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If it ain’t weird, interesting, and enlightening, it ain’t got any place on the Weird History Twitter page. Home to nearly 177k adoring fans, the Weird History project embodies the best aspects of education in the digital age: make it short, make it precise, and make it fun. Throw in some spot-on illustrations and boom! You’ve made yourself popular with fact-lovers all over the globe.

Created by Andrew Rader way back in September 2011, Weird History has been going strong ever since for more than a decade. There’s always a new fact, a new tidbit of trivia to hook your interest and keep you learning. Scroll down and enjoy the best post from Weird History. Don’t forget to upvote the facts you enjoyed learning the most and be sure to give the project a follow on your fave social media (it’s on almost all of them).

Meanwhile, I reached out to Lenore Skenazy, the president of Let Grow and the founder of the Free-Range Kids movement to learn about how parents can help encourage their kids to learn new things and develop fresh interests, whether historical or otherwise, without smothering them or putting undue pressure on them. You’ll find Bored Panda's interview about the importance of stepping back avoiding the urge to control everything as you scroll down.

Pssst, Pandas, over here! We know how much you enjoy learning new facts, especially all the cool history trivia that Weird History has to offer. After you’re done absorbing all the knowledge in this list, you should definitely check out Bored Panda’s previous features about ‘Weird History’ right over here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

More info: Twitter (Weird History) | Twitter (Andrew) | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Andrew-Rader.com

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Sanne H.
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s the square called “Torre Argentina”, in the city center of Rome. Cats are roaming around, there is also a cat shelter, and you can buy some merchandise to sponsor shelter, cat food and medications. Highly recommended for cat people visiting Rome!

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MIT-credentialed scientist Andrew, the founder and curator of Weird History, is larger than life. Originally from Ottawa in Canada, he’s an author, game designer, podcast host, and SpaceX Mission Manager, living in Los Angeles in California. It’s amazing that so much awesomeness fits inside a single person.

Frankly, he’s an inspiration and walking, talking proof that you really can achieve your dreams if you’re dedicated, persistent, and focused. The fact that he has enough time in his day to curate the Weird History Twitter page, picking out the very best facts to share online, is just the icing on the cake.

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Serial pacifist
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The first Oscar was supposed to go to a dog. Rin Tin Tin received the most votes for best actor. The Academy held another voting round with humans only. They decided that giving a dog the first Oscar would give the wrong impression. They gave it to a future Nazi filmmaker instead.

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Martha Meyer
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are self portraits by artists from the 16th century doing exactly this. Painting themselves while looking into a mirror. Albrecht Dürer did one of himself in the nude even.

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Child independence expert and author Lenore explained to Bored Panda that it is vital that parents take a step back and don’t overwhelm their kids with pressure the moment they start developing new interests. Patience and room to grow are incredibly important at moments like this.

“When a child develops a new interest, it can be tempting to say, ‘You like playing with clay? Great! I’ll enroll you in a ceramics class, and I’ll take you to the museum so you can study the sculptures, and we’ll arrange for you to go to Clay Camp this summer and…” she said how some parents start thinking and behaving when their kids start to develop a new interest. Whether it’s history or science, art or football.

“Stop. Breathe. Take a step back,” Lenore said that parents need to learn to slow down for their children’s sake. Similarly, if your kids take a sudden interest in history, the last thing that parents should do is immediately bombard them with books upon books, and sign them up to an after-school history club. Be patient, take a step back, don't overwhelm your kids.

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Auntriarch
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But he couldn't get any aspirin - because the parrots-etamol! Ok I'll see myself out

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According to Lenore, there’s a need for parents to find the difference between encouragement and control. “It’s great to encourage a child’s interests, but that doesn’t mean taking over. In other words, if a child likes playing with clay—lovely. Try to keep some clay around. If it turns into a deeper interest and they want to take a class or whatever, you can look into these.”

However, the expert noted that when parents and teachers start controlling every aspect of the kids’ interests, well, there’s hardly any interest left after that. “By putting an adult in charge of the activity—‘Today in ceramics class, children, we will be making a dog’—a child might actually end up a little LESS interested because now it’s not their thing anymore,” she warned.

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Rei
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Love to hear about these historical things about other countries that were not taught in school. Not sure about you guys but in my history classes we mostly focused on the history of our own country, which is too bad really.

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Lenore, the founder of Let Grow and the Free-Range Kids movement, shared with Bored Panda that there are different kinds of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. “Intrinsic motivation is when you want to do something. Extrinsic motivation is when someone ELSE wants you to do something.” It’s vital to allow children to develop their own intrinsic motivation without others constantly crowding in around them, throughout the day. When kids are left to their own devices, they can determine who they are through what they’re actually interested in.

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“Kids have plenty of extrinsic motivation all day at school. Even in classes they like, someone else is telling them what to do and how to do it. So some free time when they’re allowed to do something just for the pleasure of it— not a grade, not a trophy— allows them to discover what they really enjoy and, in a way, who they truly are,” Lenore said.

“Our free Let Grow Independence Kit helps kids figure out some new things to try on their own, and helps adults let them!” she added.

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Serial pacifist
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When a brothel in Pompeii was uncovered, the archaeologists came across rather explicit images and graffiti. Some of the graffiti was: "Thrust slowly", "Euplia was here... with two thousand beautiful men" and list prices: "Euplia sucks for five asses" (which is a currency name).

