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The Ethiopian calendar is seven years behind the rest of the world.

Frida Kahlo created 143 paintings. Of these, 55 were self-portraits.

Yo-yos were used as weapons by warriors in the Philippines in the 16th century.

In the history of the Earth, humans are closer to Tyrannosaurus Rex than T. Rex is to stegosaurus.

The shower-curtain effect is the phenomenon in which a shower curtain gets blown inward with a running shower. Scientists don’t know what causes this.

Ice cream was once called "Cream Ice"

The American Revolution (1765-1783) came before the French Revolution (1789-1799).

1816 was known as "the year without a summer."

During World War 2 the US created a bomb that used live bats.,

Frederick Douglass was the most photographed man of the 19th Century. He wanted to ensure an accurate depiction of Black Americans during the Civil War.

In ancient Rome, when a man testified in court he would swear on his testicles.

The littlest warm blooded creature is the honey bee bat, which weighs under a penny.

Marie Curie was the first person ever to win TWO Nobel Prizes ‚Äì one for physics in 1903, the other for chemistry in 1911 for her work on radioactivity.

Ancient Egyptians shaved off their eyebrows to mourn the deaths of their cats.

The Empire State building only took a little over a year to build (410) days, and it was 12 days ahead of schedule when completed.

Despite Mercury being the closest planet to the Sun, Venus is the warmest planet.

John Tyler, the 10th president of the United States, had a grandson who was alive this year.

Oxford University is older than the Aztecs.

President Ulysses S. Grant was arrested for speeding on a horse.

Cleopatra lived closer in history to cellphones than to the Great Pyramids of Egypt

Ancient Roman surgeons were trained to block out the screams of human pain.

The world's oldest known recipe is for beer.

Adolf Hitler plotted to kill Winston Churchill with exploding chocolate.

The feeling of dread toward long words is called hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.

More French soldiers died during World War I than American soldiers during all of U.S. history. An estimated 1,360,000 million French soldiers died.

According to Tori Avey, coffee became a popular drink in America after the Boston Tea Party of 1773: Making the switch from tea to coffee was considered a patriotic duty.

The difference in time between when Tyrannosaurus Rex lived and Stegosaurus lived is greater than the difference in time between Tyrannosaurus Rex and now.

Cleopatra lived closer in time to the moon landing than to the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

15% of all public corporations in the United States use a drab two-story office space in Delaware as their tax haven including half of all Fortune 500 companies.,

The Roman – Persian wars are the longest in history, lasting over 680 years. They began in 54 BC and ended in 628 AD.

The motto on the United Kingdom’s Royal Coat of Arms is in French. The motto is “Dieu et mon droit,” which means “God and my right.”

Australia once lost a war to emus (the birds).,

After landing in Ireland after her first solo Atlantic flight, a farmer asked Amelia Earhart where she was from. When she said America, he almost didn't believe her!

A witness to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination was interviewed on TV

Elephants have the longest pregnancy in the animal kingdom at 22 months. The longest human pregnancy on record is 17 months, 11 days.

About 1 percent of people alive today are descended from Ghengis Khan

It is thought by Russians that eating ice cream will keep you warm.

The mayor of a historical district in Alaska is a cat named Stubbs. Mayor Stubbs drinks catnip-laden water from a wineglass every afternoon at a local restaurant.

The British government coined the slogan, “Keep Calm and Carry on,” during World War 2 in order to motivate citizens to stay strong. Posters with the slogan were printed but never officially issued, and were only unearthed in 2000.

In 1942, a 12-year-old lied about his age to join the Navy. He became a decorated war hero at age 13 but was thrown out of the Navy after his mom found out.

Mammoths went extinct 1,000 years after the Egyptians finished building the Great Pyramid.

“Infantry” sounds like “infant,” as typically, in ancient times, an army’s infantry consisted of soldiers too young or too inexperienced to ride a horse and be part of the cavalry.

More French soldiers died during World War I than American soldiers during all of U.S. history

The original name for Bank of America was 'Bank of Italy.'

George Washington didn't actually chop down a cherry tree.

A woman once tried to commit suicide by jumping off the Empire State Building. She jumped from the 86th floor but was blown back onto the 85th floor by a gust of wind.

