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
Al Capone's armored limousine, after being seized by the feds, was later used to protect Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), 32nd President of the US, after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
20
Rio de Janeiro was once capital of Portugal, making it the only European capital outside of Europe.
9
Leonardo Da Vinci predicted the mass use of solar energy as long ago as 1447.
153
The University of Oxford (teaching since 1096) predates the Aztec empire (1428 - 1521).
14