History world and US Bizzare Facts - Page 5

Bizarre Fact #201:
Did you know...
On June 13th 1944, a single Tiger tank headed by Captain Michael Wittman stopped the advance of the entire British 7th armored division (the famous 'desert rats') in the town of Villers Bocage, Normandy. This has been the deadliest single action in the entire war and stopped the British offensive, planned by Montgomery, to break through German lines. Wittman died later in August fighting against 12 Canadian Sherman tanks.

Bizarre Fact #202:
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On June 8, 1959, in a move a postal official heralded as "of historic significance to the peoples of the entire world," the Navy submarine U.S.S. Barbero fired a guided missile carrying 3,000 letters at the Naval Auxiliary Air Station in Mayport, Florida. "Before man reaches the moon," the official was quoted as saying, "mail will be delivered within hours from New York to California, to Britain, to India or Australia by guided missiles." History proved differently, but this experiment with missile mail exemplifies the pioneering spirit of the Post Office Department when it came to developing faster, better ways of moving the mail.... however, they don't mention if the 3,000 letters were ever delivered.

Bizarre Fact #203:
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On November 29, 1941, the program for the annual Army-Navy football game carried a picture of the Battleship Arizona, captioned: "It is significant that despite the claims of air enthusiasts no battleship has yet been sunk by bombs." Today you can visit the site—now a shrine—where Japanese dive bombers sunk the Arizona at Pearl Harbor only nine days later.

Bizarre Fact #204:
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Original 'Indian Yellow' was obtained at Monghyr, a town in Benghal, from the urine of cows which had been fed on mango leaves. It was found in the bazaars of Panjab in the form of large balls, having an offensive urinous odor. True Indian yellow has been absent from the market for some time; its production is said to have been prohibited in 1908. Present day Indian yellow colors are made of synthetic pigments, alternatives that are less fugitive and less offensive to the nose.

Bizarre Fact #205:
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Playing cards were issued to British pilots in WWII. If captured, they could be soaked in water and unfolded to reveal a map for escape.

Bizarre Fact #206:
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Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the first American to have plumbing installed in his house, in 1840.

Bizarre Fact #207:
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Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the first American to have plumbing installed in his house, in 1840.

Bizarre Fact #208:
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Pope Paul IV, who was elected on 23 May 1555, was so outraged when he saw the naked bodies on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel that he ordered Michelangelo to paint on to them.

Bizarre Fact #209:
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President George Washington oversaw construction of the White House, but he never lived there. It was our second President, John Adams, elected in 1796, who first lived in the White House. His term was almost over by the time he moved in, and only six rooms had been finished.

Bizarre Fact #210:
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Queen Supayalat of Burma ordered about 100 of her husband's relatives clubbed to death. She did this to ensure the throne to her husband.

Bizarre Fact #211:
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Salim (1569-1627, heir to the throne of India, had 4 wives when he was only 8 years of age.

Bizarre Fact #212:
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Satirist Jonathan Swift suggested in his essay "A Modest Proposal" that the children of the poor be sold as food to feed the rich. This shocking essay is one of the best examples of satire you'll find.

Bizarre Fact #213:
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Scientific America carried the first magazine automobile ad in 1898. The Winton Motor Car Company of Cleveland, OH, invited readers to "dispense with a horse".

Bizarre Fact #214:
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Seat belts became mandatory on U.S. cars on March 1, 1968.

Bizarre Fact #215:
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Seating on the first scheduled inter-city commuter airplane flight consisted of moveable wicker chairs. There were 11 of them on the first Ford Tri-Motors. After several years, Ford replaced them with aluminum framed leather chairs.

Bizarre Fact #216:
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Shakespeare spelled his OWN name several different ways.

Bizarre Fact #217:
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Slaves under the last emperors of China wore pigtails so they could be picked out quickly.

Bizarre Fact #218:
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Socrates committed suicide by drinking poison hemlock.

Bizarre Fact #219:
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Soldiers arrived to fight the Battle of Marne in World War I - not on foot or by military airplane or military vehicle - but by taxi cabs. France took over all the taxi cabs in Paris to get soldiers to the front.

Bizarre Fact #220:
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Spartacus led the revolt of the Roman slaves and gladiators in 73 A.D.

Bizarre Fact #221:
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Spiral staircases in medieval castles are running clockwise. This is because all knights used to be right-handed. When the intruding army would climb the stairs they would not be able to use their right hand which was holding the sword because of the difficulties of climbing the stairs. Left-handed knights would have had no troubles, except left-handed people could never become knights because it was assumed that they were descendants of the devil.

