Are you a fan of History? Is there something that you read somewhere and would love to confirm its authenticity? Well, for you all History lovers, here are 10 Historical Facts that will blow your mind.
A fact is a thing that is known or proved to be true. It is a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true. History (derived from Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historía) , meaning ‘inquiry or knowledge acquired by investigation’ is the systematic study and documentation of the human past.
The period of events before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. “History” is an umbrella term comprising past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of these events.
A historical fact is a fact about the past. It answers the very basic question, “What happened?” Yet beyond merely listing the events in chronological order, historians try to discover why events happened, what circumstances contributed to their cause, what subsequent effects they had, and how they were interpreted.
The characteristics of Historical facts include the fact that historical facts are integrated in nature, they are generally unobservable, they can be grouped or explained in different patterns and they have an element of subjectivity in the selection and interpretation.
Historical Facts are not only priceless but they are quite valuable to culture as well as daily life. Here are the 10 Historical facts that will blow your mind.
10 Historical facts that will blow your mind.
Turkeys were once worshipped like Gods.
Can you imagine that ? While the turkey is currently the World’s favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal, in 300 B.C., these big birds were heralded by the Mayan people as vessels of the gods and were actually honored as such. They were sacred creatures, so much so that they were domesticated to have roles in religious rites. During this time, Turkeys were symbols of power and prestige and up until now, they can be found everywhere in Maya iconography and archaeology. Mind Blowing, right?
The Olympics used to award medals for Art.
Ranging from around 1912 to 1948, the Olympic Games held competitions not only in sports but also in the fine arts. Medals were given for literature, architecture, sculpture, painting, and music. Naturally, the art created was required to be Olympic-themed.
According to the founder of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Frédy, the addition of the arts was very necessary because the ancient Greeks used to hold art festivals alongside the games. It is recorded that before the art events were eventually removed, 151 medals were awarded. Take me back to the old days.
Napoleon Bonaparte was once attacked by bunnies.
Who would have ever imagined that once upon a time, the famous conqueror of nations Napoleon Bonaparte was attacked by bunnies? The emperor himself had requested that a rabbit hunt be arranged for himself and his men. His chief of staff set it up and had men round up reportedly 3,000 rabbits for this special occasion. When the rabbits were released from their cages, the hunt was ready to go. Things did not go as planned because the bunnies charged toward Bonaparte and his men in a viscous and unstoppable manner. Must have been such a funny sight!
The government poisoned alcohol during prohibition.
Prohibition of alcohol in the United States was clearly not enough to get citizens off the bottle. The Government however had another brilliant plan in mind. What could beat death, right? When people continued to consume alcohol despite its banning, law officials got frustrated and decided to try a different kind of deterrent. 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. This is the most fascinating fact of all the 10 facts that will blow your mind.
Using a fork was considered blasphemous.
Can you imagine life without a fork? I don’t think so! However unbelievable it may seem, Forks, the widely used eating utensils, were once seen as blasphemous. They were first introduced in Italy in the 11th Century. These spiked spaghetti-twirling instruments were seen as an offense to God. Why? You may wonder. This is because they were considered “artificial hands” and as such was considered to be sacrilegious.
Not only were forks very expensive, but they were also disapproved by the Church and people did not know how to use them. Forks were disliked by the Church that argued God had created humans with fingers so they could touch and eat God’s food. The Church’s disapproval did not stop people from producing gold and silver forks that wealthy families in Tuscany wanted to have at the dining table. The fork was a shocking sensation for at least a hundred years.
The First Face on the $1 Bill Was Not George Washington.
We all believe that the very first face on the $1 bill was George Washington,, right ? Well the fact is that the first president was not the first face of the $1 bill! The first face to appear on this currency was Salmon P. Chase. Chase was the Secretary of Treasury at that time and was also the designer of the country’s first bank notes. The first $1 bill was issued during the Civil War in 1862.
Cleopatra was not an Egyptian.
Despite what you all may believe, the last queen of Egypt wasn’t born in Egypt, hence she was not Egyptian. As best as Historians can tell, Cleopatra VII (as her formal name) was Greek. She was a descendant of Alexander the Great’s Macedonian general Ptolemy. Isn’t that fascinating?
Walt Disney did not draw Mickey Mouse.
This may be a spoiler for y’all Mickey Mouse lovers now. While Walt Disney did have the idea of Mickey Mouse and also provided the voice, the imagery was not created by him but it was rather created by the animator Ub Iwerks. Iwerks came up with all the iconic features. It is sad that after reading this fact, you won’t look at the adorable mouse the same again.
Walt Disney was not Cryogenically Frozen.
There has always been a heavy myth surrounding the death of popular creator Walt Disney. Walt Disney died in 1966 and there is a widely spread myth that his body was cryogenically frozen in the hopes that, when technology advances enough, he would also be revived. Well, however much technology has evolved, no one has been able to resurrect a dead soul and even if it had happened that such technology existed, we would never get Disney back because he was actually cremated.
The Bloody Mary was not called a bloody Mary before.
Do you love yourself a Bloody Mary? Here is a fact for you. The popular brunch beverage and hangover cure didn’t actually start off as being called a Bloody Mary. It was actually called A Bucket Of Blood. The name however was not too appetizing so it evolved. After Bucket Of Blood, it transitioned to Red Snapper and, finally, Bloody Mary.
“History is not the past but a map of the past, drawn from a particular point of view, to be useful to the modern traveler.”
Henry Glassie, US historian (1941)
Frequently Asked Questions.
Why are historical facts important?
Through history, we can learn how past societies, systems, ideologies, governments, cultures and technologies were built, how they operated, and how they have changed. The rich history of the world helps us to paint a detailed picture of where we stand today.
How are historical facts created?
They are written as though they are collections of information. In fact, History consists of making arguments about what happened in the past on the basis of what people recorded (in written documents, cultural artifacts, or oral traditions) at the time.
How should you distinguish historical facts from myths?
The significant difference between Mythology and History is that mythology is based on natural and supernatural beliefs and aspects. On the other hand, historical facts are based on real-life events that occurred in the past.
What was the first historical fact?
The earliest ‘historical’ events are verified by archaeology, not written records. A historical event that has been verified by hard science is the supernovae observed by the Chinese in 1054 (and by Native Americans, but not recorded in writing) that created the Crab Nebula.
How do historians gather facts?
Historians gather and weigh different kinds of evidence, including primary sources (documents or recollections from the time period being studied), material artifacts, and previous scholarship (secondary sources).
