Very interesting historical facts. The Most Amazing Short History Facts in the World
Almost all peoples, nations and countries have historical facts. Today we want to tell you about various interesting facts that happened in the world, which many people know, but it will be interesting to read again. The world is not ideal, just like people, and the facts about which we will tell will be bad. It will be interesting to you, since every reader will learn something educational within the framework of their interests.
After 1703, Poganye Prudy in Moscow began to be called... Chistye Prudy.
During the time of Genghis Khan in Mongolia, anyone who dared to urinate in any body of water was executed. Because water in the desert was more valuable than gold.
On December 9, 1968, the computer mouse was introduced at an interactive devices show in California. Douglas Engelbart received a patent for this gadget in 1970.
In England in 1665-1666, the plague devastated entire villages. It was then that medicine recognized smoking as beneficial, which supposedly destroyed the deadly infection. Children and teenagers were punished if they refused to smoke.
Only 26 years after the founding of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, its agents received the right to bear arms.
In the Middle Ages, sailors deliberately inserted at least one gold tooth, even sacrificing a healthy one. For what? It turns out that it was for a rainy day, so that in case of death he could be buried with honor far from home.
The world's first mobile phone is the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x (1983). 
14 years before the sinking of the Titanic (April 15, 1912), a story by Morgan Robertson was published that foreshadowed the tragedy. It is interesting that according to the book, the Titan ship collided with an iceberg and sank, exactly as it actually happened.
DEAN - The leader over the soldiers in the tents in which the Roman army lived, 10 people each, was called the dean.
The most expensive bathtub in the world is carved from a very rare stone called Caijou. They say that it has healing properties, and the places of its extraction are kept secret to this day! Its owner was a billionaire from the United Arab Emirates, who wished to remain anonymous. Le Gran Queen price is $1,700,000. 
The English admiral Nelson, who lived from 1758 to 1805, slept in his cabin in a coffin that was cut out of the mast of an enemy French ship.
The list of gifts for Stalin in honor of his 70th birthday was published in advance in newspapers more than three years before the event.
How many types of cheese are produced in France? The famous cheese maker Andre Simon mentioned 839 varieties in his book “On the Cheese Business.” The most famous are Camembert and Roquefort, and the first appeared relatively recently, only 300 years ago. This type of cheese is made from milk with the addition of cream. After only 4-5 days of ripening, a crust of mold appears on the surface of the cheese, which is a special fungal culture
The famous inventor of the sewing machine, Isaac Singer, was simultaneously married to five women. In total, he had 15 children from all the women. He called all his daughters Mary.
27 million people died in the Great Patriotic War.
One of the unusual records for traveling by car belongs to two Americans - James Hargis and Charles Creighton. In 1930, they traveled over 11 thousand kilometers in reverse, traveling from New York to Los Angeles and then back.
Even two hundred years ago, not only men, but also women participated in the famous Spanish bullfights. This took place in Madrid, and on January 27, 1839, a very significant bullfight took place, because only representatives of the fairer sex took part in it. The Spaniard Pajuelera received the greatest fame as a matador. Women were banned from bullfighting in the early 20th century, when Spain was ruled by fascists. Women were able to defend their right to enter the arena only in 1974.
The first computer to include a mouse was the Xerox 8010 Star Information System minicomputer, introduced in 1981. The Xerox mouse had three buttons and cost $400, which corresponds to almost $1,000 in 2012 prices adjusted for inflation. In 1983, Apple released its own one-button mouse for the Lisa computer, the cost of which was reduced to $25. The mouse became widely known thanks to its use in Apple Macintosh computers and later in the Windows OS for IBM PC compatible computers.
Jules Verne wrote 66 novels, including unfinished ones, as well as more than 20 novellas and short stories, 30 plays, and several documentary and scientific works.
When Napoleon and his army headed for Egypt in 1798, he captured Malta along the way.
During the six days that Napoleon spent on the island, he:
Abolished the power of the Knights of Malta
-Reformed the administration with the creation of municipalities and financial management
-Abolished slavery and all feudal privileges
-Appointed 12 judges
-Layed the foundations of family law
-Introduced primary and general public education
65-year-old David Baird ran his own marathon to raise money for research into prostate and breast cancer. In 112 days, David traveled 4,115 kilometers, while pushing a car in front of him. And so he crossed the Australian continent. At the same time, he was on the move every day for 10-12 hours, and during the entire time he ran with a wheelbarrow, he covered a distance equal to 100 traditional marathons. This courageous man, having visited 70 cities, collected donations from Australian residents in the amount of about 20 thousand local dollars.
