Random historical facts you didn’t know

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George Washington opened a whiskey distillery​

After his presidency, Washington opened a whiskey distillery. By 1799 it was the largest distillery in the United States, producing 11,000 gallons of un-aged whiskey.

 

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Rasputin survived many assassination attempts​

Russian mystic and friend to Czar Nicolas II, Rasputin survived being poisoned, shot, and stabbed numerous times before he was drowned in the Volga River.

 

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Abraham Lincoln was an accomplished wrestler​

Thanks to Lincoln’s long limbs, he was an accomplished wrestler as a young man. He was only defeated once in approximately 300 matches, and earned a reputation as an elite fighter in New Salem, Illinois.

 

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Cleopatra was of Greek origin​

Many might not know this, but the famous Egyptian ruler was of Greek origin and a descendant of Alexander the Great’s Macedonian general, Ptolemy.

 

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Olympic Games held competitions in the fine arts​

From 1912 to 1948, medals were given for literature, architecture, sculpture, painting, and music. The art created was required to be Olympic-themed.

 

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King Leopold II of Belgium is considered one of the worst mass murderers​

Under Leopold’s rule, native people in the Congo Free State suffered mass mutilations and death by Belgians who treated the region as their own rubber plantation. Belgian authorities regularly punished people for missing work quotas by cutting off their hands.

 

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Italian doctors invented a fake disease to save Jews from the Holocaust​

In 1943, a mysterious and frightening illness spread through Nazi-occupied Rome. But it was revealed 60 years later by Italian doctors that they invented ‘Syndrome K’ to save Italian Jews. At least 20 people were saved from deportation.

 

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The Boston Marathon didn't have female runners until 1967​

As women were not allowed to run the Boston Marathon, Kathrine Switzer signed up in 1967 using only her initials. When she showed up, race officials were enraged as she wasn't a man, and several attempted to stop her from running. Nevertheless, she powered through and finished the race.

 

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Roman emperor Caligula made one of his horses a senator​

Known for his insanity, the emperor made his beloved horse Incitatus a senator. The horse received a marble stall, a jeweled collar, and even a house.

 

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Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as medicine​

In 1834, ketchup was sold as a cure for an upset stomach by an Ohio physician named John Cook. It wasn’t until the late 19th century when it became a popularized condiment

 

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Napoleon Bonaparte was once attacked by a horde of bunnies​

Napoleon had requested that a rabbit hunt be arranged for him and his men. When the rabbits were released from their cages, they charged towards Napoleon and his men in a vicious and unstoppable onslaught.

 

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There were female gladiators in ancient Rome​

A female gladiator was called a gladiatrix, two or more gladiatrices. They were extremely rare, but did exist until being officially banned from 200 CE onwards.

 

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Turkeys were once worshiped as gods​

In 300 BCE, these big birds were heralded by the Mayan people as vessels of the gods and honored with worship. They were symbols of power and prestige, and were domesticated to have roles in religious rites.

 

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The shortest war in history lasted 38 minutes​

Fought between Britain and Zanzibar, the Anglo-Zanzibar War occurred on August 27 in 1896. It was over the ascension of the next Sultan in Zanzibar, and resulted in a British victory.

 

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Forks used to be seen as sacrilegious​

First introduced in Italy in the 11th century by a Byzantine princess, forks were seen as rude and sacrilegious because they were ‘artificial hands.’ Even in the 16th century, the English were still ridiculing those who dared to use the utensil.

 

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Iceland has the world’s oldest acting parliament​

Called the Althing by Icelanders, the world's oldest acting parliament was established in 930 CE.