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Text • Tony Dunnell

Historical Figures Who Hated Each Other

Will Smith vs. Chris Rock. Nicki Minaj vs. Megan Thee Stallion. Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar — these modern celebrity beefs may grab headlines, but they pale in comparison to some of history’s most notable rivalries. Long before internet feuds and catty celebrity tweets, high-pr...

History Facts Valid
Text • Bess Lovejoy

The Horrifying Ways People Used To Clean Their Teeth

Imagine beginning your morning by rubbing powdered glass and burned hare’s head onto your teeth, then thoroughly rinsing with child’s urine. At various points in history, this might have counted as a meticulous dental routine. People have tried to keep their teeth clean for ...

History Facts Valid
Text • Michael Nordine

There were once riots over wearing straw hats past summer.

In the early 20th century, weather was celebrated with, and heralded by, hats. In the U.S., May 15 (or thereabouts) was Straw Hat Day, when people cheered the arrival of warm weather with light, airy headwear. Felt Hat Day, meanwhile, came on or around September 15, in antic...

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Text • Bess Lovejoy

There was a WWII factory hidden beneath a fake American neighborhood.

During World War II, pilots flying over Seattle might have spotted a quiet neighborhood near the Duwamish River with tree-lined streets winding past modest houses, tidy lawns, parked cars, and backyard fences. But no one lived there. The entire community was a stage set conc...

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Text • Michael Nordine

A Roman emperor died from eating too much cheese.

There were about 87 Roman emperors, some more (in)famous than others. One whose life and death is unlikely to inspire any epic films is Antoninus Pius, whose peaceful reign ended when he died after eating too much cheese. Two days before his passing, the 74-year-old was 12 m...

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Text • Bess Lovejoy

Abraham Lincoln had only about a year of formal schooling.

Abraham Lincoln is remembered as one of the most eloquent presidents in U.S. history, but little of his command of language came from a classroom. By his own estimate, all his formal schooling added together amounted to a bit less than a year, or perhaps about 10 months. In ...

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Text • Nicole Villeneuve

7 Things You Forgot Happened During the Revolutionary War 

During the American Revolution, 13 British colonies in North America fought for independence from English rule in what became one of the most defining conflicts in history. Certain moments from the Revolutionary War — which spanned from 1775 to 1783 — have certainly bee...

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Text • Michael Nordine

Navy bean soup has been on the Senate menu every day since 1903.

Though no one’s sure who to thank for the tradition — some say Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho, while others credit Minnesota’s Knute Nelson — one item has been on the menu on the Capitol Building’s Senate Dining Room every day since 1903: navy bean soup. Also known as Senate b...

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Text • Timothy Ott

What’s the Real Story of Ben Franklin’s Kite Experiment?

It's one of the most well-known moments in American history: Ben Franklin attaching a key to a kite during a thunderstorm to demonstrate the electrical nature of lightning. Yet, like a centuries-long game of telephone, the details of the celebrated 1752 experiment have been exaggerated or misinterpreted through countless retellings, creating a popular myth that may be more fiction than fact.

The post What’s the Real Story of Ben Franklin’s Kite Experiment? appeared first on History Facts.

History Facts Valid
Text • Michael Nordine

In 1941, the U.S. Postal Service moved $9 billion in gold to Fort Knox.

No visitors are allowed at the Fort Knox Bullion Depository, and for good reason: About half of the U.S. Treasury’s gold reserves are stored there, making it one of the most important locations in the country. Also invaluable in its own way is the United States Postal Servic...

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Text • Sarah Anne Lloyd

Seashells used to be used as currency.

Long before the gold standard came and went, seashells were a hot commodity — so much so that they were the preferred currency in various civilizations around the world. Cowrie shells, which come from small sea snails, were particularly widespread. While there’s some di...

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Text • Tony Dunnell

Why Do We Have Middle Names? 

Middle names are a strange concept. They often lie silent and unused, only to emerge when we fill out official forms and documents, providing an extra piece of proof as to who we are, despite our near-total disregard for the name in our daily lives. In the U.S., a majority o...

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Text • Timothy Ott

7 Priceless Facts About the U.S. Mint

With the ratification of the Constitution in 1788 and the Bill of Rights in 1791, citizens of the fledgling United States of America could count on documentation that guaranteed the separation of federal powers and an array of personal liberties. Of course, what good is free...

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Text • Michael Nordine

‘LOL’ used to be an acronym for ‘little old lady.’

Long before anyone laughed out loud on the internet, “LOL” was in use by virtue of a different phrase: “little old lady.” The acronym was popularized by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen in the 1960s. Caen used the abbreviation “LOL” in many of his works to refer t...

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Text • Bess Lovejoy

Who Built the Great Sphinx of Giza?

