History

History When former slave Jordan Anderson was asked to come back and work for his old master, he replied with a deadpan letter asking for 52 years' back pay as proof of good faith. The letter has been described as a rare example of documented "slave humor" of the period. June 18, 2019

History King Leopold II of Belgium turned the Congo into one massive slave plantation that resulted in an estimated 10,000,000 deaths, with historians comparing him to Hitler and Stalin. June 14, 2019

History The George Washington memorial statue in London is built on American soil, as Washington once said that he would "never stand on English soil ever again". June 2, 2019

History The US may have adopted the metric system if pirates hadn't kidnapped Joseph Dombey, the French scientist sent to help Thomas Jefferson persuade Congress to adopt the system. May 24, 2019

History Japan proposed an amendment to the Treaty of Versailles that outlawed all racial discrimination. Despite receiving a majority vote for it to be added to the treaty Woodrow Wilson personally vetoed the measure and as a comprise let Japan claim a number of islands in the Pacific. May 22, 2019

History In 1944, the British hatched a plan to assassinate Hitler - Operation Foxley. Many, including Churchill approved of the plan. It never went through though because Hitler was an awful military strategist, and there was fear that whoever replaced him would be more adept at winning the war. May 20, 2019

History A devout Mormon set out in 1955 on an archaeological expedition to prove the Book of Mormon's claims. After 15 years instead he found nearly every claim in the BOM was wrong and the papyrus J. Smith claimed written by Abraham was actually just a page ripped out of the Egyptian Book of the Dead May 12, 2019

History There is a 1420 book that was found to have cat piss on one of its pages. The author of the manuscript even wrote on the page "Cursed be the pesty cat that urinated over this book during the night in Deventer... and beware well not to leave open books at night where cats can come." April 28, 2019

History In 2008, the country of Rwanda banned plastic bags and, in early 2019, banned all single use plastics. April 28, 2019

History In 1997 Pope John Paul II had nominated St. Isidore of Seville to be the patron saint of the Internet, a seventh-century theologian and encyclopedist who tried to record everything ever known. April 27, 2019

History Check out Doug Hegdahl, a POW during the Vietnam War, who memorized the names, dates of capture, method of capture and personal details of 256 fellow POWs to the tune of "Old MacDonald Had A Farm." He can still recite it to this day. April 19, 2019

History In an attempt to enforce Prohibition, the Prohibition Bureau began adding poison to industrial alcohol to prevent its consumption, killing between 10,000 and 50,000 people. This was supported by people like Wayne Wheeler, who argued that the victims had committed suicide by breaking the law April 14, 2019

History Check out Dmitry Argarkov who scanned a credit card agreement, edited it, and returned it with a 0% interest rate and no limit in the new terms. The bank signed and approved without reading and a judge held them to it. April 12, 2019

History In 2005, Eric James Torpy, was convicted of shooting with intent to kill and robbery. He asked that his sentence be changed from 30 years' imprisonment to 33 so that it would match Larry Bird's jersey number. His request was granted. April 10, 2019

History MIT has genetically modified trees to glow in the dark in the hopes of creating a literally green source of light for the future. April 9, 2019

History In 1948, a man wore 30-pound, 3-toed lead shoes and stomped around a Florida beach in the night. The footprints lead people to believe that a 15-foot tall penguin was roaming their lands. He kept up the prank for 10 years, visiting various beaches. The hoax wasn't revealed until 40 years later. April 6, 2019

History Slave Bible, an abridged version of the bible made for slaves, in which the enslaved Israelites never left Egypt and lines that condemn slave owners were removed. April 3, 2019

History Genghis Khan exempted the poor, teachers, artists, and lawyers from taxes, encouraged literacy, and established freedom of religion across his empire. He also forbade the selling of women and the hunting of animals during their breeding season. April 2, 2019

History Check out the caveman fused into rock. After extracting the bones sticking out from limestone, researchers believe the Neanderthal fell down a sinkhole around 150,000 years ago. The bones gradually became incorporated into the stalactites left behind by water dribbling down the cave walls. March 28, 2019

History When Robert E Lee and the Confederate army surrendered, Union soldiers saluted them and gave them rations (the confederate soldiers were starving). Normally victorious armies would taunt defeated ones, but Ulysses S Grant respected the Confederates and ordered that they be treated well. March 27, 2019