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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Weird Facts

The world’s history books teach us about famous figures, ancient civilizations and important events that have shaped our world. But there is so much more to history than just the ‘big moments’. History is full of weird and wonderful tales, bizarre events, quirky people, and strange happenings, and it is these ‘weird facts’ that bring to life our past in a way that is fun, amusing and sometimes shocking!

Historic illustration of execution by elephant. Source: Pixaterra / Adobe Stock
25 September, 2022 - 22:59 Joanna Gillan

Execution by Elephant Was a Brutal Form of Capital Punishment For 2,000 Years

Elephants are one of the smartest and most powerful animals in the world. It is no wonder then that these magnificent beasts were exploited and trained to be brutal executioners. Death by elephant is...
Composite image cloves layered over map representing the Magellan-Elcano expedition in the Nao Victoria. Source: Benjamin LEFEBVRE / Adobe Stock & Public domain
22 September, 2022 - 01:57 Cecilia Bogaard

The First Circumnavigation of the World Happened by Accident, Not Design

In 2022 Spain went all out to celebrate the quincentennial of the arrival of the so-called ‘Spice Route Armada’ which reached Spain on September 6th, 1522, after completing the first recorded...
Medieval alchemists believed they could create a mini artificial human. Source: lidiia / Adobe Stock
18 September, 2022 - 22:22 Caleb Strom

Medieval Scientists Tried to Make Little People with Semen, Blood, and an Animal Womb

The question of how to create life does not just go back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, when the eponymous character used forbidden science to create life. Medieval scientists tried for centuries to...
The Anarchic Mohawk Hairstyle. Source: ArtoPhotoDesigno / Adobe Stock
16 September, 2022 - 01:56 Cecilia Bogaard

The Anarchic ‘Mohawk’ Hairstyle Didn’t Come From the Mohawk Tribe

The ultimate expression of anarchy, the now-mainstream Mohawk hairstyle has a surprisingly ancient history. While most people think the Mohawk hairstyle was created by anti-establishment punks back...
The curious history of the fork. Source: TATIANA / Adobe Stock
14 September, 2022 - 14:54 Cecilia Bogaard

Forks Were Once Seen as Blasphemous and Effeminate

You may not know it, but the fork is a relatively new invention, especially when comparing it to the spoon and the knife. So much so, that it only became popular in the United States in the 19th...
Digital reconstruction of a Acrocanthosaurus dinosaur and a prehistoric Sarcosuchus crocodile or SuperCroc. Source: Michael Rosskothen / Adobe Stock
11 September, 2022 - 22:55 Cecilia Bogaard

Dinosaur-Eating Galloping Crocodiles Once Existed in the Sahara Desert

Believe it or not, but 100 million years ago the area of the present-day scorching hot Sahara Desert was a lush swamp home not just to dinosaurs, but also to several kinds of prehistoric crocodilians...
Victorian children died from arsenic-laden wallpaper. Source: Olek / Adobe Stock
8 September, 2022 - 02:00 Veronica Parkes

Victorian-Era Wallpaper Killed Countless Children

Wallpaper isn’t as popular as it once was, and perhaps the reason for its fall from fashion was its ability to kill! In the Victorian Era, a brilliant green-colored pigment proved popular in wall...
Portrait of Dauphin Louis-Charles of France, Marie Antoinette’s son. Source: Public domain
7 September, 2022 - 01:57 Cecilia Bogaard

Dozens of Imposters Pretended to be Louis XVII, Marie Antoinette’s Son

The executions of both Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI have acquired legendary status. Surprisingly, the fate of their son, and the dozens of imposters who came out of the woodwork claiming to be...
Portrait of Tee Yee Ho Ga Row, baptized as Hendrick Tejonihokarawa, during his visit as part of the Four Indian Kings to Queen Anne in London in 1710, by Jan Verelst. Source: Public domain
4 September, 2022 - 22:45 Cecilia Bogaard

Four Native American Kings Visited Queen Anne in London With a Special Request

The visit of four Native American “Kings” to London in 1710 caused quite a stir. While this wasn’t the first time that Native Americans had been on English soil, it was the first time that they were...
The First Emperor of China was Killed by an Elixir of Immortality. Source: ЮРИЙ ПОЗДНИКОВ / Adobe Stock
3 September, 2022 - 22:55 Mark Oliver

The First Emperor of China Took an ‘Elixir of Immortality’ Made of Mercury and it Killed Him

The First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, was terrified of death and much of his reign was focused on the search for immortality and the Elixir of Life. Ironically, Qin Shi Huang died from the toxic...
Medieval depiction of Empedocles of Acragas throwing himself into Mount Etna. Source: Public domain
28 August, 2022 - 22:58 Cecilia Bogaard

Empedocles of Acragas Committed Suicide by Jumping into a Volcano

Empedocles of Acragas was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who lived in the 5th century BC. It is said that wanting to prove he was an all-powerful god, he decided to leap into the volcanic Mount...
Greek god Dionysus with wine. Source: rudall30 / Adobe Stock
27 August, 2022 - 22:58 dhwty

