
Do you remember...?
No? Well, neither does anybody else.
So you're in good company.
History has a long list of strange events. Some of which come with the caveat of nobody remembering them whatsoever.
It is always fun to dig them up after and recount them for new ears.
MassGootz asked:
"What's an unusually strange historical event that few people know of?"
Here were some of those answers.
1850 to 1864.
"The Taiping Rebellion of 1850 to 1864 was the second most deadly singular conflict in history. At 25 million deaths. Only beaten by the Second World War."
In 1794.
"In 1794, it rained toads in Lalaine, near a French city called Lille. This event was witnessed by soldiers."
"Yes I've heard about this!! Think there has also rained fish at some points. Whirldwinds I think?"
The Thirty Years War.
"Most Americans don't know about the Thirty Years' War which was an unbelievably complicated clustercrap that killed 20 percent of the German population."
"Germanic states were either catholic or Protestant. They hired mercenaries to attack their rivals when a staunch anti-Protestant pope ruled all the lands had to be Catholic. Surrounding countries fought proxy wars to gain influence. The German people died from war disease and starvation."
Global Syrup.
"Canada has a heist nearly 3,000 tons of maple syrup in 2011/2012. They stole it from a cartel that controls 77% of the global maple syrup supply."
"They specifically stole from the 'strategic reserve' of syrup that's used to price fix the global market. It was millions in syrup that was taken! Absolutely wild."
Robert Lincoln.
"Robert Lincoln (Abraham's only surviving son) was pushed into the path of an oncoming train and was subsequently saved by Edwin Booth (John Wilkes', aka Abe's killer, brother). it isn't super significant, just a silly twist of fate."
"And Robert Lincoln was at or nearby for the assassinations of his father, Garfield and McKinley. Leading him to be so superstitious about it so that he vowed never to meet a president again."
The Great Stork Derby.
"The Great Stork Derby. A Toronto financier left a part of his estate to whatever woman in the city could produce the most children in the decade following his death."
"The court flubbed the rules and definitions of a 'child birth"'so that the award would not be given to a minority woman."
– kedipopo
Sybil Ludington....
"Sybil Ludington rode 40 miles to her town to gather 400 troops and warn them that the British were coming to attack. This happened in 1777 and she is often overshadowed by Paul Revere. Sybil was a 14 year old girl who was on her horse Star, when she did this in the middle of the night, waking troops by banging a stick on fence posts and other objects. There is currently a sculpture of her in New York, but Paul Revere is often recognized first."
13....
"It the late 1800s into the mid 1900, it was common for there to be so much pollution in the Cuyahoga river in Ohio that it would regularly light on fire. 13 times"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuyahoga_River
"At least 13 fires have been reported on the Cuyahoga River, the first occurring in 1868.[12][18] The largest river fire, in 1952, caused over $1 million in damage[12] to boats, a bridge, and a riverfront office building.[dead link][19]"
"secondary fun fact from history..."
"Kodak found out about nuclear detonations by using corn silk to pack their film, which would be messed up due to the radioactive fallout and the gov't used their film... so the US Gov't began telling Kodak when they were detonating nukes, and where, so that they could ensure they did not use radioactive corn silk to pack their film..."
"they never told the US Public that they were eating irradiated food https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2013/02/26/not-so-secret-atomic-bomb-tests-why-the-photographic-film-industry-knew Dredly"
The Best 'Actually, You're Speaking To The Boss' Experience | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
A B-52....
"A B-52 with a payload of thermonuclear bombs broke apart and crashed near Goldsboro, North Carolina in 1961. One of the bombs nearly detonated; three of its four arming mechanisms had activated."
The Elephant.
"in 1916 they sentenced an Elephant to death because he killed a Circus worker. They executed this by hanging the Elephant on a crane."
"The circus worker was a homeless man the circus had hired off the street. Mary the elephant had a bad tooth and the guy started probing the tooth causing Mary a lot of pain, so she crushed him. The sick fools sold tickets to the hanging, but when they tried to hang her the chain broke, Mary fell and broke her hip. Mary died on the second attempt, however. This happened in Irwin, Tennessee. It makes me incredibly sad every time I think about it."
– jackaro
Noid
"In the 1980s, Domino's Pizza introduced a mascot named The Noid. Its main goal: stealing pizzas and making your pizza delivery late. The slogan: 'Avoid the Noid.'"
