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“Grasshoppers Are Older Than Both Grass And Dinosaurs”: 24 Real Historical Facts That Seem Fake
Interview With Expert
We often hear a lot of strange things that go on in the world, but stranger things have happened here, for when you look back, history itself is an endless bizarre tale. In fact, some events are so wild that you are left questioning whether they really happened!
When Reddit user Creepy-Desk-468 asked netizens, “What's something that happened in history that sounds completely fake but isn't?” folks narrated such events that will utterly baffle you. Piqued your interest, have we? Well, just scroll down to check out the astonishing events for yourself!
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Julie d’Aubigny was a 17th century French lesbian opera singer who defeated several men in sword duels, stole her lover from a convent by dressing up as a nun, and publicly had several long-term relationships with women. After the death of her final and longest girlfriend she retired to a convent and died peacefully.
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#2
Dennis The Menace is a comic character introduced both in the UK and the USA. They débuted in the same month of the same year.
They’re completely different characters, unrelated.
#3
Although now known for foods like cheese, stroopwafel, and kapsalon, in 1672, the Dutch ate their prime minister.
Some of these historical facts will leave you rolling around with laughter, while some will make you question the absurdity of human nature. To get a deeper insight into the matter, Bored Panda reached out to Shravani Acharya, who is currently pursuing her master's degree in History. She thinks some people have developed a really rigid point of view of looking at events, other culture-communities, etc.
She said, "There are several preconceived notions about others that create difficulties in keeping an open mind while understanding such events which are not fake but might sound fake. If the event is related to the so-called developed or western country and the event is not really a 'glorious' one, then it is more probable that people will believe it to be fake."
She added that this mostly happens due to a closed mind and lack of education about world politics and history.
#4
The “Exploding Whale Incident” on the Oregon coast. Officials decided that the best way to handle a dead whale on the beach was to stuff 20 cases of dynamite in it to break it up for scavengers. Instead they sent huge chunks of whale flying everywhere.
#5
The Great Emu War.
Australia literally went to war with a bunch of oversized birds in 1932… and lost.
10/10 best military victory in bird history.
#6
A guy convinced three billionaires and a kid to pay him hundreds of thousands (with no refunds) to board his uncertified, experimental carbon fiber submersible, and MAYBE see a shipwreck. Then [ended] them all and himself 3.5km under the ocean surface through recklessness and ignorance.
Elaborating on her thoughts, Shravani narrated, "I believe that history is multifaceted. What sounds outrageous to one person might not sound so outrageous to another. It's really subjective. But while saying so, history has a really intimate relationship with the cultures and communities."
She also noted that if any event is "outrageous" for the present community, then it might create problems if it gets light in popular discussions. She personally believes that history should surprise everyone so that we can learn from it, but not everyone has the rationality to accept the outrageousness of history.
#7
A bunch of Polish soldiers in WW2 adopted a bear, fed it cigarettes and beer, and had it help them carry ammunition during a battle.
#8
The Pope once dug up a dead Pope, put his corpse on trial, dressed in full robes, propped him on a throne, and found him guilty. Medieval Catholicism was just WWE with incense.
While there are numerous such things that sound too fake to be true, we asked our expert about how historians actually verify these events when there are so many conspiracies floating around. Shravani claimed that there has to be at least one authentic source to identify the authenticity of the event.
"It might be historical documentation or archeological events, but there has to be some concrete evidence to justify the argument. If there are more sources, then it sometimes becomes useful to arrive at a conclusion, but it sometimes also creates multiple perspectives. However, if sources are contradicting one another, historians often admit the lack of resources as a valid conclusion," she explained.
#11
Women were discouraged from riding on trains bc men thought their uterus' might fall out.
#12
In 1866, during the Austro-Prussian war, Liechtenstein sent 80 soldiers to fight on the Austrian side. When the war ended, the Army returned with 81 men.
Lastly, when we asked her if she had read a bizarre historical event that sounds fake, she smiled and brought up the "Red Wedding" in Game of Thrones, as she recently found out that it was inspired by true events. "It extremely shocked me that a betrayal at such a magnitude can actually happen, and I just couldn't believe that it is true!" exclaimed Shravani.
Apparently, author George R. R. Martin has said that the inspiration for the betrayal is based on two dark events in Scottish history: the Black Dinner of 1440 and the Massacre of Glencoe from 1692. That definitely sounds chilling, doesn't it?
