Historical Fun

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - FEBRUARY 29th   On This Day in 1504, Christopher Columbus became a really sneaky explorer , or a witch, as he used his knowledge of the forthcoming lunar eclipse that night to persuade the Native Americans to give him supplies.   They believed he had mystical, magical powers. All things considered, Columbus was lucky they didn't just burn the witch.   On This Day in 1720, Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden , abdicated the crown in favour of her husband, who had been royally peeved at having to take a back seat to her all those years.   Gotta wonder how Prince Philip has done that so loyally for the last 60 years for his wife, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.   But, then again, some people are always the bridesmaid, never a bride.   On This Day in 1796, there was peace between The Great Britain and those ungrateful colonists, the United States of We-Whipped-Your-Butts-So-Suck-It. ...

Fun Facts About a Leap Year: Why do we have a leap year?   February 29th only happens once every four years. In the Gregorian calendar, at least. And 2016 is a leap year, meaning we have 366 days this year instead of the normal 365.   Why do we have leap years?   It's all down to the number of days it takes for the Earth to orbit the sun. We all take it as given that it's 365 days. It isn't. It's actually 365.25 days. This means we have an extra quarter of a day floating around. And that has to go somewhere or the universe will implode.   That's why we have a leap year. We simply add four quarter-days together to make a full day and plonk it on the calendar every four years.   It's not actually as simple as that, though.   How long is a year?   I mean, really. How long is an actual year? And be accurate and precise.   The amount of time it takes for the Earth to orbit the sun is actually 365 days, 5 hours, 48 ...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - FEBRUARY 28th On This Day in 628, Khosrau II, the last King of Persia to have anything like a decent length reign, was executed. To death. Yes, all the way.   His execution came by way of his son, Mihr Hormozd, who had become annoyed with his dad when he wasn't allowed to stay up late and play on his PlayStation.   Although really miffed with his father, Mihr Hormozd killed the King under the orders of Kavadh II, who had just recently invaded and taken control of the Sasanian Empire.   On This Day in 1525, Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec King, if only for a year, was executed by the Spanish Conquistador, Hernan Cortes.   Cortes had invaded with his Spanish army in the hope of finding some gold. Or a decent cigar. Or semi-decent massage parlour.   He deposed or killed all the kings in and around Mexico, and anyone he met on his way, and thos...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - FEBRUARY 27th   On This Day in 380, Emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica , co-signed by co-emperors, Gratian and Valentinian II. What's better than one Emperor? Three Emperors. The same applies to cake.   The Edict of Thessalonica declared all Roman citizens convert to Trinitarian Christianity.   Theodosius, also known as Theodosius the Great, or Cute-Squirrel-Lips by his Praetorian Guard, was born on the 11th of January, 347.   Theodosius became Emperor of the entire Roman Empire in 379 AD, the last Emperor to rule over the whole thing.   Theodosius-Cute-Squirrel-Lips had a serious problem with the Goths during his reign and set about trying to eradicate them. Perhaps they reminded him of his own moody teenage years.   Unfortunately, his reputation took a serious hit, along with his gonads, a war injury he would never recover from, as he wasn't successful in destroying them. Or the other ...

Fun Facts About Leonard Nimoy And Spock From Star Trek   As we all know, unless you're one of "Those" people, Leonard Nimoy played Spock, the most iconic character from Star Trek.   Fact One: Deforest Kelly was offered the role of Spock before Leonard Nimoy.   Yep, DeForest Kelly, who eventually went on to play I'm-A-Doctor-Jim-Not-A-Martian, Doctor "Bones" McCoy, was offered the role of the "Alien From Mars" in 1964. He turned it down as it would be illogical, Captain.   Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek even offered the role of Spock to Adam West, who was Batman in the original cheesy Batman television series. But Adam West couldn't fit it into his schedule as he was filming the movie Robison Crusoe on Mars at the time.   The role finally went to Leonard Nimoy after Roddenberry remembered him from his guest appearance in the pilot show. Skinny, pale, sharp facial features, Michael Jackson wasn't available ei...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 26th FEBRUARY On This Day in 1570 Elizabeth-The-First-Virginger-Queen was excommunicated by Pope-Pius-V-For-Vendetta for being ginger, and not catholic.   On This Day in 1616, after having a very rough week, Galileo Galilei, so good they named him twice, is formally banned from teaching or defending his views on the Earth orbiting the Sun, by the Catholic Church.   Burn the witch.   Hmm, I wonder if he was actually right about the Earth orbiting the sun? And, instead of being a witch, perhaps he was a scientist with real and factual scientific knowledge?   Nah, Burn the Witch.   On This Day in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act of Congress to establish the Grand Canyon, that massive hole in the ground that's hundreds of miles long, as a United States National Park.   On This Day in 1929, President Calvin Coolidge signed an Executive Order, because who needs an act of Congress when you're Cal...

