- The Titanic‘s Owners Never Said the Ship Was “Unsinkable”
Despite what James Cameron’s iconic 1997 film may have you believe, the owners never said that it could never sink. Historian Richard Howells said that “the population as a whole were unlikely to have thought of the Titanic as a unique, unsinkable ship before its maiden voyage.”
2. There Were More Than 600 Plots to Kill Fidel Castro
Yes, 600. The Cuban dictator was targeted to be killed by a large range of foes, including political opponents, criminals, and even the United States, among many others. Tactics included everything from an exploding cigar to a poisoned diving suit.
3. Cleopatra Was Not Egyptian
Despite what you may believe, the last queen of Egypt wasn’t born in Egypt. As best as Historians can tell, Cleopatra VII (that’s her formal name) was Greek. She was a descendant of Alexander the Great’s Macedonian general Ptolemy.
4. Pope Gregory IV Declared a War On Cats
Pope Gregory IV declared war on cats in the 13th Century. He said that black cats were instruments of Satan. Because of this belief, he ordered the extermination of these felines throughout Europe. However, this plan backfired, as it resulted in an increase in the population of plague-carrying rats.
5. Mary Actually Had a Little Lamb
Everyone knows the nursery rhyme “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” but you probably didn’t know this was based on true story. Her name was Mary Sawyer. She was an 11-year-old girl and lived in Boston and one day was followed to school by her pet lamb. In the late 1860s, she helped raise money for an old church by selling wool from the lamb.
6. It has been calculated that in the last 3,000 years there have only been 240 years of peace in the world
7. The Government Literally Poisoned Alcohol During Prohibition
During Prohibition in the United States, the U.S. government literally poisoned alcohol. When people continued to consume alcohol despite its banning, law officials got frustrated and decided to try a different kind of deterrent—death. They ordered the poisoning of industrial alcohols manufactured in the U.S., which were products regularly stolen bootleggers. By the end of Prohibition in 1933, the federal poisoning program is estimated to have killed at least 10,000 people.
8. Captain Morgan Actually Existed
Yes, face of the well-loved rum brand was a totally real guy. He was a welsh privateer who fought alongside the English against the Spanish in the Caribbean in the 1660s and 1670s. His first name was Henry and was knighted by King Charles II of England. His exact birth date is unknown, but it was sometime around 1635. He died in Jamaica in 1688, apparently very rich.
9. Ketchup Was Sold in the 1830s as Medicine
In the 1830s, when it came to popular medicine, ketchup was all the rage. In 1834, it was sold as a cure for indigestion by an Ohio physician named John Cook. It wasn’t popularized as a condiment until the late 19th century. The more you know.
10. President Abraham Lincoln is in the Wrestling Hall of Fame
Before the 16th president took office, Abraham Lincoln was declared a wrestling champion. The 6’4″ president had only one loss among his around 300 contests. He earned a reputation for this in New Salem, Illinois, as an elite fighter. Eventually, he earned his county’s wrestling championship.
11. July 4th Isn’t the Real Independence Day
July 4th is not the real american independence day. It is actually July 2nd because this is when the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia actually voted to approve a resolution of independence. July 4th, though, is when the Congress adopted the official Declaration of Independence, and most didn’t even sign that until August.
12. Abraham Lincoln Was Also a Licensed Bartender
Besides being a wrestling champ, Lincoln was also a licensed bartender. In 1833, the 16th president opened up a bar called Berry and Lincoln with his friend William F. Berry in New Salem, Illinois. The shop was eventually closed when Berry, an alcoholic, consumed most of the shop’s supply.
13. The First Face on the $1 Bill Was Not George Washington
The first president was not the first face of the $1 bill! The first face to appear on this currency was Salmon P. Chase. The first $1 bill was issued during the Civil War in 1862. Chase was the Secretary of Treasury at that time and was also the designer of the country’s first bank notes.
14. Thomas Edison Didn’t Invent the Light Bulb
While Edison did have an astonishing 1093 patents, the majority of these were not of his own invention. He stole most of them. While he did land the patent for the light bulb in 1880, the real inventor was actually Warren de la Rue, a British astronomer and chemist, who actually created the very first light bulb forty years before Edison.
15. And Betsy Ross Didn’t Design and Sew the First American Flag
At least the only proof we have of this is from Ross’s grandson, william camby, who claimed in 1870 that his “gam-gam” had the idea. The real creator was more likely to be Francis Hopkinson from New Jersey, who signed the Declaration of Independence and also designed many seals for the U.S. government.
16. Cars Weren’t Invented in the United States
No, it wasn’t Henry Ford’s Model T in 1908. The first car actually was created in the 19th Century when European engineers Karl Benz and Emile Levassor were working on automobile inventions. Benz patented the first automobile in 1886.