"Unfortunately, there was a man with paranoid schizophrenia named Kenneth Noid who thought this whole campaign was created to mock and persecute him, due to the mascot's name. So one day, Noid entered an Atlanta Domino's location and took two employees hostage."
"During the 5-hour standoff, he got hungry. So he ordered the employees to make him some pizzas. Of course, he didn't pay for any of them – thus inadvertently living up to The Noid's tendency to steal pizzas."
"He was eventually apprehended and spent some time in a mental institution until his death in 1995. Meanwhile, Domino's retired the mascot due to what had happened and it was never mentioned again."
Real Tough Pain
"I've heard the story, but had to look it up to retell it:"
"In 1809 Jane Todd Crawford rode on horseback from Greensburg, KY to Danville, KY (60 miles) at the age of 44. She needed an abdominal tumor removed. The surgery was performed on Christmas day by Dr. Ephraim McDowell on his Kitchen Table, without anesthetic. A part of the Fallopian tube (along with 22.5lbs of 'stuff' - the tumor) was removed. After 25 days, she returned home (via horseback so the story goes) on the same path. It was considered the first successful intentional opening of the abdominal cavity to remove something. She died at 78."
Drunkenness Out Of Tragedy
"I mean this wasn't an 'event' per se but it is one of my favorite stories."
"When the Titanic was sinking the head chef aboard knew the ship was going down, so he decided to take as much wine as he could and drink it. His logic was it was going to the bottom of the ocean anyway so why not. Anyway so he gets pretty tipsy and continues to eat all the food he can find because lord knows how long they would be out there. The man also filled at least one lifeboat with food and drinks, but decided not to get on yet."
"So the boat is starting to do that iconic tilting into the air and the head chef decides to climb onto the railing and walk across it since it was basically a walkway at that point. Gets to the propellers just as the boat breaks in half and he rides it down he gets to the top and spends as much time he can out of the water by riding it down before being submerged into the ocean. He then waited for the lifeboats to come back and was one of the few people who survived while being in the water that night."
A Terrible Tragedy Long Forgotten
"On September 16, 1920 there was a terrorist attack on Wall Street. At 12:01, 100 pounds of dynamite exploded in front of the corner at JP Morgan. Within minutes Wall Street looked like a war zone. Hundreds of pounds of metal fragments, which had been concealed inside the wagon that had hidden the bomb, filled the streets with shrapnel. Burned bodies littered the sidewalks and smoke filled the air. No one ever claimed responsibility or was arrested."
Unusual Tact
"On August 6, 1915, undead Russian infantry successfully defended Osowiec Fortress against German forces despite being heavily outnumbered."
"I should explain that 'undead' bit."
"The German forces consisted of (and Imma just quote wiki, because it's a bit of a list) '14 battalions of infantry, one battalion of sappers, 24–30 heavy siege guns, and 30 batteries of artillery equipped with poison gases.' Russian forces were less than 1,000, and roughly half were militia, not regular infantry. The Russians were determined to hold the fortress, and did a remarkably good job of it, right up until the Germans flooded the entire structure with chlorine gas. For those of you unaware of what chlorine gas does, basically your eyes, throat, and lungs dissolve in a slurry of blood and disintegrating tissue."
"Russian gas masks did not protect against chlorine gas, and the fortress had no defenses that would protect the inhabitants. The Germans waited for the gas to dissipate, and strolled right in."
"The Russians counter-charged. A band of men, their skin sloughing away, coughing up pieces of lung, dead on their feet but too stubborn or angry to stop, charged the Germans. The Germans broke at the sight, ran, and were gunned down."
Crisis: Averted
"When the Mongols at their height of power conquered China, they were still in their phase of killing all the people and burning their cities, to turn it back to pasture for their horses. Huge swaths of Central Asia had already been treated so, laid to waste."
"There was one guy, I don't remember what his name was, a northern tribesman who'd fought against the Mongols but been captured and joined them. When they were deciding what to do with China, he convinced the Mongols there was more profit in leaving as it was and levying taxes, with which the Mongols could buy whatever they wanted."
"Apparently that hadn't occurred to the Mongols before, but that one guy definitely saved millions of lives."
Vertigris
"The legend of the green children of Woolpit concerns two children of unusual skin colour who reportedly appeared in the village of Woolpit in Suffolk, England, some time in the 12th century, perhaps during the reign of King Stephen. The children, brother and sister, were of generally normal appearance except for the green colour of their skin. They spoke in an unknown language, and would only eat raw broad beans."
