Number 15:1920 Wall Street Bombing One hundred years ago,
a disgruntled citizen decided to show his outrage in a most explosive way
by blowing up a horse-drawn carriage full of explosives in the middle of Wall Street.
Nobody has ever been able to determine who did the dastardly deed, that killed at least thirty people
and injured more than three hundred. America’s least-well-known cold case has an even sadder spin
since the unlucky horse that was pulling the cart of rage is also unlikely to have survived. The
terrorist’s point- if there was one- is unknown, and the Wall Street Bombing has been lost in the
century of equally or more horrific actions that humans have inflicted upon one another.
Number 14: Incans Invented Peanut Butter Although this creamy spread’s origins have been
claimed by countless civilizations- and we could debate all day about who actually perfected it-
there is conclusive evidence that the Incans invented peanut butter.
Ancient Incan peanut butter hardly resembled our commercialized Jif today:
it was more of a grainy utilitarian paste than the ultimate comfort food, but as the
civilization evolved, so did the spread. Soon, the spread was made out of roasted peanuts and
enjoyed as a special protein-packed treat. We also speculate that the Incans used peanut butter as a
currency and that the delicious food was spread far and wide across the entire vast Incan Empire.
Number 13: Stonehenge’s Mysterious Architects Archeologists suspect that ancient Brits didn’t
build Stonehenge all by themselves: they had a little help from a micro-civilization that
was just a blip on the history screen but contributed a lot during their short time.
Meet the Bell-Beaker civilization, a mysterious group of people who archeologists suspect provided
the muscle behind moving Stonehenge’s massive rocks. If their speculations are correct, the
Bell-Beaker civilization lugged stones one hundred and fifty miles to the sacred Stonehenge site,
between 2600 and 1600 B.C.E. Why were the Bell-Beakers so invested in the creation
of Stonehenge? It’s been long speculated that Stonehenge has incredible pagan significance
and that the stones themselves might hold energy prized by the Bell-Beaker civilization.
Number 12: Annie Edson Taylor’s Wild Ride Annie Edson might have been a schoolteacher
in her day job, but she proved that she had nerves of steel outside of the classroom by jumping into
a wooden barrel and careening over the Horseshoe Falls. On October 24, 1901, Edson fell a whopping
five hundred and twelve feet to the rocks below but emerged with just a couple of bumps and
bruises. What should have been a watery fate, was instead a moment of pride for Annie Edson,
who became known as one of the great daredevils in the region. Many copycats followed her harrowing
ride, but nobody gets to claim that they were the first, and best, to tackle the falls and win.
Number 11: Egyptians Didn’t Use Pillows Of all the strange and wonderful things
that we know about the ancient Egyptians, this one is a doozy:
they didn’t use pillows. Instead of snuggling into a soft, deep, fluffy pillow at night,
Egyptians used to sleep on solid headrests. Think about taking a cat nap on your desk at school,
except way less comfortable, and for eight straight hours. Egyptians were even more
hard-core with their materials, fashioning their headrests out of ivory, wood, and marble.
Why did the Egyptians pooh-pooh padding? We might never know if they were on to something,
or if their sleeping habits were just straight up peculiar. Our next crazy fact shows that
ancient Egyptians aside, we have a lot more in common with our ancestors than we might think!
Number 10: Vikings Liked To Hit The Slopes We know Vikings as fearsome, sea-faring folk
who barbarism knew no bounds, but did you also know that they loved
to ski? Norsemen took to the slopes like nobody’s business, challenging hills and mountains alike
six thousand years ago. Although some ski trips were utilitarian,
others were used purely for sport, and the Vikings passed their love of all things snow
down to their children. They even had a god of skiing, named Ullr, known for his dashing good
looks and his hot temper. Records tell us that the Vikings relished the sport so much that they
actually had skiing competitions! Although this fact is a happy little note about the Vikings,
our next one is decidedly darker- and involves one of the brightest and best minds in history.
Number 9: Michelangelo’s Vengeful Streak
Michelangelo might be one of the greatest minds that ever existed, as well as our favorite Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtle, but did you know that he was also a bit of a bastard? Michelangelo was
notoriously thin-skinned when it came to anyone criticizing his work, so much so that he once
depicted a critic in one of his paintings, in possibly the least flattering way imaginable.
When Biagio da Cesena criticized Michelangelo for painting nude figures in the Sistine Chapel,
the famous artist hit back with a vengeance. Michelangelo gave da Cesena his very own debut
in “The Last Judgement,” where his unfortunate critic is seen with the ears of a donkey and
a snake biting him right in the crotch. When da Cesena complained to the Pope,
the head of the church deflected responsibility, claiming that Hell was not his jurisdiction. Epic.
