We wanted to find out about the historical facts that surprised you.
Ancient Antarctica Was a Rainforest
“[It was] a lush and verdant paradise filled with flora and fauna. There was a continent of animals who lived [there] that we’ll never know about (as their remains are locked beneath miles of ice).
Antarctica [was] only fully frozen over about 35 million years ago, despite breaking from its supercontinent ~ 180 million years ago.”
Lighters Predate Strike Matches
“More of a fun one, but lighters predate strike matches by a couple of centuries. They originated from repurposed flintlock pistols that ignited tinder [that was] shoved in the barrel that was set aflame by the trigger mechanism.”
This is Very High
“Old Norse runes were found carved up like 20 feet in a cave – when they were translated, they just said, ‘this is very high’. God, I love people.”
Pompeii Art
“When I went to Pompeii, there were men’s parts carved into the stone everywhere.”
“I was amazed by the amount of men’s parts everywhere. It was like being in high school again.”
They’re Still Finding Cities
As in, ancient city ruins from former tribes across the world.
“A few years ago, they found proof the Inca empire population ranged from 15 to 20 million people just on the fact they found more Inca cities.”
Egyptian Pyramids Were Sparkling White
“With a golden top!”
“We obviously didn’t know because they only had black and white photography then.”
NASA’s Discovery
“I learned that NASA had discovered over 100 billion galaxies. We are so incredibly small within the universe. It puts into perspective that our entire solar system is only about the size of a coin compared to our galaxy, which in relation would be the size of the United States.”
The Real Reason Chainsaws Were Invented
“Before C-sections, if a baby were too large to pass through the birth canal, parts of the pelvis would be removed. At first, the procedure was performed with a small knife which was very messy and painful. In 1780, two doctors invented the chainsaw to make it both easier and less time-consuming.”
The Harsh Reality of Victorian London
“Victorian-era London was a terrible place to be alive as a member of the working class. The water is undrinkable, and children’s expected working hours were 12 to 18 a day starting at 4 yrs old. By those standards, a lot of us would look like royalty to them.”
Slavery in Rome
There are many unpleasantries about Ancient Rome, but this one stands out.
“A not-so-fun fact about slavery in Rome is that if you were too poor to buy a slave, you could go to the dump and get a baby that somebody discarded and raise it as a slave.”
Oxford University’s Age
“That Oxford University is older than the Aztec empire. I thought Aztecs and Incas were the equivalent of our stone age but that’s just how they’re presented to the Western world. Of course, putting two and two together that they were around when Europe invaded it makes sense.”
95% of Our Species’ History is Lost Forever
“For some reason, that’s the fact that bothers me the most. Can you imagine how much about our past we’ll never be able to recover? How much knowledge, civilizations, traditions, technologies we’ll never know even existed.”
There Actually Isn’t a Place Called Kokomo
“The Beach Boys made up Kokomo and that it is not a tropical Caribbean island.”
“Why did they lie to us like this?!”
Mammoths Traipsed Past The Pyramids
“When the pyramids were being built, mammoths were walking the earth. Woolly mammoths lived there until 1700 BC. The Great Pyramid was completed around 2560 BC.”
Native-American Deaths
“95% of native people before Columbus died of diseases brought by explorers. That’s 19 of 20 people for two continents.”
“That’s why Turtle Island seemed so ‘fertile’ and welcoming to those first colonizers: they were discovering foraging grounds and living sites whose owners had died from European disease.”
The Middle East’s Scholarly History
“The Middle East was once the center of knowledge and learning, particularly Baghdad. As well as the amazing extent and advanced civilizations in South and Central America prior to the 1500s.”
“Yep, Islamic golden age. They were performing surgery with anesthesia at the same time European doctors were sticking a bit of wood in your mouth and promising to try to be fast.”
Pigeons Weren’t Always Considered Vermin
“We domesticated pigeons thousands of years ago and then decided we didn’t want them anymore.
People treat them like vermin after we relied on them for so much (food, messengers, etc)
The pigeons you see in your cities are not wild, they’re abandoned.”
Empire State Building Landing Strip
“The top spire of the Empire State Building was designed for docking blimps.”
“And the survival rate of the Hindenburg disaster was surprisingly high. The last survivor actually just died a few years ago.”
Closed Borders During WW2
“During WW2, all the other countries did not help the Jews escape from Nazi Germany, but on the contrary, closed their borders! They were denied at a number of ports until they finally had to return to Denmark, which was under Nazi occupation. They could have let those Jews in Cuba or Florida, etc.”
The Texas Revolution
“I’m from Texas, born and raised. I found out within the past few years that the Texas Revolution was mainly due to Mexico outlawing slavery and Texas… not wanting to do that. So everyone at the Alamo essentially died to preserve slavery.”
Slavery in the USA
“I grew up thinking that something like 50-75% of white Americans owned slaves during the 1700s/1800s. My mind was kind of blown when I learned that it was closer to 1-3%.
25% of white families in the South likely owned a slave. That number is closer to 45-50% in a few southern states. However, I was speaking about all Americans and not just Southerners.”
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16 ACTIONS THAT TURN MEN AWAY – THE MOST UNATTRACTIVE THINGS WOMEN CAN DO, AS REVEALED BY MEN
If you are a woman on the lookout for the perfect man, you may want to check out this list of 16 things that men find unattractive in women. The list is compiled from a recent online forum in which men discussed what turned them off when it came to women.
16 ACTIONS THAT TURN MEN AWAY – THE MOST UNATTRACTIVE THINGS WOMEN CAN DO, AS REVEALED BY MEN
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HIDDEN HUMILITY: 10 HINTS THAT SOMEONE IS WEALTHIER THAN THEY APPEAR
19 PRODUCTS MARKETED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY TO STUPID PEOPLE
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19 PRODUCTS MARKETED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY TO STUPID PEOPLE