"Eventually they learned to eat other food and lost their green pallor, but the boy was sickly and died soon after he and his sister were baptised. The girl adjusted to her new life, but she was considered to be 'rather loose and wanton in her conduct.' After she learned to speak English, the girl explained that she and her brother had come from Saint Martin's Land, a subterranean world inhabited by green people."
Thanks In Kind
"The Halifax Explosion."
"In 1917 a munitions ship detonated, creating the largest non-nuclear manmade explosion in history."
"Thousands died, thousands were injured, and the ship was burning long enough to attract enough attention that the detonation blinded even thousands more."
"Boston participated heavily in responding to the disaster. To this day, Nova Scotia donates the Christmas tree that is displayed publicly in Boston every year."
Different Times
"there was a span of time where Clocks were already a thing but were too luxurious for the average citizen. But most cities had one on their church or something, and since the day starts a little bit different everywhere, every city had their own time zone. It had to be generalized over the globe because of industrial revolution and Railroads getting more popular but it still took a very long time for every Village to be convinced that it would be better to adapt."
Jokes On Jokes
"In 1979 the US space station Skylab was de-orbited. Some of the debris that survived re-entry landed in rural Australia, and they jokingly gave NASA a 400$ fine for littering. The fine was unpaid for 3 decades until a US radio host raised the money."
They history is written by the winners.
What we know from history is rarely the full story.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
- Historians Divulge The Most NSFW Facts From History - George Takei ›
- People Share Some Of The Biggest Real Life Plot Twists In History ... ›
- People Share Crazy Historical Events That Sound Fake But Are 100 ... ›
- History Lovers Share The Most WTF‽ Historical Events They Know ... ›
- Historians Break Down The Most Devastating Historical Events No ... ›
- Little Known Historical Figures Who Completely Changed The World ... ›
- People Share Dark Historical Events That Most People Don't Know ... ›
- History Buffs Share Strangest Events To Happen That No One ... ›
- People Share The Most Harmful Things Being Taught To Children - George Takei ›
- History Buffs Share The Events In U.S. History That People Often Forget - George Takei ›
- People Debate The One Invention They'd Eliminate From History To Change The World Forever - George Takei ›
- People Describe The Historical Figures Who Were Mocked But Later Proven Right - George Takei ›
- People Describe The Historical Facts That No One Talks About - George Takei ›
- People Share The Craziest WWII Facts They Know - George Takei ›
Dating and the search for love and companionship... What a nightmare.
This journey plays out nothing like in the movies.
Every Prince or Princess (or everything in BTW) seems to have a touch of the psycho.
The things people say during what should be simple dinner conversation can leave a dining partner aghast.
Like... do you hear you?
Redditor detroit_michigldan wanted to discuss all the best ways to crash and burn when trying to make a romantic connection. They asked:
"You're on a date and it's going really great. What can another person say to ruin it completely?"
I once had a guy ask me if I was willing to follow him into the woods, depending on the price of the meal.
Yeah. No steak is worth that.
Plans After...
"Thanks for the ride but I have a date with someone else, I figured you wouldn't drive me if you knew I was going on a date with someone else and I really needed a ride."
"Online dating, talked to her for a while, finally got the courage to ask her out and then she said that as we got there."
iareyours
Mirror Image
“'You look just like my wife!'”
catalinachild
"I did have a guy tell me I reminded him of his son. I don’t believe English has a word to adequately describe my feelings at that time."
UnicornMagicRainbow
"That would definitely do it."
chaotica78
Third Wheel
"'Hope you don't mind if my mother joins us.'"
ofsquire
"Actually had a girl do this on a first date because she had anxiety issues. Honestly wasn’t bad except that 90% of the time she was silent and her mom talked over her."
"I didn’t mind that much and wouldn’t have minded trying again when she was more comfortable except that she was let go at the company we worked at and she deleted her social media profiles and she never responded on her number. Ah well."
Seightx
Liar
"'Hey bro aren't you gay? I made out with you last night.'"
"Random dude I've never seen before in front of my (f) date."
JHXC16
Was he lying though?
Filter Issues
"'You looked better on Tinder.'"
waqasnaseem07
"Isn’t it basic knowledge that everybody looks slightly worse than the worst picture you can find?"
no_user_ID_found
The Past
"'My ex used to do that too.'"
xxIvyOF
"Yep. I’ve definitely had two otherwise-decent-guy date-situations sour because the ex-comparisons just would not stop flowing. No woman wants to be seen as interchangeable—I’m not here to perfectly fill that ex-sized hole in your life. Focusing on the present moment and a future we could build together is a courtesy we need to grant each other in earliest dates of dating."
