing of a man who almost died from holding in farts whilst dining, Emperor Claudius is said to have proclaimed an edict that allowed Romans to fart at the dinner table.

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Voltaire's Last Words

When Voltaire was asked to renounce Satan on his deathbed, his last words were: "This is no time for making new enemies."

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Most Children

The most children birthed by ONE mother was 69 children over 27 pregnancies: 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets. This was in Russia, in the 1700s.

35

Japanese Holdout

After World War 2 ended in 1945, a Japanese officer named Hiroo Onoda didn't surrender and continued the war for 29 years because he didn't know that Japan had surrendered and the war was over.

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Yucatán Name

The Mexican state of Yucatán was named so after a misunderstanding when the Spaniards arrived and asked the locals what they called the place. The locals replied "Yucatan" which means "I don’t understand you" in their native tongue.

35

Moustache Tea Cups

In the Victorian era, they had special tea cups that protected your moustache from getting dunked in your tea.

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