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
Although Nostradamus died in the middle of 1566, his 1567 almanac was published because he had the foresight to prepare it before his death.
19
London's Pall Mall became the first street lit by gaslight in 1807!
39
In 1897, Bayer, who is the maker of Aspirin, marketed the drug heroin.
56
Ancient Romans at one time used human urine as an ingredient in their toothpaste.
37
Approximately 40% of the U.S. paper currency in circulation was counterfeit by the end of the Civil War.
47
Until the nineteenth century, solid blocks of tea were used as money in Siberia.
80