Did You Know?
The shortest war in history was fought between Zanzibar and England in 1896. The war lasted only 38 minutes before Zanzibar surrendered.
The longest reigning monarch in history was Pepi II, who ruled Egypt for 90 years, 2566 to 2476 BC.
Many men who acted as guards along the Great Wall of China in the Middle Ages spent their whole lives there. They were born there, raised there, they married there, died there, and were even buried within the wall.
Ancient Romans at one time used human urine as an ingredient in their toothpaste.
The first bomb dropped on Germany in World War II, killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
In Ancient Greece, if a woman watched even one Olympic event, she was executed.
Attila the Hun bled to death from a nosebleed on his wedding night.
In ancient Rome, it was considered a sign of leadership to be born with a crooked nose.
The flu killed over 20 million people in Spain from 1918 to 1919.
Julius Caesar wore a laurel wreath to cover the onset of baldness.
Roman Emperor Caligula was so upset by the death of his sister Drusila that he imposed a year of mourning. During this time, everyone in the empire was forbidden to dine with his family, laugh or take a bath. The penalty for transgression was death.
When Albert Einstein died, his last words died with him. The nurse close to him did not understand German.
People have been wearing glasses for about 700 years.
Coffee is the second largest item of international commerce in the world. The largest is petrol.
In 200 BC, when the Greek city of Sparta was at the height of its power there were 20 slaves for every citizen. Great news if you were free, not such good news for the slaves.
Ancient Egyptians used slabs of stones as pillows.
In Ancient Egypt, cats were considered sacred. When a family pet cat died, the entire family would shave off their eyebrows and remain in mourning until they had grown back.
Peter the Great executed his wife's lover, and forced her to keep her lover's head in a jar of alcohol in her bedroom.
Abraham Lincoln was shot with a Derringer.
During the reign of Elizabeth I, there was a tax put on men's beards.
February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
Marie Currie, who twice won the Nobel Prize, and discovered radium, was not allowed to become a member of the prestigious French Academy because she was a woman.
Christmas didn't become a national holiday in the USA until 1890.
Atilla the Hun is thought to have been a dwarf.
One of Queen Victoria's wedding gifts was a 3 metre diameter, half tonne cheese.