Approximately 40% of the U.S. paper currency in circulation was counterfeit by the end of the Civil War.
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The Grateful Dead were once called 'The Warlocks'.
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During the Black Plague, it was thought that bad smells were the cause of the plague. "Plague Doctors" therefore wore masks with long beak-like noses stuffed with flowers or smoke to hide the smells.
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The first ever patent in the UK was Aaron Rathbone & Roger Burges, Map makers in 1618!
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In 1799, a boy found a 17lb. rock in a creek in North Carolina and used it as a doorstop. It was actually gold.
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Pierre Jaquet-Droz, a watchmaker, 240 years ago invented a robot that could write, and the parts could be interchanged to say whatever you want.
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The flushing toilet was invented in 1596, not by Thomas Crapper as most people think, but by Sir John Harington.
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February 1865 is the only month in recorded history to not have a full moon.
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