#13
Dr Saul Krugman purposefully infected patients at Willowbrook state hospital with hepatitis by feeding them chocolate milkshakes containing hepatitis infected fecal matter. This was justified and done under the guise of helping accelerate Krugmans vaccine research for hepatitis.
#14
The Dancing Plague of 1518 🤣 dozens of people in Strasbourg suddenly started dancing uncontrollably in the streets for days...some literally danced themselves to death!
#15
At the Battle of Karánsebes, due to a series of silly mistakes that started with some really good booze, the Austrian army mistakenly attacked itself instead of the Ottomans - who were late.
In the end, both "sides" retreated, making this, as far as I know, the only time an army fought itself and lost.
It's often listed as a battle where 0 Ottoman troops defeated 100000 Austrians.
Well, our expert's take on what really makes a historical event "outrageous" has left us with quite a few things to think about. What about you? Don't forget to let us know in the comments. Also, if you know of other such events, don't hesitate to share them with us!
#16
In 1967, Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared while ocean swimming off Portsea, and was never found.
He was commemorated by having a swimming pool named after him "Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Pool".
#17
Adrian Carton de Wiart - He served in the Boer War, First World War, and Second World War.
'He was shot in the face, head, stomach, ankle, leg, hip, and ear. He was also blinded in his left eye, survived two plane crashes, tunnelled out of a prisoner-of-war camp, and tore off his own severely injured fingers when a doctor declined to amputate them. Describing his experiences in the First World War, he wrote, "Frankly, I had enjoyed the war." '.
#19
The Zambian Space Program
The short term goal of the Zambian space program was to send a teenage girl and two cats to the Moon. The long term goal of the was to start converting primitive Martian populations to Christianity (peacefully of course). The program was headed by a former soldier and elementary school teacher named Edward Makuka Nkoloso. Nkoloso called those who participated "Afronauts." They were going to launch their 3 meter long rocket from the middle of a stadium in the capital city, but were denied by government officials.
After the space program shut down due to lack of funding and their main Afronaut getting pregnant, Nkoloso ran for mayor, spoke out in favor of legitimizing witch doctors, and got a Law Degree at the age of 64. Shortly before his death, he won a medal from the Soviet Union for his actions during World War 2.
Wang Zhuang 8 months ago (edited)
Upvote for Afronauts, that's tight. I feel like that should be the name of the documentary on the Zambian Space Program if they ever make one. Edit: Okay, I"m an idiot and should have searched before typing this. There is indeed a short film about the program called Afronauts
#20
A police strike in NY was cut short after only a few days when the police realised that crime dramatically dropped when they weren't on duty.
Editor's note: It was not a strike that was cut short. When the NYPD took a seven-week break from “proactive policing,” complaints about major crimes fell.
Source: LA Times
Michael Largey 8 months ago
Could it be that complaints fell simply because it was known that police wouldn't be doing anything about them?
#21
Founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day-- July 4, 1826 -- the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence (which Jefferson wrote).
Enlee Jones 8 months ago
John Adams last words were, "Thomas Jefferson still survives," unaware that Jefferson had died hours earlier.
#22
In WW1, British, French, and German troops were fighting around Christmas. On Christmas day 1914 some of the units fighting each other decided to call a truce and celebrate together.
On December 26th they went right back to war. .
HardBoiledBlonde 8 months ago
"Joyeux Noel" is an excellent movie about this, I highly recommend it.
#23
George Washington had to borrow money to get to his own inauguration.
#24
The British empire.
This tiny, soggy, grey island conquered most of the known world. Probably because the weather was so awful back home.
SnackbarKaat 8 months ago
The deliciousness of their food and the beauty of their women made the British the best sailors in the world
What do you think ?
Ron Man 8 months ago
Like most BP "history facts", about 60% are wrong and 35% are explained by someone who didn't actually understand what they were explaining.
CP 8 months ago (edited)
Not sure what you have read, but most of those are well known. You could get pedantic on minor details, but history contains a lot of guesses and debates. I didn't see any that were totally wrong.
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Ron Man 8 months ago
Like most BP "history facts", about 60% are wrong and 35% are explained by someone who didn't actually understand what they were explaining.
CP 8 months ago (edited)
Not sure what you have read, but most of those are well known. You could get pedantic on minor details, but history contains a lot of guesses and debates. I didn't see any that were totally wrong.
Load More Replies... You May Like 60 Interesting Facts That Are Better Than Watching The News If You’re Hungry For New Knowledge, These 50 Facts Might Satisfy Your Appetite
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