Here are 10 interesting facts about history that you weren't taught in school.
Number 1
Julius Caesar was captured by Cilician pirates in 75 BC. When they demanded a ransom of 25 talents of gold, he laughed. He offered to pay them 50 talents. He also joined in their games and behaved more like their leader than their prisoner. He even joked that he would hang them upon his return. When he was freed, he quickly sent ships to capture them, and they were subsequently hanged.
Number 2
Albert Einstein had the opportunity to become President of Israel in 1952. However, he refused, stating: "I am deeply touched by the offer from our State of Israel, and at the same time saddened and ashamed that I cannot accept it. All my life I have dealt with objective matters, but I lack both the natural aptitude and the experience to properly manage people and perform official functions."
Number 3
After Colonel Shaw's death in battle, the Confederates buried him in a mass grave, as an insult to the Black soldiers who lay there. Union troops attempted to recover his body, but his father sent a letter saying, "We would not want his body removed from where it lies, surrounded by his brave and devoted soldiers."
Number 4
November 9th is known as "Destiny Day" in German history because of the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm in 1918, Einstein's Nobel Prize win in 1922, the Munich Putsch in 1923, Kristallnacht in 1938, and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. All of these events took place on the same date.
Number 5
Empress Irene, Empress of the Byzantine Empire, became so by winning a beauty contest. After the death of her husband, she became the first empress in Byzantine history to rule in her own right.
Number 6
The Jewish population of Albania increased during the Holocaust. The predominantly Muslim population sheltered Jews from Europe, and only five Jews were killed in Albania during the two years of Nazi rule.
Number 7
At the Tehran Conference in 1943, Joseph Stalin proposed executing between 50,000 and 100,000 captured German officers. Churchill walked out in disgust, and Stalin chased him down the corridor, saying he was joking. Franklin Roosevelt quipped, "Perhaps 49,000 would be enough."
Number 8
When you think of Napoleon, you think of France. But Napoleon Bonaparte was actually more Italian than French. His original name was "Napoleone di Buonaparte" and he was born into an Italian noble family in Corsica, which had been bought by France from Italy (Genoa) just before his birth.
Number 9
Think American construction projects last forever? The longest-running construction project, the Corinth Canal, proposed as early as the 7th century BC, was officially launched by Nero in 67 AD, but due to complications, it wasn't completed until the 1890s.
Last but not least, number 10
The 1956 "Hundred Flowers Campaign" in China authorized and encouraged people to speak freely and openly express their opinions about the communist regime. However, a year later, the campaign was halted, and the Chinese government imprisoned those who spoke out critically about it. No wonder no one trusts government investigations.