The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of the most iconic monuments of the ancient world. With the body of a lion and the head of a man, it has gazed across Egypt’s desert sands for thousands of years. But while millions have marveled at its majesty, one question continues to puzzl...

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Text • Nicole Villeneuve

There used to be a 3-cent U.S. coin called the ‘trime.’

One of the lesser-known coins in the history of U.S. currency is the 3-cent silver piece known as the “trime.” In 1851, Congress lowered the cost of mailing a letter from 5 cents to 3 cents to compete with private mail carriers, and simultaneously authorized the creation of ...

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Text • Nicole Villeneuve

7 Symbols on the $20 Bill — and What They Mean

United States currency is full of symbolic design choices and cryptic markings. First issued in 1861 as a demand note, the $20 bill is one of the most commonly used denominations. Over the years, the $20 bill has undergone numerous facelifts, from changing portraits and seal...

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Text • Timothy Ott

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World might not have existed.

According to the 2,000-year-old writings of Greek historians such as Strabo and Diodorus Siculus, the ancient city of Babylon (in modern-day Iraq) boasted tiered terraces of exotic plants of all types that towered several stories above onlookers from the ground. Said to have...

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Text • Kristina Wright

Why Do We Say Storks Deliver Babies?

You may have heard this story as a child: A baby was on the way, and someone explained that a stork would bring it. Perhaps you pictured a gangly white bird soaring through the sky with a newborn wrapped in a blanket dangling from its beak, ready to deliver the bundle to the...

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Text • Michael Nordine

Medieval people may have walked differently.

Compared to the Middle Ages, daily life now is considerably easier in countless ways, one of the most important of which is on your feet: modern shoes. Footwear in medieval Europe lacked sturdy soles, and according to one theory, people walked differently as a result.  ...

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Text • Timothy Ott

5 Eye-Opening Facts About the Dust Bowl

Although the Great Depression was a challenging time for most Americans, a special distinction can be made for those who weathered the unique conditions of the Dust Bowl. Generally encompassing a 300,000-square-mile region of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and ...

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Text • Timothy Ott

What the U.S. Presidents Did Before Taking Office

A look through the life journeys of all 45 people who have served as U.S. president reveals a general blueprint for ascending to the highest office in the land. Many spent a sizable chunk of their early careers in the military and/or as lawyers, before climbing the political...

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Text • Michael Nordine

Who Portrayed Abraham Lincoln Most Accurately?

Only one person has been portrayed on-screen more than Abraham Lincoln, and he doesn’t actually exist: Sherlock Holmes. Honest Abe has been inspiring filmmakers since 1908, when Van Dyke Brooke directed The Reprieve: An Episode in the Life of Abraham Lincoln, and has since a...

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Text • Kristina Wright

Why Do We Throw Rice at Weddings?

If you’ve been to a few weddings, you probably know the flow by now: the vows, the kiss, and then the party, with a few time-honored traditions woven in. One of the most iconic rituals? Guests showering the newlyweds with rice as they make their grand exit. It’s a festive mo...

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Text • Nicole Villeneuve

We Tried To Write an Entire Article in Middle English

When William of Normandy invaded England in 1066, it began a transformation of the Old English language. The Norman conquerors replaced the Anglo-Saxon ruling class, bringing with them their Anglo-Norman language, which was based on Old French. Over time, the two languages b...

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Text • Bess Lovejoy

The Oddest Things Found in Historical Wills

Most historical wills are fairly predictable. Someone gets the house, someone else gets the family silver, a favorite niece might inherit some jewelry. But every so often, a person uses their final legal document for something a little more memorable. Across the centuries, p...

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Text • Michael Nordine

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was the U.S. capital for one day.

Washington, D.C., was officially established as the U.S. capital on July 16, 1790, when the Residence Act moved it from Philadelphia. The capital had moved a few other times during the Revolutionary War: Among the country’s lesser-known  seats of government are Baltimor...

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Text • Bess Lovejoy

Why Do We Throw Coins Into Wells?

Most of us, whether as kids or adults or both, have probably tossed a coin into a fountain or a well at some point. And there’s a good chance we’ve done it without really thinking why — especially when we’re already thinking about what to wish for. But the coin-throwing cust...

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Text • Bess Lovejoy

The first known cookbook includes recipes for flamingo.

Imagine hosting a dinner party where the menu featured flamingo in pepper sauce, wine infused with rose petals, and honey-soaked dates for dessert. To wealthy Romans, that wasn’t fantasy — it was haute cuisine.  Those dishes appear in De Re Coquinaria (The Art of Cookin...

History Facts Valid
Text • Sarah Anne Lloyd

Snake oil wasn’t always a scam.

In the popular lexicon, “snake oil” refers to a scam product or bogus claim, particularly related to health. That connotation originated with one of history’s most notorious American hucksters, Clark Stanley, who sold “snake oil” he claimed would cure pain and rheumatism in ...