History Facts

    Random History Facts

    There are 163 History Facts!

    Winston Churchill's Letter of Apology for Escaping from Prison
    Before escaping prison, Winston Churchill left a letter of apology on his bed. The letter began: "I have the honour to inform you that as I do not consider that your Government have any right to detain me as a military prisoner, I have decided to escape from your custody."
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    Until the nineteenth century, solid blocks of tea were used as money in Siberia.
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    In 1537, England's King Henry VII officially declared February 14th the holiday of St. Valentine's Day.
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    Candle Clocks
    Candle Clocks
    Before clocks, there were candle clocks that when burned, indicated the passage of periods of time. To set an alarm, you pushed a nail into the desired point and the nail would fall and clank on the metal holder.
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    In the 1830s, a Greek prime minister tried to spread the potato in Greece but people weren't interested so he put armed guards in front of shipments of potatoes so people would think they were important. People then started stealing these potatoes so much that the crop spread to all of Greece.
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    In 1958, a nuclear bomb was lost somewhere along the swampy coast of Georgia. Its whereabouts remain a mystery to this day.
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    Traces of cocaine were found on 99% of UK bank notes in a survey in London in 2000.
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    There’s a Swedish power metal band called “Sabaton” who teach history through their music, including an album devoted to teaching about World War Two.
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