History

History During World War I, the German government carried out a census of Jews to prove that german Jews weren't pulling their weight in the war effort. What they found out instead was that Jews were overrepresented on the front lines. February 21, 2021

History French cavalry captured a Dutch warship fleet trapped in ice in 1795, "The only time in history that men on horseback captured a fleet of ships". February 18, 2021

History The famous Madame Tussaud started out in Paris during the French Revolution. Marie Tussaud used to make 'death masks' of famous people who's heads had been chopped by the Guillotine. She went on tour to Britain for 30 years with her collection before setting up her waxworks in London. February 17, 2021

History Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" was not intended to be released as a single. They were later convinced to do so by Michael Jackson who had attended a Queen concert in Los Angeles and suggested it to Freddie Mercury backstage. February 13, 2021

History Los Angeles County has a bigger population (10.04 million) than 40 US states. (9.986 million or less) February 9, 2021

History An ancient Roman oracle once prophesied that "Caligula had no more chance of becoming emperor than of riding a horse across the Bay of Baiae". After becoming emperor, Caligula ordered ships to construct the largest pontoon bridge in history, and rode his horse across the Bay of Baiae. February 6, 2021

History Women also competed as gladiators in ancient Rome and there is a marble relief dating to around the 2nd century A.D. depicting a bout between two women dubbed "Amazon" and "Achillia," whom the inscription says fought to an honorable draw. February 1, 2021

History Meet the Battle of the Wabash or St. Clair's defeat. When an American army of 1000 men was slaughtered by a Native American force of near equal strength in 1791. Only 28 men escaped unscathed with a casualty rate of 97%, it remains the largest defeat in American history. January 29, 2021

History Slaveholders in the US knew that enslaved people were escaping to Mexico, the U.S. tried to get Mexico to sign a fugitive slave treaty, but Mexico refused to sign such a treaty, insisting that all enslaved people were free once they set foot on Mexican soil. January 29, 2021

History Georgy Zhukov, Marshal of the Soviet Union, was an avid fisherman in his retirement. When President Eisenhower, who considered him the most instrumental Allied leader in Hitler's defeat, learned this he had him sent a set of fishing tackle. Zhukov used it exclusively, for the rest of his life. January 27, 2021

History Irène Curie and her husband received a Nobel Prize for their discovery of artificial radioactivity, 30 years after Irène's parents received their Nobel Prize. She died due to overexposure to radiation, also just like her parents. Her children are still alive and are also prominent scientists. January 25, 2021

History US president Calvin "Silent Cal" Coolidge used to buzz for his secret service and then would hide under his desk while they frantically searched for him January 22, 2021

History In 1983 a Mexican pilot crashed landed in a small town in Ireland and the whole town came together to build a temporary runway for him to take off again and continue his flight. January 20, 2021

History The great smog of London in 1952 was so bad that pedestrians couldn't even see their feet. Some of the 4,000 who died in the 5 days it lasted didn't suffer lung problems - they fell into the Thames and drowned because they could not see the river January 15, 2021

History The famous photo of the Soviet flag being raised during the Battle of Berlin in 1945 was actually doctored. Photographer Yevgeny Khaldei added smoke to make it seem more dramatic, and also removed one of two watches from a Senior Sergeant's wrist, as it would have implied looting. January 14, 2021

History In the 1830s the Swedish Navy planted 300 000 oak trees to be used for ship production in the far future. When they received word that the trees were fully grown in 1975 they had little use of them as modern warships are built with metal. January 14, 2021

History Hermann Göring's brother strongly opposed the Nazi party, and forged his brother's signature so people could leave the country. Once, he joined Jews who had to scrub the streets, so the SS officer stopped the activity in order not to humiliate Hermann Göring. January 9, 2021

History One of the 2 co-owners/founders of Macy's died on the Titanic, along with his wife, because he refused to board rescue ships before women and children were helped. His wife chose to stay behind because she did not want to abandon her husband, so they both died together aboard the Titanic. January 8, 2021

History The entrance of the Lascaux cave in southwestern France, famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings, was discovered in 1940 by 18-year-old Marcel Ravidat and his dog, Robot. Robot fell into a hole, and Ravidat explored it with his friends, finding walls covered with depictions of animals. December 24, 2020

History Only around 2000 people attended Genghis Khan's funeral. They were then killed by the army in order to never reveal the location of his tomb. That army was later killed as well by Khan's funeral escort. November 21, 2020