The past is littered with insanity.
Actual madness.
There is so much historical fact that we've been deprived of.
There is much to learn.
If for no other reason than to hold a cool conversation at a party.
Random, crazy facts are a party plus.
The humans who came before us left more of an impression than we realize.
Redditor throwaway1283415 wanted to hear about the craziest parts of the past, so they asked:
"What historical fact you find insane is not commonly known?"
RUDE
"Ancient Romans would put sandals on the hands of sleeping people then tickle their face so they would slap themselves."
- WhimsicalWhispere
Mark Ruffalo Slap GIF by Searchlight PicturesGiphy
Fleeing the Country
"Between 1864 and 1870 Paraguay fought a war with Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina that by some estimates killed as much as 70% of its population, with up to 90% of its adult male population dying or fleeing the country."
- Fourkoboldsinacoat
"Summarizing badly: Paraguai wanted to control a crucial river basin in the region (Rio da Prata). This is the second-largest river basin in South America."
"Before the war, Paraguay had entered into a conflict with Uruguai which led to an alliance between Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay which lasted through the oncoming war."
"So I guess Paraguai was vastly outnumbered, though the cause of high mortality isn’t strictly war battles as a lot of people died from disease due to poor hygiene, food scarcity, and infections as this was pre-antibiotics."
"Some people are curious about the spelling, I’m Brazilian and my brain defaulted to writing in the Portuguese spelling cause I was half asleep when I typed that."
"Also, some commenters have given further details on the conflict in Uruguay before the war which is actually quite interesting since the above is a crude summary of why I remember having learned in high school about the conflict so it’s interesting to hear some nuances as we probably were taught a very 'pro-Brazil' version of it."
- glitchy*itchy
RSVP Declined
"Abraham Lincoln's son (Robert Todd Lincoln) was present at three different presidential assassinations. After McKinley, he decided not to accept any more invitations."
- Remote-Building3208
"That's not all. Robert Todd Lincoln also dated (even if back in that time you wouldn't have used this term) Lucy Lambert Hale, who was a popular beauty of her time, in Washington D.C. They never officially got together, but remained good friends. By early 1865, she was often seen together in public with another man, one she was clandestinely engaged with. On March 4, 1865, the couple attended Lincoln's second presidential inauguration with a ticket that Lucy had procured through her father, a prominent U.S. Senator. Now, you wouldn't guess the name of Hale's fiancee: John Wilkes Booth. Yeah, that guy."
- Adrasto
Monopoly
"A very recent historical fact that is weirdly not talked about as much as it should be -- Microsoft had accumulated such a big monopoly over the personal computer market through the 80s and 90s that in 1997 Microsoft was nearly broken apart by the US government."
"In an attempt to avoid an investigation, Microsoft invested nearly $150 million into a then-failing Apple Computer to give the US government less ammunition in a potential anti-trust case. This saved Apple from bankruptcy and helped them to become one of the biggest tech companies in history. Microsoft, however, profited off of this investment. In 2003, Microsoft sold their shares in Apple for nearly $600 million."
- bbbbbthatsfivebees
Oh the Drama
" Portugal had a Death Queen and it is an insane real love story. If you like Romeo and Juliette, search for the story of Dom Pedro and Dona Inês for the real-life version of it."
"Long story short: Dom Pedro was 1st in line to be the next king of Portugal so his father, the King, arranged a marriage suited for his position with a Spanish noble lady. But the future King fell in love with one of the ladies in waiting for his bride, Dona Inês."
"They got married in secret and had a bunch of kids. The King didn't like that and sent his Knights to kill her. Dom Pedro went bats**t crazy, found the Knights and killed them, and ripped off the heart of one of the Knights."
"Then he got the corpse of Dona Inês, put it on the throne, and made the nobles pay allegiance to her by kissing her hand."
"He still became King in the end. There is a lot more to this story but all of it is crazy but true facts. Portuguese Royal's history is full of stuff that could be part of Game of Thrones."
- Atlantic_Nikita
The V2
"More people died during the production of the V2 rocket than were killed by it as a weapon of war.."
