Journey with us through 150 years
While the turkey is currently America’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 honored as such, so much so that they were domesticated to have roles in religious rites. They were symbols of power and prestige and can be found everywhere in Maya iconography and archaeology.
From then until now
After the French Revolution, eight year old Louis XVII was imprisoned and never seen in public ever again. His parents were executed in 1793 and, afterward, he was horrifically abused, neglected, and left isolated in a prison cell in the Paris Temple. In 1795, he died of Tuberculous at 10-years-old.
His body was buried in secret in a mass grave. Years later, dozens of men came forward claiming to be him because a Bourbon restoration was a possibility and a successful claimant could then potentially find himself on the throne of France.
Our History
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 by bootleggers. By the end of Prohibition in 1933, the federal poisoning program is estimated to have killed at least 10,000 people.
Our History
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 by bootleggers. By the end of Prohibition in 1933, the federal poisoning program is estimated to have killed at least 10,000 people.
Our History
1900 to 1930
As the old saying goes, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” (Or something like that). Yes, it’s important to know your history—not just the big names and key dates, but the little details that help us better understand a historic figure or era in which they lived. Maybe it’s a surprising fact that makes you rethink conventional wisdom. Maybe it’s a wild anecdote that seems too crazy to be true. Whatever the case, it’s the little, surprising bits of history are perhaps the most fun bits of history—the type of info that’s so wacky and out there it could never be repeated even if someone wanted to. Here are 50 such tidbits, in no particular order.
1900 to 1910
As the old saying goes, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” (Or something like that). Yes, it’s important to know your history—not just the big names and key dates, but the little details that help us better understand a historic figure or era in which they lived. Maybe it’s a surprising fact that makes you rethink conventional wisdom. Maybe it’s a wild anecdote that seems too crazy to be true. Whatever the case, it’s the little, surprising bits of history are perhaps the most fun bits of history—the type of info that’s so wacky and out there it could never be repeated even if someone wanted to. Here are 50 such tidbits, in no particular order.
She is caring, educated, giving, employed.
She was homeless.