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What are some cool history facts you know?
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#1
Jesus was not a white man. Cue religious zealots having a go about how he is. If you actually educate yourselves, he was born in Bethlehem (Palestine) to two Israelites from Nazareth "the Arab capital of Israel".
Final score:
32points
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
This is not going to upset anyone who went to my (Catholic) school. Why would he be from Scandinavia?
Dani Tuo 3 years ago
Can't think of anyone Christian who would be upset by it, it's well known. Even in my home country, where Jesus is depicted as Chinese, not a single one would be upset by the knowledge that he was not Chinese, they already know that.
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Mrs. Jan Glass 3 years ago
Jesus was also not a gun-toting, MAGA-hat-wearing, anti-LGBTQ+ capitalist riding a dinosaur, but you think that stops his believers*? That's the problem with valuing belief over facts and data. *No, we don't need the "Not all Christians-" brigade to show up now. Go do something useful, like encouraging your church to pay its taxes.
Dani Tuo 3 years ago
Only thing to correct here is that Yeshua bar Yosef was born in Bethlehem, Herodian Kingdom of Judea. His parents were of Judean ancestry. Roman documentation mentions a "Yeshua of Nazareth", and most historical experts of this field do agree that he existed, and he was a Galilean Jewish Rabbi.
Wintermute 3 years ago
Folks always throw this around as a gotcha statement, but I've never found anyone, religious or otherwise, who actually seems to care.
Ozacoter 3 years ago
If he ever existed you mean. The only historical texts where he is mentioned were translated by priests so they could easily have added him to the story.
Cowws 3 years ago
but the priests transscribing Tacitus... why would they include his negative opinion rather than spin it positive to say 'even the authorities couldn't help but praise him'
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Kelvin Scott 3 years ago
its not a fact , as he is fiction from a book of fiction in which his magic dad glows in the dark
Robin Bautista 3 years ago
Wow? You really don't think everyone has a right to their own opinion do you? You think everyone should listen to you, right? Because you're the only one who knows what you're talking about right I can tell you're really fun to be around. Other people's opinions are just as important but you sound very much like the kind of people that Christians talk about you're probably anti-gay you're probably racist and you probably have a big truck and a rebel flag somewhere right?
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Wintermute 3 years ago
50% Jewish, 50% Little Green Man. Makes about as much sense as any of it.
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RELATED:
#2
Frances Glessner Lee. Occasionally she'll pop up on a list like this one somewhere but it's really not that often and she was a COOL lady! She was, basically, the mother of forensic science. She was born in 1878 in the US and was very affluent but definitely a trail blazer for her time. When she was 52, she finally found her path and is most known for her "Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death", which are a series of artistic diorama's of crime scenes. They were meticulously detailed and are still used to this day to help train detectives, etc. Check her out, she was awesome! Yes, in today's times it's all about DNA and camera footage, etc. but if you've ever heard the phrase "walk the scene" in a book or on TV, her diorama's are what they're talking about. Being able to observe, to mentally construct what happened, etc. I love this woman.
Final score:
30points
General Anaesthesia 3 years ago
If she had been a man they'd have whole schools of thought named after her.
#3
The history of USA and South Africa is almost identical and consequently we have very similar problems. Watch. 1. Dutch settlers arrive on the coast in the 1600s and make a five-pointed castle. 2. They do this because it's a trade route. 3. They trade, barter, religiously brainwash, and fight with, the local population that pre-existed. 4. The British get upset at the fact that the Dutch got that piece of land and invade in the 1700s. 5. The Dutch flee to surrounding areas. 6. A bunch of people get into animal-drawn wagons and head inland. 7. They genocide the native people as they go, set up farms, and claim it is "empty land" and "manifest destiny". 8. The British go inland to find gems and gold. 9. Civil war ensues in the 1800s, partly over mineral control but also partly over slavery. 10. Peace is established, however, the Union that follows is white-biased and racist laws are enacted. 11. In the 1960s, civil rights movements protest and cause trouble with violent clampdowns by white authorities. 12. Eventually voting rights and civil rights, and petty segregation, is ended on paper. 13. However, petty segregation persists in practice, and racism persists in practice, with most wealthy people being white.
