Useless trivia and facts

craftsloverr

The man who invented the segway died by driving one off a cliff.

lis

Pineapples were a status symbol in England in the 1700s

craftsloverr

The Aztecs used chocolate as currency—but they also sometimes mixed it with blood during rituals.

lis

Americans wiped themselves with corncobs before toilet paper was invented.

craftsloverr

A “cure” for syphilis in the 1800s was mercury—it killed more patients than the disease.

craftsloverr

In the Victorian era, people took photos with their dead relatives propped up to look alive. These are called post-mortem portraits.

lis

When Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus became the emperor of Rome, he made his horse Incitatus a senator.

craftsloverr

The “cat piano” was a proposed instrument where cats would be lined up, each with a different pitch of meow, and keys would make them yowl. (Thankfully never really made).

lis

DNA evidence suggests that one in every 200 people in the world is a descendant of Genghis Khan.

craftsloverr

In 1519, conquistadors brought smallpox to the Aztecs—it killed 90% of the population in just a few years.