Lollipops appeared in Europe in the 17th century. At first, they were actively used by healers.
The group “Aria” has a song called “Will and Reason”, few people know that this is the motto of the Nazis in fascist Italy.
A Frenchman from the town of Landes, Sylvain Dornon, traveled from Paris to Moscow, walking on stilts. Setting off on March 12, 1891, covering 60 kilometers every day, the brave Frenchman reached Moscow in less than 2 months. 
The capital of Japan, Tokyo, is currently the largest city in the world with a population of 37.5 million people.
Rokossovsky is a marshal of both the USSR and Poland.
Despite the popular belief that the transfer of Alaska to the United States of America was carried out by Catherine II, the Russian Empress had nothing to do with this historical deal.
One of the main reasons for this event is considered to be the military weakness of the Russian Empire, which became obvious during the Crimean War.
The decision to sell Alaska was made during a special meeting that took place in St. Petersburg on December 16, 1866. It was attended by the entire top leadership of the country.
The decision was made unanimously.
Some time later, the Russian envoy in the US capital, Baron Eduard Andreevich Stekl, proposed to the American government to buy Alaska from the Republic of Ingushetia. The proposal was approved.
And in 1867, for 7.2 million gold, Alaska came under the jurisdiction of the United States of America.
In 1502–1506 Leonardo da Vinci painted his most significant work - a portrait of Mona Lisa, the wife of Messer Francesco del Giocondo. Many years later, the painting received a simpler name - “La Gioconda”.
Girls in Ancient Greece got married at the age of 15. For men, the average age for marriage was a more respectable period - 30 - 35 years. The father of the bride himself chose a husband for his daughter and gave money or things as a dowry.
I wonder what the sex life of our ancestors was like? What were the poses? What were the morals like? Or maybe intimacy was something vicious and sinful? This can be judged from ancient writings and folklore. And here are the conclusions the researchers made.
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Who came up with the idea that women are fragile and weak creatures who cannot protect themselves? Let him stand up and be stoned. Several arguments that can change your opinion about the women's world and women's existence. A fascinating journey through time will reveal many interesting secrets and facts to you.
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In the bustle of vanities, we forgot a little about the 125th anniversary of Mikhail Bulgakov, and when we remembered, in order not to be trivial, we decided to talk not about the writer himself, but about an equally amazing person who became the prototype of Professor Preobrazhensky - surgeon Sergei Abramovich Voronov, who was also considered a genius , and Frankenstein at the same time.
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Art is eternal. From cave paintings to digital art: our entire stay on this planet is permeated with threads of paints, canvases, pencils and pastels. This is a kind of time funnel, with the help of which you can find yourself anywhere at any second. But which of all this is truly worthy of being considered great?
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Great scientists and historians began to conduct in-depth research to prove or disprove the existence of some famous people. I propose to familiarize yourself with six historical figures whose existence is most controversial.
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Nowadays, a phone means every minute access to the Internet, games, applications, and even two cameras to make it more convenient to take selfies. The telephone has become an indicator of a person’s social status in society. Now it serves not for voice communication, but more for text communication, via social networks and text messages. But once upon a time everything was different...
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Amazing architectural monuments, man-made masterpieces and archaeological finds that go beyond our understanding, dating back centuries and millennia BC, present the history of human civilization in a completely different light. Read on to know more.
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Are your new designer jeans so tight that you can't take a breath? Do shoes make a date hell? Well, put your heels aside and check out the real “instruments of torture” that were once on the must-have list of any self-respecting fashionista. We present to your attention the five most unhealthy fashion delights.
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What does it mean if a person “begs the belly” in order to avoid being “hanged” as punishment for a “petty betrayal”, in the hope of simply being sentenced to “relocation”? These are terms that were used daily in courtrooms throughout the 16th to 19th centuries, each representing a fascinating and often disturbing piece of our history. I propose 15 historical crimes and punishments.
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When we talk about cruelty and evil, we often think of murderers, maniacs and rapists. But have you ever thought that in 100% of cases male names come to mind? How could it be otherwise? After all, a woman is a mother, she is tenderness and love. But history shows that indescribable, unimaginable cruelty sometimes settled in a fragile woman’s heart.