Final score:
24points
General Anaesthesia 3 years ago
And Afrikaans, with Dutch roots, is one of the official languages of South Africa.
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
OK, this is one parallel I've never seen outlined like this. Thank you.
Nimues Child 3 years ago (edited)
In the 1600s, the English from Massachusetts invaded first Long Island, then New Amsterdam, drove out the Dutch and renamed it New York. The parallels continue!
#4
Y’all not gonna believe this one. But… once upon a time, not so very long ago… in a faraway place called the United States of America, a majority of the general population figured that a narcissistic psychopath called Donald Trump might actually be fit to hold the highest public office in the world!And oh my, how the rest of the planet (and, according to some rumours, other planets) roared with laughter. Or cried with distress. Kid you not… true story. It’ll go down in history as one of the most painfully stupid things a population has ever done to itself.
Final score:
22points
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Um... No. It wasn't a majority, it was our stupid electoral college. And we definitively kicked him out the next election.
Wintermute 3 years ago
But the electoral college remains, which proves that the dangerous level of stupidity still thrives, so technically you're right, but that's not better.
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trevor 3 years ago
"Highest public office in the world? '' Big horse in a small paddock. lol
Load More Replies... Jon Steensen 3 years ago
I was surpriced that he actually stepped up and took on the project once he had won, let alone stayed for the entire four years. I thought he'd be bored a few weeks in and had realised that he was in way over his head. But no. First he was figting to keep the position, and when that failed, now he is even fighting to get back.
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Veronica Rabbit 3 years ago
And then we elected a senile old man. We literally cannot pick a good president. Narcissistic psychopaths abound.
Mark Fuller (Submission author) 3 years ago
So, author of original post replying. I'm a Brit, so no allegiance to American politics. Was just being provocative. Technically (like or not), population size, economic strength and military force mean that the US President remains one of the most powerful positions in the world. (Hard to believe given that none of them seem to get their way in their own country and they only have septuagenarians to choose from). But true. As for the comments... wow. Totally fascinating how passionate/angry/prejudice people can be about opposing political views. I get how polarising the main US parties are but christ... Live and let live. In my humble view, Trump wasn't good. Same as Boris is a blot of U.K. politics. But don't let politicians breed hatred and intolerance. They are people, not gods. Have healthy debate rather than ignorant arguments. Listen, respect views and discuss. Don't fight.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
The hate is always there, that's the problem. The different pols channel it differently. Frankly, if the US wasn't the largest army in NATO? We'd be cut much more down to appropriate "size" internationally, IMHO.
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Kanishka Rajawansha 3 years ago
6.9 million Sri Lankans on their presidential election in 2019: "Hold our beers!"
Mrs. Jan Glass 3 years ago (edited)
Nope. Most of that is either exaggeration, misinformation, or an outright lie. The "reduced unemployment" numbers were either people taking second jobs during the pandemic, or people taking new jobs because their old ones closed. The entire world is dealing with economic issues due to the pandemic, so no, it's not "turned around" anywhere. Don't forget, Donald also colluded with Russia, cheated, made billions of dollars illegally through deals as POTUS and at his private resorts, incl with the Saudis and Russians, and mismanaged COVID to the point that over a million Americans died, and millions more are dealing with long term health issues, bills in collections, and loss of work. The only accomplishment is gross failure across every possible venue. You might want to check your "various media outlets," because they may have the same parent source... provided this is even a good faith question.
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Jon Steensen 3 years ago
But a president should not be a man like me and you. Given the position he has, and the power he is given, I think we ought to find someone with a skill level that is far beyound what an average person can master. It should be the best that America can offer, not just "not the worst we have had".
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General Anaesthesia 3 years ago (edited)
Speaking of snowflakes, and as a matter of fact, Republican Senator McConnell declared that the Republican party's only job was to make sure President Obama was a one-term president and Trump sent his best men to Hawaii to prove that President Obama was not born in the USA. When Trump won, Secretary Clinton conceded like an adult, even though the doturd lost the popular vote by 7 million votes.
