History is a colorful picture, full of surprising events and fantastic stories. Let's explore some of the lesser-known historical fragments in this article.
1. The ancient Greeks participated in the Olympics naked
Today's Olympians are well-equipped, but in ancient Greece they were naked, in everything from running and discus throws to horse racing and wrestling. Naked wrestling was a normal thing at the time.
2. The world's oldest beer recipe
If beer is your favorite, you have to thank the Sumerians, who, during an archaeological excavation, uncovered the oldest beer recipe to date, carved into a stone tablet dating back to 4000 BC.
Beer originated from the Sumerians, who called beer a "sacred drink". In fact, the Sumerians even had a goddess dedicated exclusively to winemaking.
3. The ancient Romans used urine to wash their clothes
The Romans did it much stranger than the naked Olympics. For thousands of years before the advent of cleaning products or detergents, they used urine. They found that soaking leather and wool in a simple solution of water and urine was effective in cleaning leather and wool. But that's not all. They also use urine to disinfect wounds, treat skin diseases, and even use it as a mouthwash.
As it turns out, they probably know what they're doing. Urea ammonia is a very effective detergent that can be used in washing machines. The jury is still out on the effects of ammonia as a mouthwash, but I think I'll give it up anyway!
4. How the Great Fire of London began
How did the Great Fire of London start on September 2, 1666? A baker forgot to turn off the stove, which caused a fire that burned down the city.
About 436 acres of land, equivalent to 400 American football fields, were burned. About one-third of the population lost their homes in the fires. After the fire, London was rebuilt to reduce the risk of fire, and buildings were only allowed to be built in brick or stone.
5. The world's first stamp was issued in 1840
In 1840, the world's first postage stamp, the "Penny Black", was issued, which changed the way mail was sent and made it possible to prepay postage.
6. The first record of the use of the number zero dates back to ancient Mesopotamia
Believe it or not, the number "zero" is a revolution in mathematics. In fact, using numbers to represent "nothing" is something that no one has thought of for thousands of years.
It wasn't until 3000 BC that the first record of the use of zero was found in Mesopotamia. While it took thousands of years for mathematicians to truly grasp the power of zero and form the basis of modern physics, engineering, and medicine, it was in Mesopotamia that the concept of zero germinated.
7. The first successful human heart transplant was performed in 1967
In 1967, the first successful heart transplant was performed, which seemed almost impossible at the time.
Attempts have been made since the beginning of the 20th century, but without success. It wasn't until 1967 that a South African surgeon named Christian Barnard made that dream come true.
A woman who was hit by a car and needed to be kept alive by a life support system was given permission by the hospital to donate her heart and transplant it to a man with heart disease. The transplant was a great success, and Voškanski survived 18 days after the operation before dying of pneumonia.
8. The Great Emu War
Who will win: an army of royal Australian artillery, or thousands of emus? Interestingly, it was the emu who won. The war was fought to wipe out the emu population that was destroying Western Australia's crops. Many farmlands were given to World War I veterans, and when they faced an infestation of about 20,000 emus, the government took action.
In 1932, they sent Major Gwynd Meredith, who gave two soldiers 10,000 rounds of ammunition and equipped them with light machine guns. However, the emus were difficult to catch, and after six days, the soldiers had killed only about 50 emus. The second attempt was more successful, and a month later the war officially ended. In total, an estimated 986 emus were killed, far enough to affect the huge population.
9. The Plague of Dance in 1518
In the summer of 1518, a strange thing happened in Strasbourg, Alsace. Somehow, the people of the town started dancing in the streets. It has been recorded that as many as 400 people have been dancing for days or even weeks at a time.
People dance for so long that some people die from heart failure. The medical community has explained this in a variety of ways, ranging from food poisoning hallucinogens to mass hysteria.
10. Thomas Edison's failed invention
Thomas Edison is remembered for his great achievements, but behind his popular inventions there were countless failures. One of them is the electric pen, which is a battery-powered writing instrument that works by cutting small holes in the paper and then printing a kind of template on the layer underneath.