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We are surrounded by many things without which we simply cannot imagine our lives, they are so “for granted” for us. It's hard to believe that once upon a time there were no matches, pillows or forks for eating. But all these objects have gone through a long path of modification to come to us in the form in which we know them. I propose to learn the complex history of simple things. Part 2.
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We are surrounded by many things without which we simply cannot imagine our lives, they are so “for granted” for us. It's hard to believe that there was once no comb, tea bag or buttons. But all these objects have gone through a long path of modification to come to us in the form in which we know them. I propose to learn the complex history of simple things.
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“Our” habits are the habits of post-Soviet people. We were brought up and grew up in approximately equal conditions, with the same opportunities. And our customs and traditions have made us recognizable almost all over the world. And even if we get lost in a foreign country, we can still recognize each other, even if we don’t talk. One word: “ours”!
In 1992, a group of Australians set themselves the goal of winning the national lottery jackpot at all costs. They invested $5 million in lottery tickets ($1 per ticket) to cover almost every possible combination and won $27 million.
II
One nun really needed a ladder, but she had no one to turn to. The devout woman began to fervently pray to the patron saint of carpenters, Saint Joseph. Soon a man appeared on the doorstep who offered his services and in a couple of months made a beautiful, strong spiral staircase. When the work was completed, the man simply disappeared without receiving any payment or gratitude, and all attempts to find him were unsuccessful. It is curious that the staircase is made without any supports, without a single nail, and at the same time makes a 360-degree turn. 
III
Elephants rape and kill rhinoceroses. In Pilanesberg National Park (South Africa) alone, 63 such cases were recorded. 
IV
In 1995, New York magazine Newsweek published an article, “Why the Web Can Never Become Nirvana,” mocking the future of the Internet. The author of the article ridiculed the idea that someday people would get news, buy airline tickets and study online. This article can still be read on the publication’s website. 
V
Between Egypt and Sudan there is territory that is not claimed by any state. It is called Bir Tawil and is a quadrangle with an area of about 2000 kilometers. In theory, this territory should currently belong to Egypt. However, in 1958, Egypt demanded that Sudan return to the 1899 borders and hand over the Halaib Triangle, refusing Bir Tawil in return. Sudan refused. So Bir Tawil turned out to be the only “no man's” territory outside of Antarctica. 
VI
In 1730, the French pirate Olivier Levasseur was sentenced to the gallows. Just before his execution, he suddenly threw a note with a cryptogram into the crowd, shouting: “Find my treasures if you can!” The treasure has not yet been found. 
VII
During excavations at an ancient Roman temple in London's Southwark, a jar of ointment was discovered that was at least 2,000 years old. The substance retained its structure, and there were even fairly clear fingerprints on it. 
VIII
The largest robbery in Japan occurred in 1968. One day, a bank car carrying a large sum of money was stopped by a policeman on a motorcycle. He said that, according to his information, there was a bomb in the car and ordered everyone to get out. He then climbed inside “to defuse the explosive device.” Suddenly the car filled with smoke and the bank employees accompanying the valuable cargo fled in panic. And the “policeman” calmly left. During this heist (crime scene pictured below), 300 million yen was stolen and remains unsolved to this day. 
IX
Most of the borders of the Middle East were established by a couple of European aristocrats in 1916. The Frenchman François Georges-Picot and the Englishman Mark Sykes developed the so-called “Sykes-Picot Agreement,” which delimited the spheres of interest of Great Britain, France, Russia and Italy in the Middle East after the First World War. 
X
In 1967, Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared without a trace. I went for a swim with friends in the bay and disappeared. He could not drown, since he was an excellent swimmer; there were no sharks in those places; the cheerful prime minister had no reason to commit suicide. Holt's body was never found. This disappearance has become part of Australian folklore. The expression “to make Harold Holt” means to disappear suddenly and mysteriously among the locals. 
XI
In May 2013, an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to New York was forced to make an emergency landing to evict a Whitney Houston fan who had driven passengers and crew into despair. The woman, without stopping, screamed the famous hit “I Will Always love you” and flatly refused to shut up. She sang even when the police took her out of the salon:
We offer a fascinating selection of historical facts about Russia and Russian people. Educational and interesting:
The origin of the name of our country is unknown
Since ancient times, our country was called Rus', but where this name came from is not known for certain. But it is known how “Rus” turned into “Russia” - this happened thanks to the Byzantines, who pronounced the word “Rus” in their own way.
