Weird History

Kellogg invented corn flakes to prevent masturbation.

A Roman walks into a bar and holds up two fingers. "I'll have five beers, please!"

George Stephenson (inventor of the steam locomotive) had such a thick northern UK accent that he needed a translator when he presented his invention in London.

To ensure stable succession, it was normal to pretend Ottoman sultans were still alive for weeks or months after their deaths. Sometimes this went full Weekend at Bernie's, with their bodies propped up on horseback and made to wave to crowds.

The sack of Rome by Visigoths, as depicted by French artist Joseph-Noël Sylvestre in 1890.

Vikings lived in Greenland for almost 500 years from 980 to around 1450 - only 40 years before Columbus.

The first-ever fire engine, named "the sucking worm".

This is how cars should open - Holden Hurricane, 1969.

During WWII, a British and German aircrew shot each other out of the sky over Norway, and then met up to help each other survive.

Swiss mountain troops patrolling the border with Italy during World War I.

The first monorail was drawn by horses.

What's left of Roman armor found in Northern England near Hadrian's Wall.

The Great Pyramid was the tallest building in the world for 3897 years until it was overtaken by Lincoln Cathedral.

Medieval Atlas, 1375. Before latitude/longitude grid lines were invented, but pretty good for the time.

According to Herodotus, in the battle of Pelusium (525 BCE), the Persians used cats as shields because Egyptians were forbidden to kill cats.

The pilgrims landed in Massachusetts instead of Virginia because they got lost and ran out of beer.

The top Soviet ace of WW2, Ivan Kozhedub, shot down 64 Axis aircraft and also several American P-51s who mistook him for German over Berlin in 1945.

The story of Mulan was told in China for over a thousand years before Disney adapted it into film.

Best friends Lydia Litvyak and Yekaterina Budanova were the top female aces of WW2. Together, they shot down 23 German aircraft. Both were killed in action.

Over the years, SR-71s Blackbirds have managed to outfly thousands of missiles fired at them.