Weird history facts all gathered right here under our history category. Once you have had your fill of history facts head over to our random fact generator to learn more random factoids!
Charles Darwin once made a list of the pros and cons for marriage, the pros included: ‘constant companion and a friend in old age better than a dog anyhow.’ The cons: ‘less money for books’ and ‘terrible loss of time.’ – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2739/2739-h/2739-h.htm
In 1978, rock band Aerosmith paid approximately $4200 to bail out every single fan that was arrested when cops invaded the crowd on a pot bust during one of their concer random fact, random facts, random funny fact, wtf fun fact, funny facts, ts. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/aerosmith-bails-out-fans-after-concert-pot-bust/
Workers constructing Beijing’s Forbidden City created an ice path to carry stones to the site. The path was lubricated with water as the sledges with the stones passed, reducing friction and letting them slide much easier before the water refroze. – WTF Fun Facts
During the Secret War (1959-75) or ‘Laotian Civil War’, the United States flew more than half a million missions over the tiny southeast Asian nation and dropped more bombs than they did on Germany and Japan combined during World War 2. – WTF Fun Facts
The word muscle comes from the Latin musculus meaning little mouse. So called because the shape and movement of some muscles (notably biceps) were thought to resemble mice under cloth. – WTF Fun Facts
In 1959, USPS delivery of mail by rocket took place for the first and last time. The USS Barbero, a submarine, fired an unarmed cruise missile carrying ~3,000 pieces of mail as its payload. It took 22 minutes to arrive to Naval Auxiliary Air State in Mayport. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mail-delivery-rocket-never-took-180963557/
The servant of Philon was an ancient Greek humanoid figure capable of automatically filling a wine cup when placed in its hand. It accomplished its task using a pneumatic system that was very advanced for its time. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: http://kotsanas.com/gb/exh.php?exhibit=0401001
There’s an old Finnish measurement unit called a poronkusema, which translates to “reindeer’s piss”. It describes the distance a reindeer can travel without having to stop to pee which is roughly 7 – 7.5km. – WTF Fun Facts
In 1922, there were a series of riots in New York that lasted 8 days known as the Straw Hat Riot. They started because men were wearing straw hats past the date deemed socially acceptable – 15 September. – WTF Fun Facts
Greek Fire was an incendiary weapon developed by the Byzantines in the 7th century and was impervious to water. It was used on ship to ship combat, as well as in handheld tubes, operating similar to a flamethrower. Its precise chemical composition was a closely held secret that has been lost to history. – WTF Fun Facts
In the 1950’s, the Canadian government developed the ‘fruit machine’ to identify gay men and remove them from their jobs in the civil service, military, and police. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_machine_(homosexuality_test)
In 1963, Winston Churchill was the first foreign national to receive honorary United States citizenship. He also received a passport-like document along with it which was not valid for travel. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.history.com/news/americas-honorary-citizens
Up until 1970, United Airlines had ‘men only’ flights featuring complimentary cigars, cocktails, and a full-course steak dinner in the exclusive company of other men. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://viewfromthewing.com/united-airlines-men-only-executive-service/
Woody Guthrie wrote “This Land is Your Land” as a retort, after he got tired of hearing Kate Smith’s “God Bless America” over and over again. He sarcastically named the song “God Blessed America For Me” before later changing the title. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.npr.org/2000/07/03/1076186/this-land-is-your-land
People didn’t always say ‘hello’ when they answered the phone. When the first regular phone service was established in 1878, Alexander Graham Bell suggested answering the phone with ‘Ahoy!’ – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/05/garden/great-hello-mystery-is-solved.html
Dysentery and chronic diarrhea were so prevalent during the American Civil War that there was an honor code among soldiers: you couldn’t shoot a man while he was defecating. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.thecut.com/2016/06/diarrhea-is-the-wartime-enemy-no-one-mentions.html
Chock Full o’ Nuts coffee was introduced in 1932; but it does not contain nuts. It’s named for a chain of nut stores that the founder converted into coffee shops during the Great Depression. – WTF Fun Facts
When Milton Bradley Company introduced Twister in 1966 as a game of physical skill, it was denounced by their competitors as ‘sex in a box’. It is one of the first games where human bodies are used as playing pieces. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twister_(game)