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H M 3 years ago
Fossil? Ageist...wait till your kids consign you to the dementia ward when you're old.
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Battle at Itter Castle, May 1945 German Wehrmacht, American units, French prisoners and Austrian resistance joined forces to fight off the SS who were trying to retake the castle.
Final score:
18points
#6
John Keller's heroics. This former 6' 8" Marine saved the lives of 240+ people at the American Can apartment building in New Orleans after the flooding of hurricane Katrina. He commandeered a kayak, and found food and medical supplies for the 170 elderly residents living there. When helicopter started flying overhead, he carried some of the elderly up five flights of stairs to put them on the roof to get the pilot's attention. When the helicopter couldn't land on the roof, he hot-wired a boat and started evacuating the people himself, 12 hours a day. He faced down a bandit who tried to steal his boat by pulling his own gun. He was later interviewed and said, "It sure wasn't for money. It wasn't for recognition. It wasn't to be no damn hero. What made me stay was the old people. I just realized that nobody else in here could have gotten those people out. They would have sat in here for five more days. And they didn't have five more days." (Will Smith was going to make a movie about him, but it fell through.)
Final score:
15points
#7
Once during the reign of Napoleon, France asked Spain permission gor their army to cross the country in order to conquer Portugal. Spain being a rival of Portugual agreed. Obviously France decided that since their troops were already there they would also take Spain.
Final score:
13points
jolie laide 3 years ago
Some of the worst atrocities to happen during the Napoleonic wars happened in Spain. Salamanca and Badajoz spring to mind. I read a Napoleonic soliders journal once that was published, he was from Prussia and it was mainly about the march to, battles in, and retreat from, the Russia campaign. Two things I remember most about it, was his really sweet and poetic descriptions of the scenery, especially about this one pond with pretty blue frogs. The other was about marching in winter and how everyone was so frozen, including the horses, that you could supposedly "cut off a piece of horse flesh and the beast would be none the wiser" because the troops were starving. There's a lot of private journals that you can buy copies of but they're really expensive because it's usually a "pay to print" situation. So to spend $40 - 60 (depending) for a copy of a journal that might only be X amount of pages can be off putting.
insert name here 3 years ago
What was the journal called, and where can I get it?
Load More Replies... #8
- Albania was prevented from joining NATO for a while due to pyramid schemes. There's a condition that the applying country has to have a degree of stability to join, but since it got to a point where two thirds of the population was involved in one scheme or another and there was rivalries between them, they didn't have the required stability. Luckily they fixed that mess and are now in :D - During the Nazi policy of Gleichschaltung (bringing all areas of social and political life under Nazi ideals) even the leaders of the National Rabbit Breeders Association were purged and replaced with Nazi-indoctrinated ones - During the Paris Peace Conference (where the victors of WW1 decided what the post war Europe would look like), at one point, the Queen of Romania (and someone else, but I forgot who) were frustrated that they were being sidelined, so they got into a small plane, flew over Paris and threw down rolls of toilet paper onto the city.
Final score:
12points
#10
On the day he was assassinated April 15, 1865, Abraham Lincoln created the Secret Service.
Final score:
10points
jolie laide 3 years ago
This is cool, when seen from the lens of modern times. But when the Secret Service was first created, it was because of rampant counterfeiting (money). The Confederate States, just before the Civil War broke out, created their own currency. Even before the war ended, the Confederate economy was collapsing so the currency was worthless before too long. When President McKinley was assassinated in 1901, the Secret Service got promoted to protecting Presidents, etc. full time. They still handle counterfeiting though!