After the collapse of Rus', its individual regions began to be called Little Rus', White Rus' and Great Rus', or Little Russia, Belarus and Great Russia. It was believed that only all these parts together constitute Russia. But after the revolution of 1917 and the Bolsheviks coming to power, Little Russia began to be called Ukraine, and Great Russia - Russia.
In Rus', grasshoppers were called dragonflies.
A long time ago, in the times of Rus', grasshoppers were indeed called dragonflies, but this name in no way directly refers to the flying insect dragonfly; the grasshopper received the name “dragonfly” because of the sounds it made, which sounded like chirping or clicking.
Foreign invaders were able to conquer Russia only once
Many tried to conquer Russia, and these attempts repeatedly failed. Only the Mongols were able to conquer Rus', and this happened in the 13th century. The reason for this was that Rus' at that time was divided into many principalities, and the Russian princes were unable to unite and jointly repel the conquerors. From then to this day, it was the stupidity and greed of the rulers, internal conflicts that were and remain the main source of problems for our country.
Corporal punishment in Russia
On August 11, old style (24 new style), 1904, corporal punishment for peasants and young artisans was abolished in the Russian Empire. This was the last social group for which various types of physical influence were still used. A little earlier, in June of the same year, corporal punishment was abolished in the navy and army.
Corporal punishment was divided into three large groups:
1) self-mutilating (mutilating) – deprivation of a person of any part of the body or its damage (blinding, cutting out the tongue, cutting off an arm, leg or fingers, cutting off ears, nose or lips, castration);
2) painful - causing physical suffering by beating with various instruments (whips, whips, batogs (sticks), spitzrutens, rods, cats, molts);
3) disgraceful (disgraceful) - the most important is the disgrace of the punished (for example, being put in a pillory, branding, imposing shackles, shaving the head).
The upper strata of the population were sensitive to the ban on corporal punishment. In July 1877, the St. Petersburg mayor Trepov, in violation of the law of 1863, ordered the political prisoner Bogolyubov to be flogged with rods. The educated Bogolyubov went mad and died from such an insult, and the famous Vera Zasulich avenged him by seriously wounding Trepov. The court acquitted Zasulich.
Since 1917, official Soviet pedagogy has considered corporal punishment of children unacceptable. They were prohibited in all types of educational institutions, but remained a common occurrence in the family. In 1988, journalist Filippov conducted an anonymous survey of 7,500 children aged 9 to 15 years in 15 cities of the USSR, 60% admitted that their parents used corporal punishment against them.
Cuban Missile Crisis and Black Saturday
What we call the Cuban Missile Crisis, Americans call the Cuban Crisis, and the Cubans themselves call the October Crisis. But the whole world calls the most important day in the Cuban Missile Crisis with one name - “Black Saturday” (October 27, 1962) - the day when the world was closest to a global nuclear war.
Russia has repeatedly helped the United States in its formation and strengthening
If it were not for Russia, the United States would not have arisen at all, much less become a superpower. During the war of independence with England, the English king repeatedly turned to Russia for help in suppressing the uprising. Russia, however, not only did not help, but also founded a league of armed neutrality, which was soon joined by other countries that traded with the United States despite the protests of England. During the American Civil War, Russia actively supported the northerners, sending squadrons to New York and San Francisco, while England and France wanted the collapse of the United States and took the side of the southerners. Finally, Russia ceded California and the Hawaiian Islands, where it had colonies, to the United States, and then sold the United States and Alaska for a ridiculous price. However, in the 20th century, the United States, having become a world power, responded to Russia with black ingratitude.
The USSR could have easily won the Cold War
After the end of World War II, there were two superpowers left in the world, facing a global confrontation - the USA and the USSR. Despite the worst starting conditions, the USSR in the 60s took the lead in many respects, and many believed that it would win the fight against the capitalists. In the 70s, the capitalist world was struck by a severe crisis provoked by rising oil prices, and the US economy was on the verge of collapse. However, the Soviet leadership not only did not take advantage of the situation, but, on the contrary, actually saved its enemy by concluding disarmament agreements and agreeing to sell oil for dollars. The United States, on the contrary, relied on the collapse of the USSR and victory in the Cold War, which, in the end, they were able to achieve 20 years later, with the complicity of traitors among the Soviet leadership.
