The Ancient Romans used powdered mouse brains for toothpaste. They flavored it with charcoal and bark. – WTF Fun Facts
History
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!
WTF Fun Fact – GE Terrible TV
GE is to blame for your elders warning you not to sit too close to the TV. In 1967, they manufactured a color TV which emitted excessive radiation due to a “factory error”. GE fixed the problem going forward by putting a leaded glass shield around the tubes. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Hitler’s Nephew Knew
In 1939, Adolf Hitler’s nephew wrote an article that was published in Look Magazine called “Why I Hate My Uncle.” – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://boingboing.net/2017/04/28/why-i-hate-my-uncle-by-wi.html
WTF Fun Fact – Secret Cave In Gibraltar
Operation Tracer was a secret backup plan in case the Axis ever captured Gibraltar during WWII. Six men would be sealed in a secret cave overlooking the harbor and report back enemy movements. There was enough supplies to last for 7 years. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Korean Folktales
Instead of “Once upon a time,” many Korean folktales begin with “Back when tigers used to smoke…” – WTF Fun Facts
Source: http://folklore.usc.edu/?p=19796
WTF Fun Fact – Prehistory or History
History and prehistory are marked by the invention of records. Anything before written record is ‘prehistory’, any records are in ‘history’. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Buy Your Own Rifle
After initially being declined by the government, Civil War commander John .T Wilder and his soldiers took out personal loans to purchase Spencer repeating rifles at $35 each. The government eventually paid for the rifles to avoid embarrassment. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Helium Discovered
Helium (He) is the only element on the periodic table that was not discovered on Earth. It was found when analyzing the sun’s spectrum, hence its name which comes from the Greek god of the sun Helios. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Persian Decision Making
If the Ancient Persians decided something while drunk, they had a rule to reconsider it when sober. If they made a decision sober, they would reconsider it while drunk. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Square Beer Bottle
After visiting the Caribbean and seeing beer bottles littered all over the beaches in 1963, Alfred Heineken created a square beer bottle that could double as a brick to build homes in impoverished countries. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-heineken-bottles-were-square-62138490/
WTF Fact – Deceased In Space
There are only 3 human beings that have died outside Earth’s atmosphere. They are the three cosmonauts who died aboard the Soyuz 11 in 1971. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2018/07/23/only_three_humans_have_died_in_space_the_story_of_soyuz_11.html
WTF Fun Fact – Original American Sniper
Carlos “White Feather” Hathcock was a legendary Vietnam War sniper who crawled for 3 days across 2000m of open field, killed a general with one shot, and then crawled back. He had over 93 confirmed kills, one from over 2500 yards away. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.military.com/marine-corps-birthday/carlos-hathcock-famous-marine-corps-sniper.html
WTF Fun Fact – Middle Finger
The middle finger has been used as a derogatory gesture for at least 2400 years, appearing in ancient Greek and Roman texts. Its usage in the US is documented as early as 1886 and was likely brought over by Italian immigrants. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16916263
WTF Fun Fact – Head-shaping
Ancient people in China practiced human head-shaping about 12,000 years ago. They bound growing children’s skulls in order to create a more elongated and oval shape. The reasoning and purpose of this practice is still unknown. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.livescience.com/65901-china-oldest-skull-shaping.html
WTF Fun Fact – Firework Origins
The first fireworks were created as a result of the ancient Chinese’s quest for immortality. In early-ninth-century China, alchemy was practiced in order to produce a substance that would prolong life. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.livescience.com/65870-fireworks-immortality-search.html
Fun Word Fact – Decimate
The term decimate’s original definition was “to kill one in 10”. The practice was used by the Roman army in the fifth century BC as a way to inspire fear and loyalty. If any of a cohort’s soldiers acted cowardly or deserted, then lots were drawn and one unlucky soldier out of every 10 in that cohort would be killed by their own comrades. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimation_(Roman_army)
Fun Fact – The Raven Sold For Cheap
Before Edgar Allen Poe sold his poem The Raven for $9, or roughly $300 in today’s dollars, to The American Review, the owner of Graham’s Magazine gifted him $15 after turning Poe down because he thought the poem was a cry for help. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/10/28/priority-edgar-allan-poes-poem-raven-rejected-one-magazine-eventually-sold-9/
WTF Fun Fact – Rogue WWII Spy
Juan Pujol García was a rogue spy during WWII. Britain’s MI5 declined his offer to be their spy and he went and spied on Germany anyways as a double agent. He lived in Lisbon and made up an elaborate network of fictional agents and reports based on tourist guides and other public sources. He is one of the only people to be awarded a medal by both the Axis and Allies. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Pujol_Garc%C3%ADa