Number 8: Napoleon’s Bizarre Bed Companion There are a lot of myths and legends swirling
around about Napoleon, notably that his lust for conquering stemmed from his short stature- untrue
since Napoleon was of average height. One famous rumor is absolutely rooted in reality, and it’s
one of the strangest things that you never heard. Napoleon’s wife Josephine had a collection of
exotic pets that would make Carole Baskin jealous. Chief among them was an orangutan named Rose, who
Josephine taught table manners, dressed in finery, and allowed to sleep in bed with her and Napoleon.
Yes, one of the greatest military minds that France ever saw shared his bed with an orangutan.
Number 7: Albert Einstein’s Brush With Politics Notable brainiac Albert Einstein is one of the
most recognized figures of the last century and his Theory of Relativity shapes the way
that we understand science today. The brilliant Einstein could have had another notch on his belt,
but he declined. In 1952, Albert Einstein was asked to become President of Israel,
making him the second person in the world to hold that notable title. Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first
president, asked Einstein because he considered him “the greatest Jew alive.” Einstein turned down
the offer and continued geniusing as a private citizen, but who knows what would have happened
if he would have dipped his toe into politics? The world might be completely different today.
Number 6: Mao’s Bloodsoaked Cultural Revolution Mao Zedong’s cruelest act came cloaked in an
innocent-sounding name: The Cultural Revolution. Between 1966 and 1976, Mao unleashed a wave of
terror on his opponents, the likes of which hadn’t been seen for decades. Mao’s
directive to clear up the old system allowed his cronies and supporters to destroy Chinese relics
and kill anyone that stood in their path. We might never know just how many died in Mao’s campaign,
but some estimates say it might top two million.
Number 5: Ancient Indian Nose Jobs Let’s take it from bloodshed to beauty
with an ancient cosmetic surgery industry that blossomed and thrived in yesteryear India. Back
in the sixth century B.C.E. surgeons began performing nose jobs on unfortunates who
lost that feature through accident or punishment. One of the most popular doctors was named
Sushruta, whose revolutionary technique of rebuilding the nose from cheek and forehead
skin saved many an ancient Indian face. Sushruta is known as the founding father
of plastic surgery, as well as weighing in on other modern ailments and conditions,
like diabetes. It’s fair to say that this incredible doc was years before his time!
Number 4: The Great Wall Is A Gravesite This obscure fact shouldn’t come as that
much of a surprise if you think about it. Most of the marvelous monuments of our world contain
a smattering of dead bodies, and the Great Wall of China is certainly no exception.
What is stunning is the sheer number of dead entombed within the wall itself. An estimated
four hundred thousand people perished during the construction of the Great Wall of China,
and many of them were thrown right into the wall as a makeshift burial. It’s no exaggeration to
say that you’re literally treading on ancient bones with every step you take on the Great
Wall. If you think that is shocking, wait until you check out our number three pick.
Number 3: The French Baby Lottery It was not France’s most exceptional
day when they started auctioning off live babies to raise money for an orphanage.
Ghastly perhaps, but entirely true- in 1911, a Parisian orphanage decided to make do with
what they had and start running a lottery for some of the most beautiful babies they had
“in stock.” Called “Loterie de bebes,” this bizarre lottery had the full blessing of
the Parisian police and was widely praised at the time as a creative way to find homes for
abandoned babies. Although the orphanage swore that it vetted every would-be parent who won a
child that day, nobody knows for sure what the fate of the auctioned off tykes wound up being.
Number 2: Vincent Van Gogh’s Mysterious Murder Van Gogh might just be the poster boy for the
tortured artist, and his famous suicide went uncontested for years, but was this unappreciated
genius actually murdered? Some people think so. Van Gogh was a local eccentric, and often found
himself the butt of cruel jokes played by local neighborhood kids. Historians speculate that Van
Gogh might have had the gun turned on himself by local pranksters, who shot the artist unwittingly
and then claimed suicide to cover up their tracks. The evidence? Van Gogh didn’t have
burn marks on his hands, and he was shot in the stomach- a highly unlikely place for a suicide.
Number 1: Disgusting Roman Mouthwash The Romans might have invented some of the most
sophisticated devices in the world, created great art and inspired us with their culture, but there
was one area that they fell short: oral hygiene. Since time began, people have been taking care
of their teeth in creative ways, and the Romans were indeed no exception- except that where we use
Listerine to clean our mouths- they used something different. Portuguese pee was the preferred choice
of mouthwash, and it was in such high demand that there was actually a shortage. Why was
Portuguese pee considered the best? Your guess is as good as ours. Fortunately, we have plenty of
less detestable options today, and nobody needs to gargle with urine to have a million-dollar smile.
Thanks for watching! Would you rather time travel back to the Roman Empire
or fast forward 1,000 years into the future? Let us know in the comments section below.