France’s King Louis XIV was offered biological weapons by an Italian chemist. He not only refused, but also paid the chemist an annual salary to never reveal the technology to anyone else.
21
The ancient Egyptians bought jewelry for their pet crocodiles.
82
Pilgrims did not eat with forks. They only used spoons, knives and their fingers.
44
If a surgeon in Ancient Egypt lost a patient while performing an operation, his hands were cut off.
67
The University of Oxford (teaching since 1096) predates the Aztec empire (1428 - 1521).
14
Because metal was scarce; the Oscars given out during World War II were made of plaster.
40
The life expectancy in 1900 was just 47 years.
49
In 1518, a "dancing plague" struck Strasbourg, Alsace, whereby hundreds of people danced fervently in the streets over the period of a month. Some suffered heart attacks or strokes, and many others died from sheer exhaustion. It remains unexplained.
19