25 Seriously Disturbing and Weird History Facts
Over at r/AskReddit we learned some strange and disturbing facts about our world history.
1.
During WWI on the eastern front, Germany and Russia were going at it in one battle when German troops deployed mustard gas against the Russian troops who were advancing. The Russian troops emerged from the gas smoke throwing up blood, blood leaking from their nose, eyes. Their skin turned yellow and pale. They looked like undead soldiers, literal zombies. The German troops were so frightened that they abandoned their positions and retreated. It was called the “Attack of the Dead Men”, took place on August 6, 1915. -u/Chief_Blitz98
2.
There are books in the Harvard University library which are bound in human flesh. -u/Flaky_Sandwich9353
3.
The Mayans partied hard. They would take alcohol and hallucinogenic enemas. In Social Studies they had us watch a special on them and I vividly remember an artists rendering of a Mayan doing a handstand while getting an enema. The original keg-stand. -uRiff_Moranis
4.
Ancient Egypt imposed the death sentence to those caught killing a cat. Cats served important roles in society to the point of worship. Being given their holy status, harming them was considered blasphemy, which was punishable by death. In effect, the ancient Egyptians had one of the earliest animal welfare laws. -u/MissSara101
5.
Persians used to tie cats to their shields during the war with Egypt cos it was against Egyptian law to kill cats. -u/flamingotoejam
6.
Russia still has not recovered its population prior to WWII NOTE: As there is some debate about the validity of this statement : Russian Population in 1939: 170 Million Russian Population in 2021: 146 Million -u/YNot1989
7.
Stalin ordered scientists to do experiments to create a breed of super strong monkeys to fight wars. -u/CircusSeal
8.
Not the most disturbing, but weird nevertheless: back in the 19th century a carnival was headed through the next town over, and during the stop a hippopotamus went nuts and started killing people and livestock. Ever since then the town has taken the hippo as its mascot because it's such a ferocious animal. -u/Medieval-Mind
9.
Some ancient cultures knew that they could control population growth by denying fertile females both fats and carbohydrates. This process guaranteed that embryos would not mature in the womb due to the lack of food energy derived from carrying mothers. The embryos would self-abort. A certain ratio of body fat is required for successful pregnancies. [Harris @ Cannibals and Kings] -u/NagromTrebloc
10.
In 2008 as a result of the financial crisis, only one American banker went to jail. -u/suititup1
11.
The ability to tell time (circadian rhythm) is an evolutionary response. Cells that learned to replicate at night and rest during the day ultimately survived. I'm bastardizing it but I find that amazing. -u/ok-MTLmunchies
12.
From the fall of the Roman empire up until the mid 19th century, the majority of cities in Europe did not have sewer systems.City planners didn't build sewers until it was proven in 1855 that the cause for all the cholera epidemics was drinking water contaminated by human feces. -u/PhilippTheSmartass
13.
Due to Fresh drinking water being so scarce on the Galápagos Islands, some bird species, such as the Galapagos Hawk, have adapted by drinking the blood of other animals. -u/Johndoe448
14.
Genghis Khan killed something like ten percent of the world's population. -u/modsarebrainstems
15.
They used to mummify Egyptian royalty in honey, and use said honey as a miracle cure centuries later. The process is known as "mellification", and it was completely voluntary - it started with the to-be-mellified person going on a strict honey-only diet, leading to their eventual death. Their corpse, now suffused with the stuff from the inside to the point of their sweat and feces consisting of honey, would then be fully submerged in even more honey within the sarcophagus. It was believed to be an incredibly potent medicinal cure, and mellified honey was sold at a high price for ailments such as broken limbs. Apparently this process was also in practice in Chinese medicine way back. -u/Nan_The_Man
16.
By the end of the 1800's, major cities, particularly London and New York, had a crisis of horse manure accumulation. Horses provided most transportation of goods and people throughout the city. London had 30,000 equines in the city, while New York had over 100,000 (including horses, mules and donkeys). The average horse produces over 30 lbs of manure and 2.5 gallons of urine every day. (Their mission is to transform what they eat back into fertile soil.) During the 1890's there were newspaper articles, debates and even conventions about the growing layers of horse manure. One writer predicted that within a few decades, the manure would be up to the third story of some buildings. Then the motor car came along and gradually replaced the dependence on the horse. Now we have a whole other set of problems. -u/onajurni
17.
Charles Lee Smith was the last man to ever be convicted of blasphemy in the United States in 1928, he served a short sentence of 3 months and he got this sentencing by renting a storefront and posting a sign that said “evolution is true, the Bible is a lie, god is a ghost.” -u/scrimmybingus3
18.
The first ever depiction of Buddha's human form in a statue was by the Indo-Greeks, which were also the last remaining free Hellenic kingdom after the collapse of Alexander's empire. All those statues of Buddha which are so ubiquitous with the common image of Buddhism can be traced back to the Hellenic statue making tradition. Also, an almost bigger trip, Greco-Buddhist monks under the Kushan empire were also the first people to translate the Buddhist texts into Chinese. -u/ZiggyB
19.
The hunting industry in Africa is also responsible for a large chunk of the conservation of both endangered and non-endangered species. For businesses to stay open, they need game. Only way they can have game is by ensuring the species in their grounds breed properly. In accordance with federal laws, they also must ensure that endangered species remain untouched and are also bread for the sake of their business staying open. -u/ThrowRARAw
20.
The Spanish House of Hapsburg inbred so much that they killed off their dynasty. The last of the family was Charles the 2nd of Spain. A description of him at the time was, "Short, lame, epileptic, senile and completely bald before 35, always on the verge of death but repeatedly baffling Christendom by continuing to live". Charles suffered from so many illnesses that he was nicknamed "The Hexed". He eventually died at the age of 39 without an heir which triggered the War Of The Spanish Succession. -u/PripyatHorse
21.
Many unethical medical experiments have been sponsored by government agencies like; Centers for Disease Control, the United States military, and the Central Intelligence Agency, and/or sponsored by private corporations affiliated with the military. -u/bodhisaurusrex
22.
The White-throated Rail is a flightless bird that went extinct due to rising sea levels on their native islands 100,000 years ago. After some time, another rail species re-inhabited the island, and in 20,000 years basically transformed themselves into the new White-throated rail as they lost the ability to fly as well. The birds went extinct, other birds came by, and evolved the exact same way, basically becoming a previously extinct species. -u/Corzappy
23.
The Kettle War. Long story short, Spain (The Holy Roman Empire) and the Netherlands (The Seven Republics of the Netherlands) were beefing. One boat from Spain engaged in a fight with a Dutch naval ship. One shot was fired. The only victim of that cannonball was a pot of soup that was cooking. The Spanish ship then surrendered. -uImANuckleChut
24.
The fact that the French believed a 17 year old peasant girl that was having visions of God telling her to bring the Dauphin to Reims and they actually listened to her. And then she goes on to lift a siege, beat the english/burgundians in multiple battles, gets the Dauphin to Reims to be crowned, and dies at the stake for cross-dressing. Joan of Arc was lit. -u/Hot_Squash_9225
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