History can be fascinating, and what you are about to read are all those facts that should have made it into our textbooks because, even though they are pretty unconventional, they are awesome and totally happened!
1. The Leaning Tower of Pisa started tilting from the beginning of its construction! It leaned as soon as they started building the second floor due to one side sinking into soft ground.
2. In 1952, Albert Einstein was offered the position of President of Israel. He declined because he thought he lacked aptitude and experience to deal with people.
3. King Tut’s parents were siblings! – Researchers even blame their connection for the pharaoh’s bad health.
4. Karl Marx contributed as a correspondent for the New York Daily Tribune.
5. Roman Emperor Gaius, also know as Caligula, made his beloved horse a senator.
6. A bloodless conflict between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly is recorded as the longest war ever existed. It lasted from 1651 to 1986.
7. Back in the 19th century, cocaine and heroin were prescribed by doctors to cure common illnesses.
8. In 1233, Pope Gregory IX exterminated all cats because he thought they were related to evil; without cats, rats spread the plague immediately and killed hundreds of millions.
9. At his Cambridge dorm room, Lord Byron kept a pet bear.
10. Pius II wrote The Tale of Two Lovers, an erotic novel before he became pope.
11. In 1838, Mexican general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna held a military funeral for the amputated leg he lost by a cannon ball.
12. The shortest war recorded was between England and Zanzibar in 1896. It lasted 38 minutes.
13. U.S. President Ronald Reagan was a lifeguard back in high school. He actually saved around 77 lives.
I wish my high school history teacher could read this post!
You can find some other facts on Boredom Therapy.
Featured Image via Giphy
