Facts About History's Most Bizarre Events
"History is a cyclic poem written by time upon the memories of man"—Percy Bysshe Shelley
The world has been around a really long time, and plenty of interesting stuff has happened since people have been on earth.
From the successes and failures of important figures to battles, exploration and discovery, history is mysterious, fascinating and illuminating.
Below are 42 historical facts to give you some perspective about how we ended up with this crazy world we live in.
History's Most Bizarre Events Facts
42. Depends on the Calendar
Depending on which calendar you look at, George Washington’s birthday might be on two different dates. If you follow the calendar that was in use in the Colonies when he was born, his birthday was officially February 11, 1731.
On the other hand, if you go by the Gregorian Calendar (the one in effect today), his birthday was February 22, 1732. I’d have just celebrated both!
41. Maintaining Productivity
Everything that’s known about Ancient Egypt points to a pretty advanced thinking society, and healthcare was no exception.
Based on texts that were discovered in a village dating back to the New Kingdom period (3,100-3,600 years ago), historians now believe that Egypt had some form of state-supported health care designed to keep their tomb builders productive.
The texts included detailed notes about why individual workers were absent, and lo and behold- nearly 1/3 were because the workman was too sick to work. By these accounts, Egyptian workers were treated pretty well.
Ration distributions suggested that they had paid sick days, and they and their families were given housing and servants to help them with daily tasks.
Sure, building a tomb out of enormous stone slabs was probably pretty grueling work, but in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t a bad job to have!
40. And Nobody Died!
The longest official war in history was between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly (a small group of islands off the tip of Cornwall in Great Britain). It began in 1651 and lasted 335 years with no bloodshed or human losses.
The conflict actually began during the second English Civil War, which pitted the Parliamentarians and the Royalists.
Since the Dutch and the English were allies, the Dutch felt like they had to choose a side, and they picked the Parliamentarians, who they figured would be the clear winner.
It turned out the Dutch underestimated the strength of the Royalist's Navy, who actually put up a good fight, seizing several Dutch ships laden with cargo.
In the spring of 1651, Admiral Tromp of the Dutch Navy landed on Scilly, demanding reparations for their losses, and when the English offered none, the Dutch declared war on Scilly.
A few weeks later, the Parliamentarians won and the Navy was no longer a threat, but the Dutch forgot all about it and nobody ever officially ended the war.
The war probably would have gone on forever if not for a keen historian who investigated and found out that it had technically never ended. On April 17, 1986, the Dutch Ambassador visited Scilly and officially made peace.
