Rio de Janeiro was once capital of Portugal, making it the only European capital outside of Europe.
9
Napoleon Bonaparte thought torture should be abolished because the information obtained from it is worthless.
25
Alligator snapping turtles can live for over 150 years. Scientists know this because some of the turtles had musket balls in their stomachs.
271
Ancient Greeks believed that redheads turned into vampires after they died.
40
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
Chunosuke Matsuyama, a Japanese Seaman, sent a message in a bottle in 1784 that his ship had wrecked. It washed up in 1935 in the village where he was born.
15