Historical Facts

Dee doesn't want to Work

He wants to Clean

King Henry VIII's Coffin Exploded — And Dogs Licked His Remains

When Henry VIII died in 1547, he weighed nearly 400 pounds. His waist measured 54 inches

Alexander Graham Bell Didn't Invent the Telephone

He was just the first to patent it. An Italian immigrant named Antonio Meucci built a working telephone in 1856 — twenty years before Bell filed his patent

Vikings Never Wore Horned Helmets

That iconic image of a Viking warrior with horns on his head. Completely made up

Calvin Coolidge's Pet Raccoon Was Supposed to Be Thanksgiving Dinner

In November 1926, a supporter from Mississippi sent President Calvin Coolidge a live raccoon—intended to be cooked and served for Thanksgiving dinner. Coolidge had never eaten raccoon and had no ...

Thomas Edison Didn't Invent the Lightbulb

Your teacher lied to you. Humphry Davy created the first electric light in 1802

Oxford University Is Older Than the Aztec Empire

Let that sink in. Oxford started teaching students in 1096

The HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus were two ships that set out to discover a route connecting the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific via the northwest passage in 1813. Attempting to find the north west passage in the early 19th Century came with no shortage of danger. Any explorer daring enough to attempt to navigate those waters had A LOT of ice and extremely FRIGID temperatures to contend with.

Tragedy soon stuck when the ships got stuck in the ice and at least one ship earned it's name, (we’ll let you guess which one) with reports of cannibalism as the crew fought for survival. In tota...

Harry Houdini was one of the first Private Pilots in the World.

After developing a passion for aviation while in Europe in 1909, Houdini purchased a French-made biplan and became one of the world's first private pilots. Unfortunately, during the maiden flight...

The ancient Egyptians were not the first to make mummies. People in South America did it first.

The Chinchorro mummies are mummified remains of individuals from the South American Chinchorro culture. Found in what is now northern Chile and southern Peru, they are the oldest examples of arti...

President Abraham Lincoln was a full blown Cat Lover. He kept four cats inside of the White House and could, "play with them for hours at a time". He was also the first President to bring a cat into the White House.

When asked if her husband had any hobbies, Mary Todd Lincoln is said to have replied “cats. ” Two of the four cats that lived in the white house were strays, whereas the other two moved in with th...

Benjamin Franklin was known to take "air baths" on a regular basis. During this time, he would spend up to an hour reading or writing in his house completely naked.

The fax machine was invented 33 years before the telephone.

Scottish inventor Alexander Bain received patent 9745 on May 27, 1843 for his "Electric Printing Telegraph". Shortly after that, in 1865 (still 11 years before the telephone) Italian physicist Gi...

We all know what " $ " means nowadays but how did that weird S looking symbol come to symbolize money?

The dollar sign can be traced back to letters in the 1770s between American and Spanish American Businesses. They needed to differentiate between the Spanish Peso and the American dollar

The famous claim that George Washington had wooden teeth is little more than a myth. That being said, he did indeed have some pretty extreme dental issues.

Dental issues plagued Washington for most of his life. He began losing teeth in his twenties and by the time he was sworn into office he had only one tooth left of his own

Why is John Hancock synonymous with signature?

According to legend Hancock signed his name largely and clearly so that King George could read it without his spectacles. However, Congress kept the identities of the signatory’s secret for sever...

Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, killed a man in a duel after he was shot first in the chest.

That really escalated quickly. Jackson killed a guy

The largest domination of US currency ever printed was the $100,000 bill. The bill featured 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing only made these notes during a three-week stretch during December 1934 and January 1935.

There was also an assortment of other large denomination currencies printed in the late 1920's; a $500 bill featuring William McKinley, a $1,000 bill featuring Grover Cleveland, a $5,000 bill featu...

Napoleon Bonaparte was not actually that short; historians believe that he was somewhere in the range of 5 foot 7 inches tall.

The myth that he was short most likely stems form the fact that he was listed as 5 foot 2 inches tall at the time of his death. His death certificate was an official french document which used of...