Why were Kellogg's Corn Flakes invented?   On This Day, the 26th of February, in 1852, John Harvey Kellogg was born. He was an American doctor based in Michigan, who was also nutso-crazy, and ran a sanitarium which focused on nutrition, enemas, and exercise.   Of course, John Harvey Kellogg is most famed for creating the breakfast cereal Kellogg's Corn Flakes with his brother, Will Keith Kellogg.   But, did you know, Kellogg's Corn Flakes were originally invented to prevent masturbation.   John Harvey Kellogg believed in not bashing the bishop, spanking the monkey, wrestling the snake. Corn Flakes were created from a belief that bland foods, like his Corn Flakes, would decrease and even prevent arousal.   John's brother, Will, wanted to get the Corn Flakes to a mass market and decided they had to add sugar. John was dead set against this. You might as well just lace them with Viagra. This started a life-long feud, and Wi...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 25th FEBRUARY On This Day in 138, Roman Emperor Hadrian, the guy who hated the Scots so much he built a massive wall across northern England to keep them out, adopted Antoninus Pius as his son.   That is so sweet, adopting a little boy because he had no kids of his own. His adoption, as well as getting a daddy, also made little Antoninus heir to the Roman Empire.   Hang on, one plus two, multiply by the square root of .... son of a .... Antoninus wasn't a little boy when he was adopted. He was 44 years old.   On This Day in 1797, the Last Invasion of Britain ends after Colonel William Tate issues an unconditional surrender.   On This Day in 1870, Hiram Rhodes Revels, the first African-American to sit in the US Congress, is sworn into the United States Senate. He was a Republican from Mississippi. Oh, come on, no one's perfect.   On This Day in 1919, the state of Oregon put a 1cent per US gall...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 24th February   On This Day in 1386, King Charles III of Naples , was assassinated by Buddha. Oops, that should have said "at Buda." Because why would Buddha assassinate anyone?   King Charles III of Naples was also King Charles II of Hungary, although he was better known as Charles the Short.   He became King of Hungary after the death of Louis I of Hungary, by sitting on the throne and claiming baggsie. This royally annoyed the daughter of Louis, Mary of Hungary, who should have been Queen, and Mary's mother, Elizabeth of Bosnia.   They decided enough was enough and conspired together to have the King assassinated. It was a botched job, as the deed was done on the 7th of February 1386. It took a few weeks before he eventually died as a result of the wounds.   On This Day in 1848, King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates his throne.   On This Day in 1868, President Andrew Johnson is impeached...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 23rd of FEBRUARY   On This Day in 1739, at York Castle, a man going by the name of John Palmer, was identified by his former schoolteacher as the infamous highwayman, DICK TURPIN.   Dick Turpin, a highwayman who has a funny first name, was later executed in York for the theft of a horse.   When he began his career as a highwayman, he would ride alongside the carriages of the rich on his horse, Black Bess, and tell the driver to stop. He would then open the carriage door, point his pistols inside and shout, "Your money or your wife."   What he didn't realise, was that most people valued their money more than their wife. This meant Turpin ended up with a lot of wives back in his secret Dick Turpin Hideout Cave, or Dick Cave, for short.   Because of the overcrowding, he changed his demand to, "Your money or your life." Which was a much better business plan.   He retired to Yorkshire in l...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY February 22nd   On This Day in 1797, the Last Invasion of Britain occurred when the French invaded Fishguard, a small town in Wales.   The invasion took place between February 22nd and February 24th, and involved around 1,400 soldiers on four French warships.   Things did not go well for the French invasion of Wales. John Campbell, 1st Baron Cawdor, gathered a force of 500 British reservists, militia, and sailors.   The two armies fought on February 23rd, then Tom Jones was wheeled out to sing Delilah. A day later the French gave an unconditional surrender.   Also in the news On This Day In History   On This Day in 1371, Robert II becomes King of Scotland, to start a three hundred year rule for the house of Stuart.   On This Day in 1632, Galileo's dialogue concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published. Neither system addressed what to do in a Zombie Apocalypse.   On This Day...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - February 21st   On This Day in 1437, King James-The-First-King-Of-Scotland-To-Lose-His-Balls  was assassinated whilst hiding in a sewage pipe, which had been blocked off to stop his tennis balls getting lost.   During the night, thirty men, followers of the Earl of Atholl, had been secretly let into the residence at the Monastry of Blackfriars, Perth, Scotland. They had but one intent - to kill the king.   James the first of Scotland was warned by a servant about the intruders and fled his bedchamber. He headed down to the sewers, expecting to be able to escape. However, he had a fondness for tennis, and an inability to play.   He kept losing his balls in the sewers, so had them blocked off. This saved the tennis balls, but didn't save him. The intruders found him and killed him.   When one king dies, another takes his place.   On This Day in 1437, the six-year-old James-Get-Me-A-Fire-Exti...

