Did a Pope’s Hatred Of Cats Lead To The Plague?
Fewer cats resulted in more plague-bearing rats, or so the story goes People have different attitudes toward cats. Some people love them while others – not so much. But historically, … Read More
Tag: history
The Fascinating Story Of Africa’s Fake Mountains Of Kong
The mountain range stretched across the continent and was on maps for over a century. The Scottish explorer Mungo Park first mentioned the magnificently named ‘Mountains of Kong’ in his … Read More
The Real Reason Photos Are Banned in the Sistine Chapel
It is not about flash photography In 1512, Pope Julius II held a special vespers service. It was an evening event that was held to inaugurate the Sistine Chapel after … Read More
The Man Who Faked A Volcano Eruption – One Of The Greatest April Fools’ Hoaxes Ever
It is April Fool’s Day, so I thought it apt to share one of the greatest April Fool’s pranks ever. This is from my Intriguing Times Substack. It really happened. … Read More
The Forgotten Story of the King of the Amazon
The forgotten true story of Alfonso Graña, the outsider who entered one of the most dangerous regions on Earth and emerged as a ruler In the early twentieth century, a … Read More
The Unbelievable True Story Of The Only Person To Be Hit By A Meteorite
Ann Hodges was planning on a nap when a meteorite came through the roof I don’t want to be an alarmist, but meteorites hit the planet with terrifying regularity. For … Read More
The Strange History of Funny Surnames Around the World
Some surnames mean ‘born nude’, ‘nobody’, and ‘big butt’. By why? Surnames are ubiquitous now, but that wasn’t always the case. Sometimes people made them up on the spot and … Read More
Melting Roads, Strikes And Escaped Tigers: Disneyland’s Opening Was Disastrous
Broken rides, 15000 gatecrashers, plumbing issues, and a tiger getting loose made for a memorable start When Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955, it was broadcast live on the ABC … Read More
The Potsdam Giants: How A Prussian King’s Obsession Led To Kidnapping, Torture, And Eugenics
The true but dark story of an incredibly tall regiment This post originally came from my Substack – Intriguing Times. But it’s now behind a paywall, and is such a … Read More
The Gorilla Who Was Brought up as a Boy in an English Village
This is the incredible true story of John Daniel, who was no ordinary gorilla John Daniel was a young gorilla who was adopted by an English family in 1918 and … Read More
What Did People Wipe With In The Past And Why Is The World Moving Beyond Toilet Paper?
Toilet paper is modern and isn’t the best option There was a weird focus on toilet paper at the start of the Covid pandemic, with lots of people panic-buying and … Read More
Animated Data on Youtube is surprisingly exciting
I love data, statistics, facts and figures. Even more so when they are presented in easy to understand formats like pie charts, graphs, and bar charts. You learn but in … Read More