#11
Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones drowned at Christopher Robin's house. Author A.A. Milne bought Cotchford Farm in 1925, and immortalized it, along with his son, in his Winnie-the-Pooh books. Visitors can still wander Hundred Acre Wood and Poohsticks Bridge. Christopher was bullied about his role in his father's books, and grew quite resentful of all things Pooh, so when A.A. died in the 50s, Christopher sold the farm to the Taylors. The Taylors made a few changes, including installing a swimming pool. In the mid 1960s, Brian Jones bought Cotchford Farm from them, and in 1969, drowned in the pool while likely intoxicated, feet away from where statues of Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, and Owl now all frolic in the rural idyll of a bygone time.
Final score:
9points
#12
Cool fact about Poland: Having seen Britain and France use a technicality to avoid going against Hitler when he invaded (long list)? The Poles refused to surrender even one building. To do so would have triggered the technicality in the treaties of mutual defense ---- "surrender one thing and you're on your own", is the TLDR version. So Poland refused to surrender anything. At all. Fought for every bit. It was *months* after the Nazi invasion before the British did anything besides "declare war". Actual *action*? Not till Denmark was invaded i spring 1940. (France invaded the Saar and then sat still.) thus WW2 is called "The Phoney War" by many due to the declaration but lack of hostilities against Nazi Germany.
Final score:
8points
General Anaesthesia 3 years ago
Correction: World War II is not called the Phoney War. Only the period between the British and French declaration of war after Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939, and the German invasion of France in May 1940 is called the Phoney War, or Sitzkrieg.
Leo Domitrix (Submission author) 3 years ago
I meant to state "Thus that stage of WW2".
Load More Replies... jolie laide 3 years ago
My Dad always used to love making fun of Poland, which pissed my Mom and I off big time. His favorite thing to harp on, was the Polish cavalry going up against German tanks on horseback. I think there was something like 70k cavalry troops early on. I'm never a fan of using animals in warfare, but they were 100% more maneuverable, faster, etc. not to mention the absolute balls of steel of both the troops and the horses! Plus the history of the Hussars is just badass in general.
Leo Domitrix (Submission author) 3 years ago
Yeah, my dad's fam mocked Poland. OK, you face German tanks with horses and farm tools b/c WW1 left your nation devastated and you actually obeyed the rules! Also, they slowed the Germans down ---- without the same armaments. (And horses don't need diesel, just grain and grass. Much easier to find in a predominantly agricultural society!)
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix (Submission author) 3 years ago
Correction noted: The statement should've said, "Thus that period of WW2 is called the phoney war". I didn't re-read closelly enough. BTW, yes, the Poles used anything and everything against the German advance ----- but if you read up on the efforts of the Poles, you realize they *would* have used horses against tanks. Guerrilla tactics were using everything they had!
Martin Kaine 3 years ago
I wasn't refuting cavalry action in WW2. Horsemen were used by every army (Heck, I think the last cavalry action for the US was in Vietnam). I was clarifying that lance wielding horsemen were never pitted against tanks, a myth propagated by the Nazis (like Heinz Guderian) and later the Soviets.
Load More Replies... #13
in 1620, the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts instead of further south because they had run out of beer. Really! English water was horrible and dangerous. Beer was safer to drink and the English put in a store of it to make it across the Atlantic to the New World. Due to the jet stream, it took longer to go west to America than they planned and the beer ran out before they could get south of MA. By then, it was fall and they needed to make shelter before winter. So, they stayed in MA. Good, safe water is one reason New England thrived. You no longer had a 10%-50% child mortality rate from unsafe water, so New England population boomed.
Final score:
7points
Jon Steensen 3 years ago
Jet stream? I think you mean the passat winds. The jetstream is is encountered at altitude around 10 km, where I doubt that any ships are (the flying dutcman might be the exeption)
Nimues Child (Submission author) 3 years ago
Yes, Jon. You are correct. I meant the gulf stream.
Load More Replies... Shannon Veillon 3 years ago
remember people did not know what bacteria was so if the water looked clean it look safe to drink. and that's how you get dysentery.
