Things You Need To Learn: HISTORY

Showing posts with label HISTORY. Show all posts

Friday, April 10, 2015

As most people go through school, they probably accept what they are taught in their classes as absolute truth. Subjects like American or World History have lessons based on events that happened decades or centuries ago, so how could anyone possibly get this stuff wrong? As it turns out, it's pretty easy. There are a lot of historical "myths" that are commonly accepted as fact. Some of these may surprise you (and make you feel better about flunking that one History test).

#1 George Washington’s teeth were not made of wood; they were made of gold, ivory, lead, human teeth, donkey teeth and horse teeth. Ew.

#2 Christopher Columbus didn’t discover the mainland US. In fact, he never even found it. The closest he got was the Caribbean islands.

#3 The Vikings didn’t have horns on their helmets. That image originated in a popular opera by Richard Wagner in 1876.

#4 Napoleon Bonaparte was not short; he was 5’7”. That was slightly taller than average for a Frenchman at the time.

#5 Albert Einstein didn’t fail math in school, it was a false claim published by Ripley’s. Before he was 15, he mastered differential and integral calculus.

#6 Medieval Europeans didn’t think the Earth was flat. From the time of the ancient Greek philosphers like Plato and Aristotle, most European intellectuals accepted the spherical Earth theory.

#7 Benjamin Franklin didn’t propose the wild turkey as a symbol for the United States. He wrote a private letter to his daughter, expressing the fact that he didn’t like the eagle and preferred the turkey.

#8 Chastity belts were invented in the 18th century to prevent teenagers from masturbating (which they thought led to insanity). It wasn’t to prevent pregnancy in the Middle Ages.

#9 In Rome, vomitoriums weren’t used for vomiting, they actually were the entrances and exists Romans used in stadiums. Romans also didn’t throw up between courses or meals.

#10 No one was burned at the stake during the Salem witch trials. The accused died in prison or were hanged

Source:viralnova.com

These 10 Facts Prove Everything You Thought You Knew About History... Is Dead Wrong.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

#1 Mark Twain in Tesla’s lab, 1894

#2 A 10 x 15-foot wooden shed where the “Harley-Davidson Motor Company” started out in 1903

#3 Testing football helmets in 1912

#4 Helmets again: A Pyramid of captured German ones in front of the NYC Grand Central Terminal, 1918

#5 A bar in New York City, the night before prohibition began,1920

#6 Robert De Niro’s cab driver license. In order to get into character for the film Taxi Driver, he obtained his own hack license and would pick-up/drive customers around in New York City.

#7 Traffic jam in New York, 1923

#8 A quiet little job at a crocodile farm in St. Augustine, Florida, 1926 (UPDATE: well, an alligator farm of course, as Roy notes in the comments below)

#9 World economic crisis, 1929

#10 Meeting of the Mickey Mouse Club, early 1930s

Source : earthlymission.com

Rarely Seen “Enchanted” Moments of US History

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Time and again, women have rebelled to force change in how society treats and perceives them by challenging the status quo, often putting their own lives at risk. Indeed, they have changed and continue to alter the course of history with courage and resolve.

These inspiring photographs of the early pioneers and trailblazers of gender equality offer a glimpse of their triumphs and struggles.

#1 First few Women to join US Marine Corps at the oath ceremony in 1918.

#2 French Women protect their kids when German Snipers started firing after liberation of Paris (26th August 1944).

#3 Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to run Boston Marathon in 1967. The race organizer was not too happy about it.

#4 Female Pilots during World War 2.

#5 Maud Stevens Wagner (February 1877 - January 30,1961) was a circus performer and the first known female tattoo artist in the United States.

#6 A 106-year-old woman guards her home with AK 47, in Degh village, near the city of Goris in Southern Armenia. (1990s)

#7 Annette Kellerman; pro swimmer, vaudeville star and film actress posing in a swim suit that got her arrested for indecency. c. 1907.

#8 'Winnie The Welder'- working at dockyard

#9 Leola N. King, America's first female traffic cop, in 1918.

#10 Nurses reach Normandy, France in 1944 to control the casualties.

Source: wittyfeed.com

10 Inspiring Images of Women Making History

One of the most violent eras of world history was during the dark ages. Lasting for roughly 1,000 years, it was a time of extensive inequality and brutality.

