Random History Facts

    107 facts tagged with History Facts

    Astronomer Percival Lowell believed that he was the first person to observe canals on Venus, but because of a faulty adjustment of the eyepiece on his telescope, he was in fact looking at the blood vessels in his own eye.
    4
    Just before the US started bombing Baghdad, nearly $1 billion dollars was stolen from the Central Bank of Iraq and is now the largest bank robbery in history.
    158
    Nicholas Alkemade
    Nicholas Alkemade
    Nicholas Alkemade, a pilot during World War 2, survived falling 18,000 feet after jumping from a burning Lancaster bomber.
    48
    The oldest glowing lightbulb was first switched on in 1901 and lives in fire stations in Livermore, CA. It is known as the Centennial Light.
    118
    Although Nostradamus died in the middle of 1566, his 1567 almanac was published because he had the foresight to prepare it before his death.
    19
    Vegetarian Gladiators
    Vegetarian Gladiators
    Ancient gladiators were mostly vegetarians whose diet consisted mainly of grains, beans, and dried fruit, washed down with a vinegar and plant ash tonic.
    294
    Candle Clocks
    Candle Clocks
    Before clocks, there were candle clocks that when burned, indicated the passage of periods of time. To set an alarm, you pushed a nail into the desired point and the nail would fall and clank on the metal holder.
    68
    There is a 600 year old 240 paged book called the Voynich Manuscript, that’s written language is still completely unknown today.
    15