The first Japanese in Russia
The first Japanese to come to Russia was Denbei, the son of a merchant from Osaka. His ship washed up on the shores of Kamchatka in 1695. In 1701 he reached Moscow.
In the winter of 1702, after an audience on January 8 with Peter I in the village of Preobrazhenskoye, Denbey was ordered to become a translator and teacher of the Japanese language in the Artillery Prikaz. Denbey personally told Peter I what he could about Japan and thereby gave impetus to Russian efforts to explore Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands and attempts to open trade with Japan.
Since 1707, Denbey lived at the palace of the prince and at one time the governor of the Siberian province Matvey Gagarin. It is known that at the insistence of Peter I's associate Jacob Bruce, Denbey was baptized and took the name Gabriel Bogdanov (which blocked his return to Japan, where Christianity was prohibited). The school of Japanese translators he founded operated in Moscow until 1739, after which it was transferred to Irkutsk, where it existed until 1816.
Before Denbey, only one Japanese person in Russia is known. During the reign of Boris Godunov, a Japanese Christian visited Russia. He was a young Catholic from Manila who, together with his spiritual mentor Nicholas Melo of the Order of St. Augustine, traveled to Rome along the route Manila - India - Persia - Russia. But the Time of Troubles turned out to be tragic for them: they were captured as Catholic foreigners, and Tsar Boris Godunov exiled them to the Solovetsky Monastery. After six years of exile, he was executed as a supporter of False Dmitry I in 1611 in Nizhny Novgorod. In Russia he was considered Indian, not Japanese.
Favorite commander of Catherine II
Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov was the favorite of Empress Catherine. She celebrated and showered the Russian Macedonian with awards, and he sometimes allowed himself to do things that were not permissible to others, knowing in advance that Catherine would always forgive any trick or eccentricities of the great commander. Here are some interesting cases:
Once at a court ball, Catherine decided to show Suvorov attention and asked him:
- What should I treat my dear guest with? - Bless, queen, with vodka! - But what will my ladies-in-waiting say when they talk to you? - They will feel that the soldier is talking to them!
Once in a conversation, the Empress said that she planned to send Suvorov to serve in Finland in the future. Suvorov bowed to the empress, kissed her hand and returned home. Then he got into the postal carriage and left for Vyborg, from where he sent Catherine a message: “I am waiting, mother, for your further commands.”
It is known that Suvorov dressed very lightly even in severe frosts. Catherine II gave Suvorov a fur coat and ordered him to wear it. What to do? Suvorov began to take the donated fur coat with him everywhere, but kept it on his lap.
After the Poles were pacified in 1794, Suvorov sent a messenger with a message. The “message” is as follows: “Hurray! Warsaw is ours! Catherine’s response: “Hurray! Field Marshal Suvorov! And this was at a time of lengthy reports about the capture of cities. How I sent the text message. But, nevertheless, he failed to outdo Field Marshal Saltykov in lapidarism, who, after the battle with the Prussians at Kunersdorf during the Seven Years' War, simply sent to St. Petersburg the hat of the Prussian king, found on the battlefield.
Kutuzov is not a pirate, he doesn’t need an eyepatch!
In recent years, images of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army in 1812, Field Marshal General, His Serene Highness Prince M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, with a bandage on his right eye, have begun to be widely circulated. “One-eyed” Kutuzov can be seen on the covers of books and magazines, in paintings by contemporary artists and on various souvenirs, as well as on busts and monuments.
Such images do not correspond to historical accuracy, since Kutuzov never wore an eye patch. There is not a single memoir or epistolary evidence from Kutuzov’s contemporaries describing the field marshal with a bandage on his right eye. Moreover, Kutuzov had no need to hide his eye under a bandage, since he saw with this eye, although not as well as with his left.