Fun and Fascinating Facts About James Earl Jones 1. James Earl Jones is an African-American actor most famous for having one of the best voices on the planet. He was born on the 17th of January 1931, in Arkabutler, Mississippi, which happens to be a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. 2. James Earl Jones is well known for being the voice of Darth Vader in the mildly popular Star Wars movies. His parents were Shmi Skywalker and the Force itself. Or midichlorians. Or something like that. 3. His actual parents were Robert Earl Jones, who was an actor, boxer, and chauffeur, and Ruth Connolly Jones, who was a teacher and maid. 4. His father, Robert, left the family soon after little James Earl Jones was born. When he was five, James moved to Jackson, Michigan and was brought up by his maternal Grandparents. 5. James Earl Jones once described his grandmother, Maggie, as "The most racist person I have ever known." 6. James Earl Jones h...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 18th February   On This Day in 1885, Mark Twain had his book, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, published in the United States of America.   On This Day in 1478, George, Duke of Clarence, was tried, convicted, and then executed for treason against his older brother, King Edward IV.   His execution took place in the Tower of London. Instead of the usual method of executing nobles, which was giving them a serious case of Off-With-His-Head, the Duke of Clarence was drowned.   And not in water.   Nope.   He was drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine. Because, well, why not. Happy National Drink Wine Day.   On This Day in 1930, Clyde Tombaugh discovered the cow that jumped over the moon. Oh, and Pluto. Back in the days when it was actually a planet.   On This Day in 1930, Holy Cow, they can fly. A cow called Elm Farm Ollie became the first cow to fly in an airplane.   At the same time, ...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 17th FEBRUARY   On This Day in 364 AD, the Roman Emperor Jovian is found dead in his tent at Tyana, where they had camped the night before on their way back to Constantinople.   Jovian had been eating magic mushrooms the night before and bungee-jumped off his bed into a tea cup full of gorillas in purple tutus.   On This Day in 1753, Where the heck did our twelve days go? It was like, err, the middle of February when I went to sleep.   In 1753, Sweden went to sleep on February 17th and woke to find it was March 1st all ready. And they could have sworn they only got eight hours.   It was either aliens, or they finally switched from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar. I'm going with aliens.   On This Day in 1801, Thomas Jefferson is elected President of the United States of America. He actually tied with his opponent, Aaron Burr.   However, to resolve the issue, they played Rock-P...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 16th February   On This Day in 1742, Spencer Compton, the Earl of Wilmington, became the British Prime Minister.   He was Britain's second Prime Minister, after Robert Walpole. The guy was a workaholic and quite literally worked himself to death after a year in office.   On This Day in 1874, the Silver Dollar became legal tender in the United States of America.   On This Day in 1918, Lithuania became an independent state after the Council of Lithuania unanimously adopted the Act of Independence.   On This Day in 1923, Howard Carter is cursed for eternity after unsealing the burial chamber of the Egyptian Boy Pharaoh, Tutankhamun.   The following week he uncovered the Stargate and, with the US Air Force, began exploring other planets. Watch out for the Goa'uld. Too late.   On This Day in 1959, Fidel Castro became the Premier of Cuba , and later a total dictator, after he overthrew Fu...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 15th FEBRUARY   On This Day in 1214, King John of England,  the evil one in the Robin Hood stories, and the king who signed the Magna Carta landed in La Rochelle, France, at the head of an invasion force.   On This Day in 1710, King Louis XV of France, the useless one, was born. He became king at aged five, and when he reached maturity and took control of France, he gave territories away to other countries, lost wars, and was generally unpopular.   On This Day in 1879, Rutherford B. Hayes, the President of the United States of America, signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue a case before the Supreme Court.   On This Day in 1952, King George VI, father of the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, was laid to rest in St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.   On This Day in 1954, Matt Groening was born. He is the writer, producer and voice actor behind cartoons such as The Simpsons and Futurama.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 14th February   On this day in history, the 14th of February, everyone goes overboard in the celebrations of Valentine's Day.   Roses are red. The floor is red. The walls are red. Murder. There's been a murder.   Statistically speaking, you're more likely to be murdered by your partner on Valentine's day if you've forgotten to get her a card, present, or taken her out for a romantic meal.   If you haven't even noticed she had her hair done, or bought a new dress, or nice thong, then your chances of survival dwindle to about 6 percent.   Check out our Humorous History Valentine's Day:  The Truth and the Myths   and   Valentine's Day: Murder In The Park   On This Day In History, the 14th February 1400, Richard II of England, not no longer nope maybe a King, died. Perhaps, maybe, who knows, of starvation, at Pontefract Castle.   Let's first assume he was still King of England wh...