#14
As if being a beautiful, talented actress was not enough, Hedy Lamarr was also a gifted mathematician, scientist, and innovator. Alongside the famed composer George Antheil, Lamarr patented the "Secret Communication System" during World War II. Her idea (now referred to as "frequency hopping") pertained to a way for radio guidance transmitters and torpedo's receivers to jump simultaneously from frequency to frequency. Her invention sought to put an end to enemies' interception of classified military strategies, signals, and messages. While the technology of the time prevented the feasibility of "frequency hopping" at first, the advent of the transistor and its later downsizing propelled Lamarr's idea far in both the military and the cell phone industry. Overall, Lamarr introduced the technology that would serve as the foundation of modern-day WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth communication systems. Her creation of "frequency hopping," which holds an estimated worth of $30 billion, led her to receive the Pioneer Award of the Electronic Frontier Foundation as well as the Invention Convention's Bulbie Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award. Lamarr's impressive technological achievement combined with her acting talent and star quality makes "The Most Beautiful Woman in Film" one of the most accomplished and intelligent women in not only Hollywood but also STEM.
Final score:
6points
Nimues Child 3 years ago
Hedy Lamarr has been a hero in our house for years! She led an amazing life.
#16
Ramses II of Egypt was nearly 90 years old (longest ruling Pharaoh) and fathered between 80-100 children by the time he passed in 1213 B.C. His eventual cause of death is suspected to be a badly infected tooth. He created many temples, including Abu Simbel, which was relocated to higher ground in 1959 when a dam was created that would have flooded the previous location. Small statues of his children are around the feet of the larger sitting statues of him and his wife, Nefertari. His love for his wife was evident from the number of statues that bear her resemblance since it is believed that, in order for someone to remain in the Field of Reeds (final resting place) their image or name must be present in the mortal world.
Final score:
4points
#17
King Louis XIV of France rewarded the best brown-nosers. Some courtiers would place small wedges under statues so that the King could point out a slight tilt. Courtiers would then gush over the King's fantastic eye.
Final score:
4points
#18
After one of Hitlers speeches everyone kept clapping for 5 minutes after he finished speaking. The first guy to stop clapping was captured that night by the police and imprisoned. after this they brought in a bell to tell everyone when to stop clapping.
Final score:
3points
dot dot dot. (Submission author) 3 years ago
sorry everyone, i thought it was hitler, thankyou fur letting me know it was stalin
#19
They didn't mean to blow up the Bastille
Final score:
2points
#20
Shortest war in history was the Anglo-Zanzibar war. Lasted around half an hour. Essentially Britain showed up and told the kind of Zanzibar to surrender by noon or they would declare war and blow up the castle. Noon came and went and no surrender so we did as we said we would and blew the mfers to pieces. One British soldier was killed and over 200 Zanzibar soldiers. Needless to say, the kind surrendered. And that is another example of Britain conquering a country cuz they could.
Final score:
1point
Dani Tuo 3 years ago
The Kingdom of Zanzibar was a British Protectorate (the King retained power but was ultimately controlled by the British King). The declaration of war is because the incoming King didn't pledge themselves to the British Empire. I'm not saying in any way, shape, or form that British Imperialism wasn't wrong, but it was not "conquering a country cuz they could".
Rowan/Vin (Submission author) 3 years ago
Sorry I must have read wrong, it was a while ago that I read it so I might have forgotten some details
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What do you think ?
Octavia Hansen 3 years ago
Mama Cass & Keith Moon died in the same Mayfair apartment, 4 years apart, owned by Harry Nillson. Both were only 32 years old. (I LOVE music trivia!)
albernistuff 4sale 3 years ago
Canadians aren't known for bragging but.. The Royal Canadian Navy (1910) participated in WW1 and grew during WW2 to the world's THIRD rank, playing a vital role in the battle of the Atlantic.
Octavia Hansen 3 years ago
Mama Cass & Keith Moon died in the same Mayfair apartment, 4 years apart, owned by Harry Nillson. Both were only 32 years old. (I LOVE music trivia!)
albernistuff 4sale 3 years ago
Canadians aren't known for bragging but.. The Royal Canadian Navy (1910) participated in WW1 and grew during WW2 to the world's THIRD rank, playing a vital role in the battle of the Atlantic.
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