History Facts

    Random History Facts

    There are 163 History Facts!

    In 1700s, the deer skin was a common medium of exchange between the trading settlers and the native Red Indians in America. This is how a buck became a slang for a dollar.
    28
    Pirate Jean Lafitte Countered Governor's $500 Bounty for Him with a $5,000 Bounty for Governor
    When pirate Jean Lafitte saw the governor advertising a $500 reward for his capture, Lafitte offered $5,000 for the capture of the governor.
    73
    The University of Oxford (teaching since 1096) predates the Aztec empire (1428 - 1521).
    14
    Until the nineteenth century, solid blocks of tea were used as money in Siberia.
    80
    Chinese General With Only 100 Men Made An Army of 150,000 Retreat
    According to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Shu general Zhuge Liang had to defend a town with a mere 100 troops against an army of 150,000. He hid his men, flung open the gates, and sat on the walls playing a lute. The opposing general of Wei, Sima Yi, certain it was a trap, ordered a retreat.
    43
    In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.
    130
    The first bomb dropped on Germany in WWII killed the only elephant in the Berlin zoo!
    166
    The Titanic is about as long as the Empire State building is tall.
    174