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A while back, I spoke about learning to separate facts from fiction with Joseph M. Pierre, a professor of psychiatry from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He told Bored Panda that most conspiracy theories in recent history ”have been fairly inconsequential without any largescale behavioral ramifications.” Theories about what happened to JFK and Princess Diana, 9/11 and Flat Earth conspiracies haven’t affected the real world. With one exception—climate change conspiracies.

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Brian Bennett
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Apparently they still share drugs! ( it's ok shoot me down)

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Saint Thomas
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They also drank A LOT of wine, beer and strong alcohols. They were considered as painkillers.

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J. Normal
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not sharing ... lighting, one cyclist is using his cig to light the middle guys (easier than trying to light a match).

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Hannah Edwards
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They probably thought that it helped clear the lungs or something.

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Juan Alcorta
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have the feeling that the tour is the most unclean competition since a long time.

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Pamela Laughter-Kissiah
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They weren't sharing a cigarette. He was getting a light from the other man's cigarette, while the first man held him steady.

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Mischa Puschelchen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The early tour de Frances were so badass!! I saw some of the bikes they used. Heavy and primitive. I have no interest in boke sport whatsoever, but neded up watchign a several horu long documentary about the beginnings of Toru der Franc, because the stories were so crazy!!

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VNik
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cigarettes, although never healthy, were a lot less dangerous back then. American cigarette manufacturers have put so many chemicals in their products to make them burn faster, those chemicals are one of the things that makes smoking so addictive.

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Donald Holder
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pretty amazing how professional athletes could be so ignorant.

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Signe Manat Hansen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Drinking champagne while doing the Champs Elysees rounds isn't uncommon even now.

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Molly Block
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What is that part of that guys' strap on the left, that looks like a mouth piece of some sort--what IS that?!

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Michael Sanders
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know there were stages, but dudes are smoking in a 5,500km race. When I was a smoker I couldn’t run down the goddamnn street

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Tami
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In no other sport is the word "suffering" used as much by sportscasters to describe athletes.

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Martha Meyer
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pink was considered the "little red", red was associated with soldiers and war. Blue on the other hand is considered the colour of the Virgin Mary. Makes you wonder how and why these colours were swapped.

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Lauren Caswell
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I knew this (from simpsons: "I am also Scotty"), but have not seen a picture of Mr Nimoy in Spock costume smiling until today. Mind blown (edit: I love his smile!)

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“Not all of the debate around that topic involves a conspiracy theory. In fact, the most conspiratorial claim about climate change may be that ‘big oil’ companies, like ‘big tobacco’ decades before, know that climate change is real and is caused by human CO2 production, but that they’re purposely claiming otherwise and putting out misinformation to the contrary that refutes what the vast majority of climate change scientists have stated in order to protect profits from the industry,” the professor told Bored Panda.

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“Those of us who believe that conspiracy theory (remembering that some conspiracy theories are true!) argue that real-life physical actions—more so on the part of industry than individuals per se—are necessary now,” he said that the time to fight back against climate change is better sooner than later.

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Lauren Caswell
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every new invention or method of gaining independence is "bad for women" 🙄

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“Determining if someone is lying isn’t easy and is complicated by the fact that we don’t really have clear agreement of what it means to ‘believe’ something, much less genuinely,” the professor said that it’s very difficult to establish whether someone truly believes a conspiracy theory that they tout or if they’re incredibly good at pretending.

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Otter
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So how does a baboon tell the criminal it's supposed to catch from other humans?

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So, Pandas, which Weird History facts got stuck in your heads? Were there any bits of trivia that you already knew? Are there any facts that you’d just looove to share with your friends? Share your thoughts (and any other cool history facts that you know!) in the comment section at the bottom of the article. We can’t wait to hear what you think!

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Helen Haley
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've never seen this many cats on a leash. let alone this many cats on a leash who weren't on their side dramatically protesting.

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Brian Bennett
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This guy was a genius! He also was a hoot! Apparently at a dinner a woman said if she was married to him she'd poison his tea. He responded If I was married to you I'd drink it!

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ilikeplants
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"United States servicemen would draw the picture and the text 'Kilroy was here' on the walls and other places where they were stationed, encamped, or visited. An ad in Life magazine noted that WWII-era servicemen were fond of claiming that "whatever beach-head they stormed, they always found notices chalked up ahead of them, that 'Kilroy was here'" (Wikipedia) This is the same story my grandfather used to tell.

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Stannous Flouride
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No longer accurate. Tree ring data measuring a cosmic ray blast recently pinned their arrival down to exactly 1,000 years ago, in 1021 CE.

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Jo Johannsen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have to express some skepticism here... 1) What likely counts as the very first legitimate online transaction goes to Dan Kohn in August 1994, who creating a website called NetMarket, the Shopify video reports. On August 11, Kohn sold a CD of Sting’s "Ten Summoner’s Tales" to a friend in Philadelphia, writes Peter H. Lewis wrote for The New York Times. 2) However, this (cannabis) exchange doesn’t check all the boxes for e-commerce: it was illegal and money wasn’t transferred online. Instead, the event probably represents the first deal facilitated by the internet.

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The Scout
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A lot of these unusual drops are symbolic. Maybe it is meant as a message to the enemy that you are tired of taking shít from them... I seem to remember In WW II, there was a huge fake airport built out of wood by the German military in the occupied Netherlands as a decoy. British airforce, having known this from the beginning, bombed it with a single wooden bomb dummy with the words "Wood for Wood" on the hull.

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Corinna S.
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The working title for the project was "Pylone de 300 mètres de hauteur" - Pylon with a height of 300 meters :)

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Note: this post originally had 107 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.