The advantage is that multiple files can be copied at the same time. Some users have adopted this method, most notably Louis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland. However, this method failed because it was faced with a more effective invention - the typewriter.
11. Pregnancy test in ancient Egypt
How did an ancient Egyptian woman know she was pregnant? They will drain the urine into a bag full of barley and then into a bag full of wheat. According to this theory, women need to wait after they have finished urinating to see if one of the bags squirts out of urine.
If it does, it means she's pregnant. Surprisingly, when scientists reproduced this phenomenon in experiments, they found that the accuracy rate was about 70%. The reason may be because the high content of estrogen helps in the growth of seeds. How did the ancient Egyptians know this? It's a mystery.
12. The first recorded joke
"Something that has never happened since ancient times, a young woman does not fart on her husband's lap." The joke may not be the funniest, but it's by far the oldest we know.
It originated from the Sumerians nearly 4000 years ago, and surprisingly, it wasn't all that different from some of our comedies today. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
13. Marie Curie's radioactive recipe
Marie Curie's life is like a movie. She won the Nobel Prize twice, breaking stereotypes about women, both times for her contributions to the field of radioactivity. Marie, like her husband Pierre Curie, was obsessed with radioactivity research and even carried a radium jar with her on her commute to work. But the study came at a huge cost.
In 1906, Pierre died without warning, and in 1934, Marie developed aplastic anemia, a disease that had a mortality rate of about 70% within a year. This was caused by radiation, and in fact, after her death, her body was still highly radioactive, so she was buried in a lead coffin. Her relics are also in similar boxes, including her recipes.
14. Pirates and blindfolds
Why do pirates always wear a single eye patch? Most of us think it's because we've been injured in battle, or because it's to cover a fake eye. While this may be the case in the movie, there is another plausible theory, and one that makes more sense. Pirates often attack unsuspecting ships in the middle of the night, so sight must be adjusted to the darkness immediately.
Obviously, wearing an eye patch is a way to "trick" your eyesight into adapting faster. This approach has proven to be effective. The eyes produce chemicals that help the eyes utilize much weaker light than usual, which can take up to 30 minutes to take effect. After wearing an eye patch, the eyes still produce these chemicals.
15. Fake Paris
During the air raids of the First World War, France was bombed from the air for the first time. The capital, Paris, is particularly vulnerable. With a population of just 2.7 million, France is desperate to divert attention from this iconic city. One of the more outrageous methods was proposed by a man named Fernand Jakopozzi. His idea was to build a "decoy Paris" to trick some German pilots into bombing an empty city.
16. Flying Tigers
During World War II, American pilots flew Chinese planes and fought to defend their homeland, and they became known as the "Flying Tigers."
17. Ghost Army
What's better than being surprised? What about stealth? During World War II, the military was willing to try anything that might give them an advantage. One tactic employed by the Americans is to assemble a large, credible decoy army.
They drew large inflatable objects to make them look exactly like real tanks and equipment. This, combined with fabricated radio calls and a roar through high-powered speakers, is enough to create a "ghost army" and trick the enemy into overestimating or misjudging the U.S. military. The team that created these beautiful models is made up of more than 1,000 artists and designers who have been honored as civilians for their contributions.
18. War Magician
Like America's ghost army, the British have some tricks. One of them was a magician named Jasper Maskelyne, who went from his profession to become an expert in disguise.
He was appointed head of the "Camouflage Experimental Section". He and his team used painted wooden blocks to make the tank look like a truck from above. Maskeling was also in charge of advising the soldiers on what to do if they were caught by the enemy, equipping them with fake card packs with maps and combs
19. A year without summer
In 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted, the largest volcanic eruption in human history. The eruption ejected 36 cubic miles of rock and ash directly into the atmosphere, filling the atmosphere with sulfur. Volcanic eruptions are large enough to block out sunlight and reduce the Earth's average temperature by 1 degree Celsius.
Reduced rainfall has led to crop failures and famine, killing at least a million people. For years afterward, the skies around the world were overcast. There were no cameras at the time, but the paintings from that time gave us a clear idea of how memorable it was.