Ma Yu Ching’s Bucket Chicken House in Kaifeng, China is considered the world’s oldest operating restaurant, first opening in 1153 AD during the Jing Dynasty.
11
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.
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The word 'mile' is derived from the Latin word for 1,000 - the number of paces it took the average Roman!
6
In 2011, a couple bought a box of textbooks for $10. Inside, they found a 25-cent bill signed by the president of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston, and subsequently sold it for $63,250.
13
Instead of McDonald's tearing down a ~200-year-old Georgian mansion, citizens of a small NY town forced them to renovate it instead, resulting in a uniquely historic franchise location.
7
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
There's a bar in Ireland (presently named Sean’s Bar) that was opened in 900AD.
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