LarkScarlett
Powerless
"'I'm an alpha, you cant handle my top energy.'"
Midnightgay28
"I actually left a dude in the middle of dinner, in part, for saying this. I ordered an Uber under the table while pretending to listen to him. Went to the bathroom, and never came back. That was when I was young. Now I’d just say, 'How about we enjoy this meal in silence, before we head our separate ways.'”
UnicornMagicRainbow
Mommy...
"'Mother says I should be back by 9.'"
"Saying 'mother says' just feels weird."
bunnyrut
"That gives me Norman Bates vibes."
Werewolf_lover20
"'Mother says alligators are aggressive because they have an overabundance of teeth, but lack a toothbrush.'"
sodaextraiceplease
Obvs...
"'If you were going to be murdered, what method would you prefer. Purely hypothetical. Obvs.'"
Specific_Tap7296
If it looks anything like a Dateline NBC episode... RUN!
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
Despite the advancement of technology rendering people left to their own devices–literally–to entertain them, there are some leisurely activities that will never go out of style.
Or so you would think.
Do people still knit to pass the time? Are people actively collecting stamps?
It depends on who's asking.
Curious to hear about hobby trends, Redditor gizehgizeh asked:
"What are once popular hobbies that are slowly dying these days?"

Before we've become conditioned to living on our phones, these activities used to keep people occupied.
Before Texting, There Was This
"Letter writing."
– littlekingMT
Literal And Tangible Joy
"Well the internet killed pen pals for sure. I do remember I had a Japanese girl for a penpal maybe back in 2007 or so. I honestly don't remember how it started, pretty sure some website, but that was a fun experience. But now I can just straight up talk to foreign people real time, lol. But yea getting a physical letter that someone took the time to write and mail still is hard to beat feelings wise."
– skyburnsred
Model Trains
"When I was growing up, every town had a model train store in it. Now I have one in region and everything else has to be bought online."
– Hairy_Effective1172
Pretty Rocks
"Don’t see anyone playing marbles anymore, I had an awesome collection in school."
– sheeple85
"I had some marbles as a kid in the 90s. My grandma got them for me and I had no idea what I was supposed to do with them. I always imagined them as a thing kids in the 40s played with."
– Ryoukugan
People Were Moving Canvases
"Paintball has been dying a slow death since 2006. Sad, really."
– hobo_recycler
Before the general population began hating clutter, collecting was once a "thing."
Precious Coins
"Coin collecting... I'm a silver/gold nut and I'm always hunting for precious metal coins. whenever I go into a shop they get all excited because 'no one under 70 collects coins anymore.'"
– ThatFishySmell99
Post It
"Stamp collecting."
– spooky_scully_mulder
"Collecting in general, really. Of course there are still prominent collectors but it's slipped more into enthusiast and niche territory than being a popular hobby that you might expect anyone to have."
– iuytrefdgh436yujhe2
What A Gem
"Rockhounding was immensely popular back in the 1950's and 1960's. Personally, I think it's a fascinating and fulfilling hobby, but when I go to a meeting at a rock and gem club, I'm usually the youngest one in the room by several decades."
– filthy_lucre
People once enjoyed making things.
Admiring The View
"Stained glass. I learned how to make it from my old man, and my junior high art class teacher also taught it. Very few artisans are still around."
– brobeanzhitler
Metal Vocation
"Black smithing."
– kenworth117
"I bought a forge to try. It’s insanely hard work, and crazy expensive. I still haven’t finished a piece."
– DSentvalue
Scrapbooking
"Yeah. I'm watching the arts and crafts stores around me completely uninstalling their racks for specialty paper. Now the only thing they have is mega packs of repeating colors/images. To boot all the inclusions like papercraft/die-cut things, washi tape, scissors, stickers, etc have gotten so expensive I would rather go buy $5 bags at value village to get an assortment of things versus buying anything new. I really, really miss yard sales for the same reasons."
– Phantasmai
I envy people who have jobs that are basically their hobbies.
Not everyone gets paid doing what they actually enjoy and have a profound level of passion for.
If they do, kudos to them.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
When we first meet someone–whether through mutual friends, at school, or in a new work setting–we generally feel people out to determine if they're worth getting to know.
