What are the most interesting or funniest historical facts?

 Just how old graffiti is.

A recent news article mentioned the discovery of 2000-year-old scribblings in Old Tamil, etched onto the even more ancient murals left by the Pharaohs. The Indian traveler, a man named Cikai Korran, felt inclined to announce to the world that he had been there…

We’ve seen this sort of thing many times before — there is ancient Norse graffiti in the Hagia Sofia, for instance, left there by Viking travelers who decided to etch their names or some witty lines in the marble for posterity:

There is a very strong human tendency in a great many of us to be remembered, and to announce to the world our presence in faraway places that amaze us. So throughout history, people in awe of whatever place they visit, be it a tomb, temple or palace, have reached for their daggers or pocket knives and started etching…

I once read Victor Hugo came up with the idea for his famous novel “The Hunchback of the Nortre Dame” when he climbed up to the church attic and found, etched in ancient stones and wood placed there centuries prior, the scribblings of priests, construction workers and travellers etched there in Medieval times. What was once mindless vandalism had since become priceless history — he argued it should be preserved. Today’s vandals are tomorrow’s insight into the past.

What are some rare historical photos you wouldn't believe exist?

 

1. Dr. Lewis Sayre, Checking The Curvature Of The Spine - 1870s

2. The Opening Of The Eiffel Tower During The 1889 World’s Fair

3. Prisoners At Dachau Concentration Camp

4. Six-Year-Old Anne Frank Holding A Jumping Rope Next To Her Friend

5. British Military Equipment Disguised As Elephants

6. Last Known Photograph Of A Barbary Lion Before Presumed Extinction

7. Oldriev’s New Tricycle .W Oldrieve, 1882

8. Two Kashmir Giants Posing With The American Photographer James Ricalton

9. An Ultra Light Horse-Drawn Car In Traffic Paris (1943)

10. Charles Godefroy Flies Through The Arc De Triomphe In Paris

11. French Civilian Woman Pours A Drink Of Cider For A British Soldier

12. An Iron Man Of The Past In A Diving Suit

13. Frederick Patterson Was The First African-American To Manufacture Cars

14. A Female Firefighting Team On A Converted Motorcycle In London, 1932

15. Rainy Nights In London, 1899

16. Rural One-Room School House In Florida, 1870s

17. Photographer Above The Skies Of Berlin

18. Lifeboat Carrying Titanic Survivors, 1912

19. The Mississippi River Frozen Solid, 1905

20. Victorian Couple On A Tandem Bicycle, 1890s

What are some historical and majestic forts of India that every Indian must visit?

 Some historical and majestic forts in India are:

1. Kumbhalgarh Fort (the Great Wall of India) ~ Rajasthan.

2. Raigad Fort, Maharashtra.

3. Gwalior Fort, Madhya Pradesh.

4. Chitradurga Fort (One of the India’s strongest hill forts) in Karnataka.

5. Mehrangarh Fort, Rajasthan.

6. Lohagad Fort in Maharashtra ~ A grand military marvel of mighty Maratha empire.

7. Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan.

8. Kangra Fort, Himachal Pradesh ~ A Himalayan Wonder.

9. “Mirjan Fort” Karnataka.

10. Palakkad Fort, Kerala

11. Taragarh Fort, Bundi, Rajasthan

What is one of the most peculiar historical facts you have read?

 1. A Russian wedding party protests against air pollution, Russia, 1980s.

2. Anne Francis wearing aviary earrings with real budgies in ‘Forbidden Planet’ (1956)

3. A V-Shaped bed invented in 1932, supporting the body perfectly at every point and thus promotes better rest

4. People used to go to record stores and listen to records in a “Listening booth”.

5. A dog dressed in a suit with a kitten in its lap, 1950s

6. A concept design for car safety belts from the 1960s.

7. Two wax department store mannequins melt during a heat wave in London, 1929, Allegedly.

8. Actress Veronica Lake with her hair twisted in a drill press, demonstrating potential danger to women in factories during World War II.

Why didn't Iran retain the more appropriate historical name Persia?

 Persia is not actually our historical name. The last two Shahs of Iran were cultural nationalists who wanted to restore our ancient heritage. The word Persia comes from "Persis" or "Parsa," a Greek word meaning "land of the Persians." Persis was also the name of an ancient province.

