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The Spartans used long and heavy iron rods called "obeloi" as their currency in hopes that it would discourage them from pursuing large amounts of wealth.
English was once a language for commoners while the British elites spoke French.
From 1912-1948 the Olympic games awarded medals for art. They were awarded for architecture, literature, music, paintings and sculpture. They had to be Olympics-themed.
Tombstone epitaph of a sheep thief who was hanged in Ireland:
Here lies the body
of Thomas Kemp
who lived by wool
and died by hemp
In 1726, 7 year old Charles Sanson inherited the post of official executioner.
When the London Bridge was shipped to the United States it was classified by U.S customs as a large antique.
King Jaja's Palace in Opobo, Nigeria, was constructed in England, then disassembled and shipped to its present site, a distance of 3,600 miles.
King Jaja died from drinking a cup of poisoned tea.
John Quincy Adams had a pet alligator.
The Edmonton Swastikas
1916 women's hockey team
You'll never see these uniforms again.
Edward Winslow is the only Mayflower passenger of whom an authentic portrait still exists. It is on display at the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth.
The tent of Genghis Khan, which became the Mongolian Emperor's tomb in 1227, is still preserved in the Museum of Edshen Noro, Mongolia. The coffin it sheltered was destroyed by rebellious soldiers.
James Ritty, the owner of a saloon in Dayton, Ohio, invented the first mechanical cash register called "Ritty's Incorruptible Cashier" in 1879 to stop employees from pilfering his profits.
A grave uncovered in Hencida, Hungary, was found to contain a pagan woman and her horse. The pagans always buried a great warrior with his horse but this is the only known instance of a woman being given this honor.
Rossini (1792-1868) the Italian composer, became so stout in his later years, that to accommodate his bulging stomach, a huge portion had to be cut out of his dining room table.
Dr. Felix Marquier of St. Lo, France, because he saved victims of a plague that lasted 30 years, was convicted of sorcery and sentenced to death. His sentence was eventually reduced in 1661 to eternal banishment from his native land.
The Transatlantic Cable
In 1858 two ships met in the middle of the Atlantic and connected two cables together, then both ships sailed in opposite directions.
In May of 1968, Dr. Ralph B. Williams of Juneau, Alaska, was leaving a theatre in San Francisco when he was attacked by two muggers. After regaining consciousness he went to the doctors complaining of a headache. The doctor examined him and said, "no wonder it hurts, you have a head full of lead." He had been shot 5 times and ended up carrying all of those bullets in his noggin while living a normal life.
Hamida Djandoubi (1949-1977) was the last person to be executed in Western Europe and in the European Union and the last person legally executed by guillotine in the Western world.
Soapy Smith (1860-1898)
One of the most prolific con men in the old west and he died in old west style.
On January 22, 1908, Katie Mulcahey was arrested in New York for lighting a cigarette. She violated the Sullivan Act, a law sponsored by an alderman banning women from smoking in public. She was fined $5.
The Queen's Messenger, a one act play broadcast on September 11, 1928, was the world's first live drama on television. RCA began daily experimental television broadcasts in New York City in March 1929 over station W2XBS, the predecessor of WNBC.
Geronimo was 75 years old when he was asked to be part of the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. For six months he was one of the most popular attractions at the fair. Since he was still classified as a prisoner of war he was guarded by the U.S Army. He got to go on the rides and see all the exhibits. He sold his autographs for .25 cents apiece and was allowed to keep .10 cents from each one.
A captain acted as his chaperone wherever he went. For the first time in Geronimo's life he got to eat in a fancy French restaurant. The captain had to keep scolding him for picking at the gum under the table.
Captain " I can't take you anywhere!"
( The scene at the restaurant never happened, I made that up to add flavor)
Topsy was an Asian elephant who was put to death by electrocution at a Coney Island amusement park on January 4, 1903, for killing a spectator. The Edison Manufacturing Movie Company filmed the event.
It's on YouTube, not a pleasant thing to watch.
Legend of Fig Tree Tomb
Different versions on how a fig tree grew from a tomb. I'm not the only one who found out about this from Ripley's Believe It Or Not.
Rachel Wall (1760-1789)
b. Carlisle, Pennsylvania
She married a petty thief when she was sixteen and they formed a gang of pirates. They worked along the islands in the northeast where they lured ships to the shoals and murdered the crew and stole the cargo.
In 1782 her husband was lost at sea and she returned to Boston where she became a successful thief and pickpocket.
She began climbing aboard ships in the harbor and plundering valuables from the cabins of passengers and captains. She was caught and became the last female to be hanged in Massachusetts on October 8, 1789.
The Mojave Phone Booth
There haven't been many phone booths that became legends and this one is the only one I know of that received a headstone.
He was a prominent engineer and co-builder of the Brooklyn Bridge. He began working for the Walker Automobile Company which would later become the Mercer Automobile Co.
While there, he designed and built two automobiles, the Roebling-Planche Racer and his Roebling Flat touring car. In 1911, he finished 2nd driving his Planche racer in the Great Savannah Race, also called the Vanderbilt Cup. It is widely thought that the race was attended by Louis Chevrolet and was judged by Henry Ford.
In 1912, he and his friend Stephen Blackwell took the Roebling Flat touring car on a tour of Europe. After the tour the car was sent back aboard ship to the United States while Roebling and Blackwell stayed behind for a few extra weeks. They later booked passage as first class passengers on the Titanic.
The last reported sighting of them was from a female passenger who stated that Roebling and Blackwell helped her in a lifeboat. The body of Washington Roebling was never found.
The Nancy Harts
Female Confederate soldiers of Lagrange, Georgia.
I remember reading about them in an old Civil War book.
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