Historical Fun

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 30th March   On this day in history in 1811 Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen was born.   Robert Bunsen was a German chemist who discovered caesium and rubidium. But his most famous invention was the Bunsen Burner. That thing you remember from your science classes at school.   On this day in history in 1820, Anna Sewell was born.   Anna Sewell is best known for writing the book Black Beauty. In fact, believe it or not, that was the only book she ever published. Seems weird, having read that book a few times at school, and seen the movies and television shows, that she only had one thing published during her life.   Anna Sewell died on the 25th of April, 1878, about five months after Black Beauty was published, of hepatitis or tuberculosis.   On this day in history in 1874, Charles Lightoller was born.   Charles Lightoller was the English 2nd officer on board the infamous unsinkable ship that ...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 29th March On this day in history in 1461, Edward of York defeated Queen Margaret to become World Arm Wrestling Champion.   Nope, wait. Edward defeated Margaret at the Battle of Towton during the Wars of the Roses, and became King of England as a result.   The Wars of the Roses had been going on for years. It raged and enraged the House of York and the House of Lancaster.   Basically we have Edward of York, whose house motto is Winter is Coming, fighting against Margaret, played by Cersei, the wife of King Henry VI, who was shifting between bonkers-nutso and being a little bit lethargic.   The Battle of Towton has been described as the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. It involved over 50,000 soldiers, Tyrion Lannister, some White Walkers, a zombie, and three dragons.   After several hours of fighting, and with over 28,000 dead on the battlefield, the Yorkist army came out as the victors. Hen...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY MARCH 28th On this day in history in 1584, it is with a sad heart that we must report the death of Ivan the Terrible.   Ivan the Terrible passed away in the arms of his long-term minion, Bogdan Belsky, shortly after they had started a game of chase-me-around-the-bedroom-in-a-mankini. Or as it was known back in the day, Chess.   Ivan the Terrible had a fearsome reputation and transformed Russia into an Empire. He was the first person to be titled Tsar of all of Russia. He conquered, he butchered, he tortured, he killed, he played "Chess" with his minion.   However, his name was given to him by his wife on their wedding night. And not in a playful, seductive way: "Oh, Ivan, you bad boy. We shouldn't try that. Oh, you're so terrible." but rather in a... "You haven't done this before have you? You're terrible." sort of way.   After Ivan's terrible death, by the hand of his minion, we mean in the hand...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY MARCH 27th   On this day in history in 1785, King, not a king, but maybe a king, Louis XVII of France was born.   Louis XVII of France was the son of Louis XVI of France, because they had no imagination when it came to naming their children.   Louis XVII's father, Louis-Minus-One-From-Seventeen, was executed on the 21st of January 1793, and, as his older brother had just died a few weeks before (bet you can't tell me his name?), he became King of France.   Or, he would have become King of France, if it hadn't been for those pesky revolutionists who had just deposed the King and declared a Republic.   Louis XVII had been imprisoned by the Republic of France after they overthrew his father and executed him. Technically, he was never a King. Although the Royalist Supporters did acknowledge Louis XVII as the monarch, he was never actually crowned.   When the Royalists regained control of France and Louis...

Top 5 Weirdest Easter Traditions 1)  Scoppio del Carro or Explosion of the Cart   Ever wondered about starting a tradition where you strap a rocket to a dove and shoot it along a wire into a cart that explodes? You have? Psycho!   As it turns out, you don't need to wonder. In Florence, they actually did it. Yep, not kidding.   On Easter Sunday, a herd of oxen sprinkled with flowers and herbs, probably for the barbeque afterwards, pull an antique cart that is three-stories high from Porta al Prato to the Piazza del Duomo. The cart is escorted by soldiers, musicians, a flock of people dressed like they've been ejected from the 15th century, which is where this tradition began, and a chef specialising in oxen barbeques.   A fire -- Fire ... FIRE ... we're all gonna end up on fire -- is started by rubbing some ancient flints together, which is used to light a candle, which is then used to light some coals, which is then placed in the cart for its ...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY MARCH 26th On this day in history in 1931, Leonard Nimoy was born in Boston, Massachusetts (not an easy place to spell without the help of Google. And nope, I didn't cheat. So it's probably incorrect). In the future, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Leonard Nimoy is busting out of his grave to pound death grip my neck for putting a Star Wars reference into this sentence, instead of a Star Trek one. Leonard Nimoy was best known for singing the most awful song of all time, The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins. It's a song that once you hear, you can never un-hear. Or get out of your head. Oh-My-God-I-Want-To-Kill-My-Ears-Right-Now-Get-It-Out-Help-Me-Help-Me-Help-Me. Leonard Nimoy also portrayed the pointy-eared first officer of the Starship Enterprise, Mr. Spock, in a show that became mildly popular quite sometime after it originally aired in 1966. Yep, STAR TREK. Here are some Fun Facts yo...