Romans Added Lead Sweetener to Their Wine and it Killed Them

How far did ancient people go to enhance the flavor of their food and drinks? Would they consume toxic substances if it made things a little more appetizing? Well, the Romans did, by adding a sweet...
A pair of King Tut’s sandals. Source: © Merja Attia
26 August, 2022 - 01:31 Cecilia Bogaard

King Tut Stepped on his Enemies: Learning from Tutankhamun’s Sandals

While Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw has entered popular imagination for her stunning array of shoes and fashion savvy, few know that the young King Tut also enjoyed a vast collection footwear...
Depiction of the ancient Egyptian deity Thoth silhouette, said to have invented the enema, which were performed by a type of physician known as shepherd of the anus. Source: SunFrot/Adobe Stock
24 August, 2022 - 01:59 Cecilia Bogaard

Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs Had a Shepherd of the Royal Anus

History is filled with bizarre, and often degrading, jobs that we can’t imagine doing today. Shepherd of the Royal Anus is up there with the worst of them. The ancient Egyptians have been remembered...
The Medical Alchemist vt. The Uroscopy by Franz Christoph Janneck (1703–1761), (Science History Institute)
20 August, 2022 - 23:00 dhwty

Medieval Physicians Used to Taste Patients’ Urine for Diagnosing Medical Conditions

The examination of urine (‘uroscopy’) as a method of medical diagnosis can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome, but during the Middle Ages the examination of urine samples by physicians became...
A Roman soldier’s fart sparked a riot that killed 10,000 people! Source: Fxquadro/ Adobe Stock
20 August, 2022 - 01:59 ancient origins

A Roman Soldier’s Fart Led to the Death of 10,000 People!

Farts are controversial things. Sometimes they lead to arguments, and between young siblings or friends they may even provoke a punch (with some giggles); but there are at least a couple of times in...
Humans were mummified into honey candy. Source: Andrey Popov / Adobe Stock
14 August, 2022 - 22:59 Sahir

Humans Were Mummified into Honey Candy in Arabian Medical Practice

While ancient history boasts a host of grisly medical recipes, one of the most intriguing and elaborate was the mellified man, a human being mummified into honey candy, which was then used to mend...
A drawing of a flayed corpse, the fate of Marco Antonio Bragadin at Famagusta in 1571. Source: Wellcome Images / CC BY 4.0
12 August, 2022 - 01:58 Cecilia Bogaard

Marco Antonio Bragadin Was Flayed and his Skin Kept as a Trophy

Tales of massacres, sieges and sadistic executions are common throughout history. Nevertheless, the brutal flaying of Marco Antonio Bragadin, the Venetian commander of Famagusta, and the fall of...
The autopsy of Xin Zhui, Lady of Dai. Source: Hunan Provincial Museum.
11 August, 2022 - 02:00 Joanna Gillan

Lady of Dai Mummy is So Well Preserved That Blood Remains in Her Veins

The 2,200-year-old mummified body of a Chinese noblewoman known as Xin Zhui , or The Lady of Dai, is an anomaly. When her body was discovered, it was so incredibly well preserved that it equalled...
Outside picture, taken in 2020, of Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan a hot spring hotel in Hayakawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan (Boltor / CC by SA 4.0)
9 August, 2022 - 01:55 dhwty

Hot Spring Hotel in Japan Has Been Run by the Same Family for 1,300 Years!

Now this is family dedication – a hotel that has been passed down 52 generations of one Japanese family over more than 13 centuries! The hot spring Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan hotel in Japan’s Yamanashi...
Pied Piper of Hamelin. Source: Archivist / Adobe Stock
7 August, 2022 - 22:48 dhwty

The Pied Piper is a True Story and The Piper Stole 130 Children!

Many would have heard the childhood tale of the Pied Piper who freed a town of rats by leading them away with his music and, when he wasn’t paid, he returned and led away the town’s children, who...
Ancient Egyptian mummy photographed at the archaeological museum of Florence. Source: Massimiliano / Adobe Stock
6 August, 2022 - 01:59 Alicia McDermott

Ancient Egyptian Worker Took Sick Leave to Embalm his Mother

The British Museum houses a tablet which provides a peek into work-life balance in ancient Egypt. It documents the number of sick days and why 40 workers took time off from their workplace in 1250 BC...
Legend has it that Robert the Bruce was inspired to continue his struggle for Scottish independence by a spider in a cave. Source: pedro / Adobe Stock
5 August, 2022 - 01:59 Cecilia Bogaard

A Spider Had a Leading Role in the Story of Scottish Independence

Inspiration can come in all shapes and sizes. But the story of the downtrodden Scottish national hero Robert the Bruce, who ruled Scotland in the 14th century, being motivated to continue his...
Traditional mince pies. Source: Magdalena Bujak / Adobe Stock
4 August, 2022 - 01:57 Cecilia Bogaard

Did Oliver Cromwell Really Ban Mince Pies in England?

Oliver Cromwell was an English commander and politician who helped overthrow the Stuart monarchy during the era of the English Civil War and then served as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of...

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