Approximately 25,000 workers died during the building of the Panama Canal, and approximately 20,000 of them contracted malaria and yellow fever.
14
Early Romans used to use porcupine quills as toothpicks.
27
In 1918, after the treaty of Versailles (end of WWI), the French Commander-in-chief said "This is not a peace. It is an Armistice for 20 years." 20 years and 65 days later, WWII happened.
31
During World War 1, Harry Houdini took 1 year off performing to help sell war bonds and teach american soldiers how to escape from German handcuffs.
34
The University of Oxford (teaching since 1096) predates the Aztec empire (1428 - 1521).
14
If Earth's history was condensed into twenty-four hours, life would've appeared at around 4am, land plants at 10:24pm, dinosaur extinction at 11:41pm, and human history would’ve began at 11:58:43pm.
21
The ancient Egyptians thought the function of the brain was to produce snot.
16
Napoleon constructed his battle plans in a sandbox.
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