Iran is our historical name, derived from the word "Eran" in ancient Parsik, also known as Middle Persian. The earliest use of the word "Iran" is found at Naqsh-e Rostam, an archaeological site in Persepolis, the ancient capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Four great kings of the Achaemenid Empire are also buried there. Here we find some of the earliest uses of the words "Iran," "Aryan," and "Iranian."

Now, there are words that were used specifically before "Iran". For example, "Aryanam", whose use is recorded in the "Avesta", a collection of ancient Zoroastrian religious texts in the Avestan language.

The word Persia, however, gradually gained acceptance and was widely used by the international community well into the last century. In 1935, Reza Shah officially changed the name back to "Iran" and asked the world to use "Iran" from then on. Surprisingly, this sparked a fierce controversy, and the law was repealed. But most modern states have called us Iran ever since.

What are some rare historical photos you wouldn't believe exist?

 Here is the list.

Some may be funny, some may be wierd, but remember it. You won't see them often.

• Probably the most important point in world's history.

11th December, 1941. Hitler declares war on U.S.

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• Italian dicatator Benito Mussolini killed by Italian partisans & people in Loreto square, Milan, while he was trying to move to Switzerland, in 1945.

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• WW1 reconnaissance pigeon, 1915.

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• Here's a beautiful lady. Any guesses?

Queen Elizabeth 2 giving her first televised Christmas address, 1957.

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• The last public execution in the United States.

On this friday, Aug 14, 1936 picture, Rainy Bethea is photographed for his execution in Owensboro, Kentucky.

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• Real braveheart. Smiling while being shot.

A Russian spy being shot in Finland in 1939.

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• Some creative artwork. Or war work?

Women painting propaganda posters for the war, 1942.

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• Beautiful memories of a great legend.

Charlie Chaplin rolling on the floor laughing on the set of Limelight.

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• Is he a joker? Nope. A psychopath. Nope.

He's Pablo Picasso (1957)

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• It's space time now. But not so adventurous.

The remains of astronaut Vladimir Komarov, a man who fell from space, 1967.

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• Just imagine the count of people killed in holocaust.

Wedding rings of holocaust victims.

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• Where's the body?

The Statue of Liberty's head at Paris world's fair, 1878.

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• Thug life.

Fidel Castro and Nikita Khrushchev drinking wine from a drinking horn in the Soviet Republic of Georgia, 1963.

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• Hitler doing some labour work.

Adolf Hitler breaking some ground on his ambitious project to link all major German cities with highways (September 1933)

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• Messy work. But great it was.

Albert Einstein's desk photographed a day after his death.

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That's it for now. Will add some more soon.

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Edit 1:

• Phew!! That's hell lot of destruction.

The shells from an allied creeping bombardment on German lines, 1916.

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• Painting of Eiffel tower, 1923

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• Melted & damaged mannequins after a fire at Madame Tussauds' Wax Museum, 1930.

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• Totally unexpected.

Norway celebrates the first ever banana arriving in the country.

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• Hitler in disguise.

Images from US intelligence agencies of how Hitler could have disguised himself, 1944.

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Edit: Here are some more pics.

This photo gives an idea of the great size of Titanic's propellers.

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The glasses wornby John Lennon when he was assasinated, in 1980.

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Christ, The Redeemer, being constructed.

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A man sweeping the hyper-inflated banknotes away from the streets after the introduction of new Hungarian forint in Aug, 1946, in Hungary.

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Construction of the Berlin wall in 1961.

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A German army dog from the first WW, wearing a hat and a pair of glasses and carrying a pair of binoculars.

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Image source: Rare Historical Photos ,historical photography , some more random Instagram pages.

Edit : Adding some pictures of India-pak partition during 1947.

Deciding the Ind-pak partition.

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Refugee camps in Pakistan were filled, burdening the already weakening economy.

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The aftermath.

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Refugees in queue for water- New Delhi, 1947

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Jinnah's last press conference in India before leaving for Pakistan,1947.

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Indian flag hoisting by Nehru at Red Fort in 1947.

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The first cabinet of independent India.

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Gandhi visits muslim refugees at Purana Quila , New Delhi, as they prepare to depart to Pakistan in 1947.

Source: Pinterest