“Fate appoints Kutuzov to something great,” said the chief surgeon of the Russian army, Massot, with amazement, who examined Kutuzov’s “mortal wound” in the head in 1788 near Ochakov. The bullet went straight from temple to temple behind both eyes. The doctors' verdict was clear - death, but Kutuzov not only did not die, but did not even lose his sight, although his right eye was slightly distorted. The surprise of the doctors and the whole world that Kutuzov survived and after 6 months was back in service was boundless, just like 14 years before, when he was first “mortally wounded.” In 1774, near Alushta, as well as near Ochakov, Kutuzov was wounded in the head, and the bullet passed in almost the same place. At that time, doctors throughout Europe considered Kutuzov’s recovery a miracle, and many believed that the news of the general’s injury and recovery was a fairy tale, because it was impossible to survive after such a wound.
Actually, at the beginning of the 19th century. It was not customary to wear an eye patch after the wound had healed (even if the eye was completely missing). The “one-eyed” Kutuzov first appeared in 1944 in the feature film “Kutuzov”. Then the bandage was put on Kutuzov’s right eye by the directors of the musical comedy film “The Hussar Ballad” (1962) and the play of the same name (1964) and ballet (1979).
The image of Kutuzov, brilliantly played by Igor Ilyinsky, gave rise to a persistent legend that Kutuzov wore a bandage on his injured eye. The replication of this legend has become so widespread in recent years that it has begun to lead to a distortion of historical reality.
Jesters of Empress Anna Ioannovna
The niece of Peter I ruled the Russian Empire for 10 years. The harsh disposition of the Russian landowner did not prevent her from having fun.
It is known that Empress Anna Ioannovna was very fond of jesters and dwarfs. There were six of them at her court. Three of them were demoted aristocrats. So, she forced princes Mikhail Golitsyn and Nikita Volkonsky, as well as Count Alexei Apraksin, to play the role of a jester. The illustrious clowns had to make faces in the presence of the empress, sit astride each other and punch each other until they bled, or imitate hens and cluck. In the last year of her reign, the Empress arranged the wedding of her jesters - 50-year-old Prince Golitsyn and the ugly Kalmyk Anna Buzheninova, who received her surname in honor of the Empress's favorite dish. Representatives of different nationalities of both sexes were recruited from all over the country to participate in wedding celebrations: Russians, Tatars, Mordvins, Chuvashs, etc. They were supposed to dress up in their national clothes and have musical instruments. It was winter. By order of Anna Ioannovna, an Ice House was built on the Neva, in which everything - walls, doors, windows, furniture, dishes - was made of ice. The wedding celebration took place here. Many candles were burning in ice candlesticks, and even the wedding bed for the “young” was arranged on an ice bed.
Peter I and the guards
In winter, slingshots were placed on the Neva to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the city after dark. One day, Emperor Peter I decided to check the guards himself. He drove up to one of the sentries, pretended to be a merchant who had been on a spree and asked to let him through, offering money for the passage. The sentry refused to let him through, although Peter had already reached 10 rubles, a very significant amount at that time. The sentry, seeing such stubbornness, threatened that he would be forced to shoot him.
Peter left and went to another guard. The same one let Peter through for 2 rubles.
The next day, an order was announced for the regiment: to hang the corrupt sentry, and drill the rubles he received and hang them around his neck.
Promote a conscientious sentry to corporal and reward him with ten rubles.
Thai national anthem
The Thai national anthem was written in 1902 by Russian composer Pyotr Shchurovsky.
Nicholas I gave his officers a choice between a guardhouse and listening to Glinka's operas as punishment.
On November 27, 1842, the first performance of M. I. Glinka’s opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila” took place, which brought the author a number of sensitive griefs. The public and high society did not like the opera; Emperor Nicholas I, after Act IV, defiantly left without waiting for the end. He didn’t like the music of the opera so much that he ordered, as punishment, the capital’s officers who had committed a fine to choose between the guardhouse and listening to Glinka’s music. Thus, the emperor additionally expressed his dissatisfaction with the composer’s work. Such were the customs, alas. Thank God that Nikolai did not send the composer himself to the guardhouse.
“Thank God that you are Russian”
In 1826, a “Russian contemporary” described the appearance of the sovereign - Emperor Nicholas I: “Tall, lean, had a wide chest... a quick look, a clear voice, suitable for a tenor, but he spoke somewhat patter... Some kind of genuine severity was visible in his movements.” .
“Genuine severity”... When he commanded troops, he never shouted. There was no need for this - the king’s voice could be heard a mile away; the tall grenadiers looked like children next to him. Nicholas led an ascetic lifestyle, but if we talk about the luxury of the court, the magnificent receptions - they stunned everyone, especially foreigners. This was done in order to emphasize the status of Russia, which the sovereign cared about incessantly.
