Genghis Khan exempted the poor and clergy from taxes, encouraged literacy, and established free religion, leading many peoples to join his empire before they were even conquered.
28
The first bomb dropped on Germany in WWII killed the only elephant in the Berlin zoo!
166
Leonardo Da Vinci predicted the mass use of solar energy as long ago as 1447.
153
Al Capone's armored limousine, after being seized by the feds, was later used to protect Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), 32nd President of the US, after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
20
The first semi-permanent settlements appeared in Florida around 5000 B.C.
10
In 1542, French aristocrat Marguerite De La Rocque survived being marooned for 2 years alone on a remote island off the coast of Quebec.
12
When Charles Darwin first discovered the Galapagos Tortoises, he tried to ride them!
18
Modern humans first appeared about 200,000 years ago, but record keeping didn't begin until about 6,000 years ago. That means about 97% of human history is lost.
21