History Facts
History is rich with fascinating and sometimes unbelievable things, so learn more about it with this regularly-updated list of history facts.
The oldest stone tools found are dated from 2.7 - 2.9 million years ago. The species that made these tools is unknown.
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"Yo momma" jokes/insults were invented by Shakespeare.
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Allegedly, Chrysippus, the Greek philosopher, died of laughter after getting his donkey drunk and watching it try to eat figs.
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High Heels were originally made for men in the 16th century.
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The first chocolate eggs were made in Germany in the 19th century and remain one of the most popular Easter candies today.
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English sailors were referred to as "limeys" because sailors added lime juice to their diet to combat scurvy.
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The Canadian province of New Brunswick (which was part of the UK at the time) had a bloodless war with the US state of Maine in 1839
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In 1537, England's King Henry VII officially declared February 14th the holiday of St. Valentine's Day.
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Beethoven, was told by a music teacher that he had no talent for music. In fact, this teacher once remarked, “As a composer he is hopeless.”
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There's no evidence that pirates made people walk the plank.
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Leonardo Da Vinci predicted the mass use of solar energy as long ago as 1447.
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The oldest glowing lightbulb was first switched on in 1901 and lives in fire stations in Livermore, CA. It is known as the Centennial Light.
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Although Nostradamus died in the middle of 1566, his 1567 almanac was published because he had the foresight to prepare it before his death.
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The time interval from first sighting of the iceberg that sank the Titanic to impact was a little over 30 seconds.
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The Titanic is about as long as the Empire State building is tall.
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Two dogs were among the Titanic survivors.
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In medieval Italy, if a man was caught kissing a woman in public, he had to marry her whether he liked it or not.
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The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C.
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Hundreds of years ago, the Aztecs of Mexico and the people of Nicaragua believed gods lived in volcanoes. They would sacrifice beautiful young girls to these powerful gods.
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