Bizarre Fact #222:
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Suspension of the construction of the Washington Monument, at the 153 foot level, was forced by the anti-Catholic Know-Nothing movement, which was offended by Pope Pius IX's gift of a block of marble from Rome's Temple of Concord. The suspension lasted 26 years. Work resumed in 1880 and the monument was completed in 1888.

Bizarre Fact #223:
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The 1,340-foot-long wall that gave New York's Wall Street its name was only 12 feet tall and erected in 1653 by Dutch colonists to protect against their enemies.

Bizarre Fact #224:
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The 16th century astronomer Tycho Brahe lost his nose in a duel with one of his students over a mathematical computation. He wore a silver replacement nose for the rest of his life.

Bizarre Fact #225:
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The ancient Egyptians recommended mixing half an onion with beer foam as a way of warding off death.

Bizarre Fact #226:
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The ancient Etruscans painted women white and men red in the wall paintings they used to decorate tombs.

Bizarre Fact #227:
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The Aztec Indians in Central America used animal blood mixed with cement as a mortar for their buildings, many of which still remain standing today.

Bizarre Fact #228:
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The Aztec Indians of Mexico believed turquoise would protect them from physical harm, and so warriors used these green and blue stones to decorate their battle shields.

Bizarre Fact #229:
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The best working light-bulb a LONG time ago was a thread of sheep's wool coated with carbon.

Bizarre Fact #230:
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The British once went to war over a sailor’s ear. It happened in 1739, when Britain launched hostilities against Spain because a Spanish officer had supposedly sliced off the ear of a ship’s captain named Robert Jenkins.

Bizarre Fact #231:
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The Chinese, in olden days, used marijuana only as a remedy for dysentery.

Bizarre Fact #232:
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The Coliseum received its name not for its size, but for a colossal statue of Nero that stood close by, placed there after the destruction of his palace.

Bizarre Fact #233:
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The dirt road that General Washington and his soldiers took to fight off General Clinton during the Battle of Monmouth was called the Burlington Path.

Bizarre Fact #234:
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The first advertisement printed in English in 1477 offered a prayer book. The ad was published by William Caxton on his press in Westminster Abbey. No price was mentioned, only that the book was "good chepe."

Bizarre Fact #235:
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The first aerial photograph was taken from a balloon during the U.S. civil war.

Bizarre Fact #236:
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The first Bowie knife was forged at Washington, Arkansas.

Bizarre Fact #237:
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The first dictionary of American English was published on April 14th, 1828, by - who else? - Noah Webster.

Bizarre Fact #238:
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The first Eskimo Bible was printed in Copenhagen in 1744.

Bizarre Fact #239:
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The first European to visit the Mississippi River was DeSoto.

Bizarre Fact #240:
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The first known item made from aluminum was a rattle—made for Napoleon III in the 1850s. Napoleon also provided his most honored guests with knives and forks made of pure aluminum. At the time the newly discovered metal was so rare, it was considered more valuable than gold.

Bizarre Fact #241:
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The first man to distill bourbon whiskey in the United States was a Baptist preacher, in 1789.

Bizarre Fact #242:
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The first paperback book was printed - by Penguin Publishing in 1935.

Bizarre Fact #243:
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The first telephone book ever issued contained only fifty names. It was published in New Haven, Connecticut, by the New Haven District Telephone Company in February, 1878.

Bizarre Fact #244:
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The first telephone exchange opened on January 28, 1878, in New Haven, Connecticut.

Bizarre Fact #245:
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The first time an enormous amount of clothing was needed all at once was during the Civil War, when the Union needed hundreds of thousands of uniforms for its troops. Out of this need came the ready-made clothing industry.

Bizarre Fact #246:
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The first United States coast to coast airplane flight occurred in 1911 and took 49 days.

Bizarre Fact #247:
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The first wooden shoe comes from the Netherlands. The Netherlands have many seas so people wanted a shoe that kept their feet dry while working outside. The shoes were called klompen and they had been cut of one single piece of wood. Today the klompen are the favorite souvenir for people who visit the Netherlands.

Bizarre Fact #248:
Did you know...
The Fish Bowl was invented by Countess Dubarry, Mistress of King Louis XV (Born 1710 Died 1774)

Bizarre Fact #249:
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The German Kaiser Wilhelm II had a withered arm and often hid the fact by posing with his hand resting on a sword, or by holding gloves.

Bizarre Fact #250:
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The Korean War began on June 25, 1950.