- tim_to_tourach
"I know the conditions were atrocious and calling them 'brutally inhumane' would be an understatement, but this was also because a Spanish guy codenamed Garbo had offered to spy for the Nazis and immediately turned on them, and part of that was giving them incorrect information about where the V2s were landing (saying they were landing more south than they did) so the V2 launchers kept aiming them farther and farther North of London where they'd land in much less densely populated areas."
- guimontagThe Feline Evolution
"Humans developed agriculture around 12000 years ago. By storing grain, huge numbers of rodents flourished. Cats showed up to eat the rodents, and humans learned that if they took care of the cats, the cats would control the rodents. Therefore, it was the invention of agriculture that led to the domestication of the house cat."
- redvariation
Bored Cat GIFGiphy
County Cork
"During the Irish famine, the Choctaw Nation from the USA sent financial aid to them and while a small amount at the time it was seen as a great gesture in return during Covid, many Irish people donated money to the Navajo Nation to help them. There’s a statue in County Cork to commemorate it as well."
- Genybear12
Schnapped
"The Canadian-Denmark whiskey war was probably the most polite war ever. It involved a small island off the coast of Greenland. The Canadians claimed it by putting the Canadian flag and bottles of Canadian whiskey on the rock, and the Danes replaced it with schnapps and the Danish flag. Both sides reached an agreement to split the island in 2022. I'm guessing this is more well-known to Canadians and Danes than some of the rest of us."
- censorized
Try Pepsi
"Coca-Cola still uses coca leaves in their formula but just for the flavor. They are the only US company that is legally allowed to import coca leaves. The processed leaves are then sold to a pharmaceutical company."
- sn0m0ns
"I have heard that Coke in the USA tastes very different to Coke in Australia, reminded again by a friend who just tripped to Vegas. We presumed it is because of the corn syrup/cane sugar, but I’m pretty sure Coca-Cola-Amatil don’t get to bring in no coca leaves to Australia."
- SnooSongs8782
MAGIC MAN!
"The magician Harry Houdini hated people who claimed to be psychics and clairvoyants so much that he once testified before Congress in an attempt to get fortune readings and things like that made illegal."
- realfakejames
"The story of how he became a non-believer and debunker of the paranormal is fascinating. He wanted desperately to get in touch with his mother after she passed on but thought it was very strange that the mediums that claimed they were speaking to her could only speak English. His mother only spoke Yiddish."
- RosalindFranklin1920
Ashes 2 Ashes
"William Price. After cremating his son in 1884, he was arrested by those who believed cremation was illegal under English Law."
"He successfully argued that there was no legislation that specifically outlawed it, which paved the way for the Cremation Act 1902 and reintroduced Cremation into society as an alternative to burial."
"I am directly related to him through my father's side of the family."
- dolly3900
Deposits
"We have historic proof of the Lewis and Clark expedition because they took with them mercury pills. The mercury passed through their digestive tract and we've run into mercury 'deposits.'"
- AudibleNod
"Another Lewis and Clark fact: Their principal weapon was a compressed-air gun. They chose it as it would be seen as less threatening by the native Americans they came across along the journey, and wouldn't require expensive gunpowder to use."
"Yes, these guys Airsofted their way across North America."
- NotInherentAfterAll
The King
"When the Waikato tribes had overextended vs Taranaki tribes the future Māori King Pōtatau Te Wherowhero realized they were being lured into an ambush and tried to call his allies back."
"It would have turned into a rout but he took up a kō (gardening stick - he didn't even have his weapons with him) and struck down enemy chiefs in single combat repeatedly, till both sides stopped to watch, and retired for the day."
"No wonder they chose him to be the first King."
- notanybodyelse
The 1500s
"When there are talks about colonization, the countries that always come to mind are England, Spain, and France."
"It's pretty weird for me that most people forget the Netherlands and Portugal as they both had very impactful colonies around the world."
"I could understand if the case was that people would refer first to the oldest ones, but if that was the case, the Portuguese colonies should be referred to as well, as they go as far back as the 1500s."
- RickHard0
For Ketchup?
"The Supreme Court decided that Tomatoes are a vegetable, not a fruit, in 1893."
- iwrestledarockonce
" Pizza is a vegetable too. LOL."
- granniesonlyflans
Tomato GIF by Fazoli'sGiphy
Why are we just learning all of this information NOW?
History really is fascinating.
It's a shame so little of it is taught.
I would have been intrigued all through high school had we been discussing all of this.