The cruel imagination of people living during that era gave rise to a plethora of torture techniques, shown here:

#1 The Judas Cradle

This gruesome punishment made the victim sit on a pyramid-shaped cradle, after which they were forced down on it by ropes with the intent of stretching the body of victim, over a long period of time. The victim was usually naked and the device was almost never washed. So if by chance, the torture did not kill you, the infection contracted from the device definitely will.

#2 Coffin Torture

The most popular torture technique in the Middle Ages was Coffin torture. This method involved placing the victim inside a metal cage (which was roughly the size of a human body). The torturers also forced obese victims into smaller cages to amplify their discomfort as they hung from a tree. Generally, they would be left there until the vultures came to feed on their remains.

#3 Brazen Bull

It originated in ancient Greece and is also known as Sicilian bull. It was actually a hollow brass bull statue designed to resemble a real bull. Victims were placed inside, usually with their tongues cut out first and then the door was shut, securing them in. Moreover, fire was set underneath it. The sufferer was then slowly roasted to death. The bull was purposely designed to intensify the screams of victim and make them sound like the bellowing of a bull.

#4 The Rack

One of the most brutal devices from the Medieval times, the rack was basically a wooden platform, with rollers at both its ends. Hands and feet of the victim were tied to each end and the rollers were turned, stretching their bodies to uncomfortable lengths.

#5 The Pillory

A pillory is a set of two wooden boards tightly clasped together. The wooden planks also had holes for the neck and wrists. Victim was made to place their head and arms through the holes. Then the pillory was closed leaving no space for victim to escape.

#6 The Head CrusherThe Head Crusher

The head crusher did exactly what it was called. The chin sat on the bottom rung and the head under the cap. On turning the screws, it would result in a very barbaric death with brains seeping out of the popped eye sockets.

#7 Heretics Fork

This torture device was basically a metal piece with opposed bi-pronged forks on its each end attached to a strap. One end of the device was pushed under the chin and the other into the sternum and the strap was used to lock the neck to the tool while the victim was somehow suspended so that he did not sleep. If his head dropped, the prongs would pierce their throat and chest.

#8 The Rat Torture

Being in a closed room with rats is torture enough but probably, this is not enough for the medieval times. One of the most inhuman of all torture methods involved a cage with one open side strapped against the body of victim. It would then be filled with large rodents and a heating element would be placed on the other side of the cage. Following which the rodents would try to escape the heat and burrow through the body of the sufferer with deadly results.

#9 Scold's Bridle

A Scold's bridle, also called as Brank's bridle, was an instrument of punishment used primarily on women. The device was an iron muzzle in an iron framework, which enclosed the head. A bridle-bit, about 2 inches long, projected into the mouth and pressed down on top of the tongue. It was often spiked, to make the movement of the tongue almost impossible.

#10 Knee Splitter

Used commonly during the Spanish Inquisition, the knee splitter, as it is named, was used to split knees of victim. The device consisted of two spiked wood blocks with a screw at its back. It was clamped on the front and back of the knee. Just one turn of the screw and, victim's knee were easily, and painfully, crippled.

Source: wittyfeed.com

Medieval Torture Devices That Will Horrify You

Thursday, January 22, 2015

As talented as the illustrators at Disney and Warner Brothers are, even they cannot draw their expressive characters out of thin air. They, and other professional animators, often use mirrors to model for themselves as they draw their characters’ frowns and grins.

The sight of these legendary professionals form the 1950s and later sitting at their tables as they leer and glare at themselves will definitely bring a smile to your face, so take a look!

Source: boredpanda.com

Disney Animators Study Their Reflections In The Mirror To Draw Their Characters Right

About 70 years ago, an unknown soldier in WWII shot 31 rolls of film documenting his experiences during his service. Now, Levi Bettweiser, a collector and restorer of old and historical film, has discovered these photos and rescued them from being lost forever.

Bettweiser, who works with the Rescued Film Project, discovered the undeveloped film at an auction in Ohio. Some had been damaged by water and rust, so he wasn’t sure what to expect; “There is a large possibility that I might not recover a single image from any of these rolls of film;” he said. But the processing work, which he did in his own kitchen, paid off: “When I pulled the film that I had just developed out of my film development tank and look at them, I’m the very first person that has ever seen that picture.”

To see what this unknown soldier captured many years ago, and to hear Bettweiser’s story in his own words, read on below!