General Pyotr Daragan recalled how, in the presence of Nikolai Pavlovich, he spoke French, grazing. Nikolai, suddenly putting on an exaggeratedly serious expression, began repeating every word after him, which brought his wife into a fit of laughter. Daragan, crimson with shame, jumped out into the reception room, where Nikolai caught up with him and, kissing him, explained: “Why are you burr? No one will mistake you for a Frenchman; Thank God that you are Russian, and being an ape is no good.”
History is rich in interesting facts, many of which are little known. So, a little excursion into history.
Tobacco enema. This picture shows the "tobacco enema" procedure, which was very popular in Western Europe in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Like smoking tobacco, the idea of blowing tobacco smoke through the anus for medicinal purposes was adopted by Europeans from North American Indians.
One of the weight units of antiquity was the scruple, approximately equal to 1.14 grams. It was mainly used to measure the weight of silver coins. Later, scruple was used in the pharmaceutical system of measures. Today it is not used, but is preserved in the word "scrupulousness", which means extreme precision and accuracy in detail.
Fifty years ago, English referee Ken Aston was driving home, thinking about some of the problems of international communications. He
stopped at a traffic light and then it dawned on him - this is how yellow and red cards appeared in world football.
Count Potemkin proposed to Catherine II to order convicts from the English government for the development of the Black Sea steppes. The queen was seriously interested in this idea, but it was not destined to come true, and English convicts began to be sent to Australia.
Caesar's resourcefulness. When invading Africa, the army of Julius Caesar suffered setbacks from the very beginning. Strong storms scattered ships in the Mediterranean Sea, and Caesar arrived on the African shores with only one legion. While leaving the ship, the commander tripped and fell face down, which was a strong sign for his superstitious soldiers to return back. However, Caesar was not at a loss and, grabbing handfuls of sand, exclaimed: “I hold you in my hands, Africa!” Later he and his army triumphantly conquered Egypt.
The Russian scientist Vasily Petrov, who was the first in the world to describe the phenomenon of an electric arc in 1802, did not spare himself when conducting experiments. At that time there were no instruments such as an ammeter or a voltmeter, and Petrov checked the quality of the batteries by the sensation of electric current in his fingers. And in order to feel very weak currents, the scientist specially cut off the top layer of skin from the tips of his fingers.
Children tried to shoot the actor who played Superman to test his invulnerability. American actor George Reeves became famous for playing the lead role in the television series The Adventures of Superman in the 1950s. One day, Reeves was approached by a boy holding his father's loaded Luger in his hands - he intended to test Superman's superhuman capabilities. George barely escaped death, managing to persuade the boy to give him the weapon. The actor was saved by the fact that the boy believed that the bullet could bounce off Superman and hit someone else.
In the 1950s and 1960s, American aircraft often violated Chinese airspace for reconnaissance purposes. The Chinese authorities recorded every violation and each time sent a “warning” to the United States through diplomatic channels, although no real action followed them, and such warnings were counted in the hundreds. This policy has given rise to the expression “China's final warning,” meaning threats without consequences.
Berdashi. In almost all Indian North America there were so-called berdaches, or people with two souls, who were classified as the third gender. Berdash men often performed only female functions - cooking, farming, and Berdash women took part in hunting. Due to the special status of the berdashes, men who had sexual intercourse with them were not considered homosexuals, but the berdashes themselves were not allowed to build relationships with each other. In some tribes they were given cult status, since it was believed that they were closer than ordinary people to the world of spirits and gods, so berdashes often became shamans or healers.
In Sparta, after the death of the king, two institutions were closed for 10 days - the court and the market. When the Persian king Xerxes learned about this custom, he declared that such a custom would be impossible in Persia, since it would deprive his subjects of his two favorite activities.
In 1913, 19-year-old student Terry Williams invented eye mascara by mixing soot with Vaseline. His discovery was first used by a sister named Maybelle, after whom the first and most popular mascara in the history of cosmetics was named.
Previously, the monument to Minin and Pozharsky stood in the center of Red Square. When the Mausoleum was built, the monument pointed specifically to it. One night, someone wrote on the monument: “Look, Prince, what scum has appeared within the Kremlin walls!” After this incident, the monument was moved.