Fun Facts About Easter Eggs As we all know, Easter is all about the eggs. Here are 5 Fun Facts About Easter Eggs.   1. The United Kingdom's first chocolate egg was produced in 1873 by Fry’s of Bristol (who merged with Cadbury in 1919).   Fry's of Bristol were not the first to produce a chocolate egg, though.   Easter Eggs have been around in France and Germany since the early 19th century. Most were solid, unlike the hollow eggs we are familiar with today. Imagine biting into a solid egg. Sheesh, you'd break your teeth. But it might be worth it.   The problem was in the mould. It was green and furry and had a mind of its own. It would attack those who were trying to mould the eggs with a mould so the mould would attack the moulders and even a Scully or two.   Wait, I might be getting my moulds mixed up. Or mold, if you're American.   Back in the day, they had to line the moul...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - MARCH 25th On this day in history in 1199, Richard-The-First -King-To-Eat-The-Heart-of-A-Lion has been shot.   Read the Historical Fun News Report about Richard the Lionheart's attempted assassination attempt from 1199   On this day in history in 421, according to legend, Venice was founded at exactly 12:00 noon.   Basically two blokes were at the pub getting well and truly hammered, when they came outside to try and find somewhere that sold kebabs. They ended up in a field in the middle of nowhere and one declared, "We should found a city. I love you, tree. Oh, crap, I'm gonna barf."   And that's how Venice was founded.   On this day in history in 1306, Robert the Bruce became King of Scotland.   Back in 1298, Robert-Upset-Me-And-You-Get-Bruced became the Guardian of Scotland. But, what the hell? What's this stupid Guardianship rubbish? Gimme the throne. Bunch of morons.   Robert the B...

Richard the Lionheart: An 1199 News report on the assassination of Richard the Lionheart It's the 25th of March, 1199, Richard-The-First -King-To-Eat-The-Heart-of-A-Lion has been shot. Yes, today is a grave day for England. Our beloved and gentle King has been shot by an arrow, shot by a bow, shot by a child, who will be shot with a shotgun in the face, as he shot the King. It's shocking! Details are still coming in from our reporter at the scene, but it's a little unclear as to what happened. They say the king was out walking in the grounds of Castle Limousin, the same castle he had besieged and then captured from the Viscount-Whose-Name-You-Can't-Pronounce. A small child, or perhaps Tyrion Lannister, no one is quite sure, emerged atop the castle wall and shot him with a crossbow. No one is quite sure why Tyrion would want to shoot a King, as it seems out of character. But, as soon as we know more about the motivations of the ...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 22nd MARCH On this day in history in 1322, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster , and Earl of Leicester, and Earl of Derby, and Earl of Lincoln, and Earl of Salisbury, died as a result of a serious case of Off-With-His-Head.   Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, was also Baron of Halton, and Lord of Bowland. Yep, he had quite a collection of Earldoms and Lordships. He was also the cousin of King Edward II.   All families have their problems. I have a cousin I don't particularly like. And although Lancaster's relationship with his Kingly cousin started off okay, it went downhill fast.   In no small part to the Earl of Lancaster rebelling against the rule of the King of England. Lancaster preferred to ally himself with the King of Scotland instead.   Lancaster would learn the hard way that you shouldn't vex the King of England. His rebellions failed. He was captured. Torture was also involved. Something to do with pokers and bottoms. But ...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY MARCH 21st On this day in 1152, King Louis VII of France had his marriage to Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine annulled.   King Louis VII, or Louis the Younger, as his daddy was kingy before him, and that dude was called Louis as well. It was a very popular name for Kings of France and members of boy bands back in the day.   Louis VII of France had married his Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine when he was seventeen. Some say it was out of love of the beautiful young duchess, however, it wasn't. She was rich. Rich beyond the king's wildest dreams.   She came with the fortunes of the Duchy of Aquitaine and her money would put Donald Trump to shame.   However, fast forward fifteen years, and the King and Queen of France hit a stumbling block in the road. Girls. They were all girls. Eleanor couldn't give the King of France a son. Only one thing to do. Get rid of the witch and find another, younger, model to take her place. ...