In the early 1900s, there was a pod of killer whales who helped humans hunt down other whales in Australia. They would do this for the fins and tongues of the captured whales as rewards, and this agreement was known as “The Law of Tongue.”

A Georgia teacher who bought a $400 travel insurance policy was rewarded $10,000 because she read the fine print of the contract.,

The shortest war in history was between Britain and Zanzibar in 1896 and lasted only 38 minutes.

A piece of 10,000-year-old chewing gum was found.

The longest word without a vowel is 'rhythms.'

There was a proposed Amendment to the US Constitution in 1916 that would put all acts of war to a national vote, and anyone voting yes would have to register as a volunteer for service in the United States Army.,

The word “Gymnastics” linguistically means “to train naked.” It is derived from the two Ancient Greek words “gumnasía” (athletic training, exercise) and “gumnós” (naked). This is because many Greek athletes would train naked for the Olympic games.

More civilians died in the Battle of Stalingrad than in the nuclear atrocities at Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.

The deadliest sickness in history was the Spanish influenza, which killed an expected 50 million individuals.

The first service animals were established in Germany during World War I. References to service animals date as far back as the mid-16th Century.

The youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize is Malala Yousafzai (aged just 17 in 2014), for her work as a child rights activist and champion of girls‚Äô right to education.

Regardless of their size, naval tradition declares submarines to be called “boats” rather than “ships.”

During 1943, U.S. officials imposed a short-lived ban on sliced bread as a wartime conservation measure. It lasted less than 3 months.

The pyramids were as old to the Romans as the Romans are to us.

Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.

Flies jump backwards during takeoff.

The longest word in the English language without a vowel is 'rhythms.'

Pablo Picasso entered art school around the age of 10. The Picasso Museum in Barcelona, Spain includes many ‚Äúearly works‚Äù from his childhood.

The first time a toilet appeared on TV was in 1957.

The shortest war in history lasted just 36 to 48 minutes between Britain and Zanzibar in 1896.

An 18-year-old with dwarfism played the 8-year-old Grinch in The Grinch (2000). He passed away two years after the film was released.

There are more than 10 million bricks in the Empire State Building.

Drug lord Pablo Escobar spent $2500 a month on rubber bands to hold all his cash

Before European contact (which caused populations to diminish rapidly) California indigenous tribal groups spoke more than 200 unique dialects.

Hummingbirds are the only animals that can fly backwards.

The spiked dog collar was invented by the Ancient Greeks to protect their dogs from wolf attacks.

More photos were taken in the past seven years than in all of the previous history.,

The Bayeux Tapestry is 70 meters long and depicts the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Frederick Douglass taught himself to read and write.

Humans specifically have eyes that face forward for the purpose of seeing in 3D. On the other hand, vegetarian dinosaurs such as the Triceratops had eyes that looked out to the side so they could stay vigilant, watching for danger as they ate.

Buzz Aldrin (the second man to ever step on the Moon, in 1969) actually peed himself while walking on the surface, apparently.

The longest reigning monarch ever was Louis XIV of France. He ruled for 72 years, 110 days. Exhausting.

Oxford University is older than the Aztec Empire,

The February of 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

Cleopatra lived closer to the invention of the iPad than she did to the building of the Great Pyramid.

The word 'nerd' was first coined by Dr. Seuss.

The Olympics used to award gold medals for art.

Harriet Tubman was alive at the same time as both Thomas Jefferson AND Ronald Reagan.

An estimated 16 million people died during World War I.

Four of the top seven highest-grossing films of all time were released in 2015. Avengers: Age of Ultron, Furious 7, Jurassic World, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Elwood Edwards did the voice for the AOL sound files (i.e. “You’ve got Mail!”).

King Henry VIII of England had servants called 'Grooms of Stool', who wiped him clean after he visited the toilet. Gross.

In the film Star Wars Episode Three: Revenge of the Sith, every single one of the Clone Troopers was produced using CGI effects.

Anne Frank and Martin Luther King, Jr. were born the same year

Abe Lincoln was a professional wrestler long before he became the 16th President of the United States.

The sound of a Star Wars lightsaber was created by pairing together the sound of an idle film projector and the buzz from an old TV set.

The name Jessica was created by Shakespeare in the play Merchant of Venice.

Ewok Jerky was a popular snack across the Outer Rim in the Star Wars Universe.

Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand.

Amelia Earhart first saw a plane at the age of 10 but didn't take an airplane ride until 1920 when she was 23 years old.

The “save” icon in Microsoft Office programs shows a floppy disk with the shutter on backwards.

The Anglo-Zanzibar War (1896) was the shortest war ever ‚ lasting just 38 minutes!

Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.

Frederick Douglass's birth name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. When he married he chose the last name Douglass after the hero clan in Sir Walter Scott's famous poem, Lady of the Lake.

Right up until 1952, Olympic medals were handed out for sculptures, paintings, music, literature and other forms of art!

The longest unbroken alliance in world history is between England and Portugal. It has lasted since 1386 and still stands today.

The Wright Brothers only flew together once (though both piloted the planes individually): on May 25, 1910, they took a six-minute flight piloted by Orville with Wilbur as his passenger.

Ancient Romans used urine as mouthwash.,

Medieval chastity belts are a myth. A great majority of examples now existing were made in the 18th and 19th centuries as jokes.

In Ancient Greece, throwing an apple to a woman was a symbolic declaration of love, and to catch it was to show acceptance of that love.

The first hand-held mobile phone call was made on April 3rd, 1973, in NYC.

Speaking of Ancient Egypt, the Great Sphinx of Giza...has a tail!!!

Whenever Charles Dickens was away from home, he would always realign the bed he was sleeping in to face Northwards, as he felt that this fostered and unlocked his creativity.

The most limited battle in history endured only 38 minutes.

Mammoths were still alive when the Great Pyramid at Giza was being built.

George Washington never actually lived in Washington, D.C.

There is a Scottish tartan designed for Mars exploration. It was officially registered in 2016 to be worn during Mars science, exploration, and outreach activities.

Radioactive particles from the Cold War were found in the deepest parts of the ocean.

Emus and kangaroos can't walk backwards.

The evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk saved 193,000 British and 145,000 French troops.

Walt Disney started sketching regularly when he was just four years old.

Willie Nelson and Frank Sinatra made PSAs on space together.

Greeks and Romans used to use crocodile dung as skincare.

There are multiple presidents in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, including Abe Lincoln.

Ancient Egyptian priests would pluck every hair from their bodies.

Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime

Anne Frank, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barbara Walters were born in the same year, 1929.

The shortest war in history was between Britain and Zanzibar on August 27, 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.

Black teeth were a sign of wealth in 18th century England.

Abraham Lincoln lost five separate elections before he became president of the U.S. (Never, ever, ever give up!)

The highest body count in film history goes to “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” with 836 on-screen deaths.

The Earth is 147.2 million kilometers away from the Sun, and its about 4.5 billion years old.

Beethoven and George Washington were alive at the same time — in fact, George Washington was in his 40s when Beethoven was born.

The inventor of the microwave wasn't trying to create a microwave.

Warren Beatty and Shirley McLaine are brother and sister.

Queen Elizabeth II saved up post-war clothing ration coupons in order to pay for her wedding dress in 1947.

Young Tyrannosaurus rex‘s probably had a thin coat of downy feathers to stay warm. They did not need them as they got older due to their size.

Ralph Lauren’s real name was Ralph Lifshitz.

A Dutch start-up company has been able to start training wild crows so that they pick up cigarette butts and put them in bins for a peanut as a reward.

A B-25 bomber crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building on July 28, 1945.

In ancient Greece "idiot" meant a private citizen or layman.

Disney sold the streaming right for the original Star Wars films in 2016 to Turner until 2024. Disney has since decided to start a streaming service and has tried asking for the rights back, but Turner refuses every time.

Oxford University is older than the Aztec empire.

One dollar bills did not have "In God We Trust" on them until 1957:

The Nazis were the first ever people in modern history to start an anti-smoking and tobacco movement.

Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln have the same exact birthday — down to the year.

Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the Isle of Man all have claims to having the oldest parliament in history, all of which were founded in the 9th and 10th centuries.

Hedy Lamar was a famous Hollywood film actress who also invented what became modern-day Wi-Fi.

0.5% of the male population are descended from Genghis Khan. (Scientists did a study in 2003 showing that about 16 million dudes share a Y chromosome with the famous Emperor.)

Not only were Donald Trump, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton born in the same year...they were also born in consecutive months.