There are many historical ‘facts’ that are anything but factual, but the opposite is also true. There are some facts that indeed sound like they are made up.
Sacrilegious Forks
Back in 11th-century Italy, forks were actually consider sacrilegious.
But why were forks offensive to God?
Well, God create humans with fingers, which they use to eat, so they wouldn’t need such a tool, right?
Swearing Parrot
President Andrew Jackson famously own a pet parrot.
When the president died, the animal attend his funeral in 1845.
The parrot start to swear, and mourners were obviously disturb by it.
The bird end up having to be remove from the funeral.
Human Alarm Clocks
Before alarm clocks, people would pay “knocker uppers” to wake them up.
They would do so by using long poles and knocking on people’s windows.
Alternatively, they use pea shooters.
Pope Gregory IX deemed Cats Evil
In 1232, Pope Gregory IX wrote a letter call as Vox in Rama (“A Voice in Rama”) to the king of Germany expressing his concerns about witches in Germany, whose rituals include cats.
Mass killings of cats reportedly follow.
Really, cats (black ones in particular) have demonize ever since.
But the report cat killings may have contribute to the proliferation of rats, which consequently help spread the plague.
Mary Shelley kept her Dead Husband’s Heart
The English novelist, best known for writing the Gothic novel ‘Frankenstein,’ actually kept the heart of her dead husband in a box in her desk.
Shelley’s husband, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, drown in a boating accident when he was 29.
Romans would Use Urine as Mouthwash
The Romans had some dubious practices, but using urine for dental hygiene is pretty out there even for them.
Urine is rich in ammonia, which has stain-removing properties.
Peter the Great made his Cheating Wife Feel Guilty Every Day
Peter the Great’s wife, Catherine, cheated on him with Willem Mons.
So Peter the Great not only killed him, but found a creepy way to remind his wife of her adultery.
Peter the Great decapitate his wife’s lover, put his head in a jar, and place it in Catherine’s bedroom as a reminder of her affair.
Mary Had a Little Lamb’ is based on a true story
The real person was call as Mary Sawyer, and indeed she took a little lamb to school in 1816.
A young man name John Roulstone witness Mary sneaking the lamb into school and wrote a poem about it.
He then gave it to Mary.
Toilet Meetings
US President Lyndon B. Johnson was said to have conduct meetings on the toilet.
He had a telephone install in the White House bathroom so he could work while sitting on the toilet.
Albert Einstein could have President of Israel
When Israeli president Chaim Weizmann died in 1952, Albert Einstein was offer the position.
The idea came from then-Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.
Einstein eventually refuse, but it makes us wonder what would have happen if he had accept the role.
A Double Agent was Awarded by both the Allies and Axis Powers
Spanish spy Juan Pujol García work as a double agent for both the British and the Nazis during World War II.
García went on to be award the highest honor of service from both sides: the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross by the Nazis, and the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Heroin was Use to Treat Children’s Cough
In the 1890s, heroin was commercialize by the German pharmaceutical company Bayer as a cough remedy.
In fact, the company specifically advertise its use for children up until 1912.
Raising of Chicago
Chicago suffer from numerous sewage and draining problems during the 19th century.
So it was decide that the city level should be raise.
Chicago streets and buildings were actually physically raise by over four feet (1.2 meter) on jackscrews during the 1850s and ’60s.
Woolly Mammoths were still around when the Pyramids were built
We often associate these animals with the Ice Age, but the last ones died as late as 1650 BCE.
Which means that they were still around when the Egyptians were building the pyramids.
Presumably, when the last mammoth died ,the Great Pyramid of Giza had already exist for a millennium.
Sources: (Reader’s Digest) (History of Yesterday)