While the process could take time, some people make our jobs much easier after spotting instant red flags.
Curious to hear about our general radar of people, Redditor xxFluffie asked:
"What is something that makes you immediately dislike someone?"

Some people just think they are absolutely hilarious and never realize they're the only ones laughing.
Next In Line
"They laugh about having screwed someone else over. If you think you're not next, well, you'll learn."
– whiznat
Unfunny
"when you mention you don't like a thing and they immediately do that thing 'as a joke.'"
– wayfinder
Playing Devil's Advocate
"Kneejerk contrarians. People who, no matter what you say you like or believe, just have to dismiss it and say they like or think the opposite."
– BubbhaJebus
People who put others down get slammed here.
Bad Parents
"When they treat their kids sh**ty in public. I don't mean handling tantrums, setting a rule, having to hurry to the train etc. I mean perfectly normal-behaved kids getting in trouble for trailing along peacefully, looking at things, asking questions etc."
"If you don't like tiny humans who learn the world, why have them??"
– raxeira-etterath
Public Humiliation
"Treating people sh**ty in public for laughs. Like being rude to service workers because they think it’s funny. Big red flag."
– Ok_Personality_1080
Simply Uncalled For
"Someone who is a d*ck to other people or animals for no reason."
– xebt1000
Those with ulterior motives rubs people the wrong way.
The Scheme
"If they try to get me to join their MLM scheme."
– spazmcgee1
Hard Sell
"A guy I used to be friends with in high school reached out a couple of years after graduating about a business opportunity he wanted my opinion on because 'you've always been smart', then he set up a Skype call and brought some other dude into the call and they started trying to sell me on what was clearly an MLM scheme. The guy went from friend to 'I'm never talking to you again' in a matter of 10 minutes."
– Mental-Afternoon-164
A Timeline
"Good gawd, this! I've had more than one exposure to this abject bullsh**tery..."
- Back in the late 80's/early 90's I was invited to a meeting of literally the OG "Pyramid" where you're recruited to pay in, and then you go out and recruit others to pay in, and the last in line got f'kall.
- In 1995 I had a coworker try to reel me into Amway, which was a hard no.
- In 2000 it was Pampered Chef, though to be fair they did have useful products.
- In 2009 a coworker tried to get me into some stupid video calling service that was obviously stupid from the description. He even got offended when I called bullsh*t.
– Mystical_Cat
Too much ego is a no-go.
I Can Do Better
"Being a b*tch just to stroke their own ego."
"We get it, you can lift 5lbs more than the 12 year old, you don't have to rub it in their face just because you're slightly better"
– Livia_Pivia
Can't Top This
"Oh, you did <story that's been told>? That's nothing! I did <implausible story>.
"I get the whole empathy through relating common experience, and I'm someone who does that (which drives some people crazy on its own), but there's a big different by empathising through common experience, and one-upmanship."
– Tisarwat
Lacking Conversational Etiquette
"Starting to talk over me when I was already talking."
"Stop it you rude, arrogant jerk."
– R33Gtst
If one or more of these traits sound familiar to you, you're not alone.
We don't have time for braggadocios, pyramid-schemers, and conversation interrupters.
And that's just for starters.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
Children tend to believe just about anything they hear.
That there are monsters under your bed, watching too much TV will make your head explode, and silly faces will be permanent if you make them too often.
The sky is truly the limit when it comes to silly things that children will believe.
Some call it naivitée, other's youthful innocence.
But it's hard not to look back with embarrassment on certain things we believed as a child, that today might simply seem dumb.
Redditor Disastrous_Toe_6548 was curious to learn the multitude of silly things people believed when they were children, leading them to ask:
"What's the dumbest thing you believed as a kid?"
Pleading to deaf ears...
"My dad told me he had hearing loss and couldn't hear me if I whined because my pitch would get too high."
"Would completely ignore me until I asked him questions in a normal voice."
"Trusted him implicitly until I was 12 and he yelled at my younger brother for whining."- Tyrion_Stark.
Get it while you can.
"That they took everything off the shelves when the supermarket closed."- fgyfddg.
Silly superstitions.
"My grandfather used to tell me that if I played with the fire, I'd pee the bed."
"I believed him for a while, until I got older."
"I think he was just trying to protect me from the fire."- teddypa1981.
"Rain, rain go away..."
"That if it was raining where I was, it was raining everywhere in the world."- morningshartz.
Age is just a number.
"My parents used to seem really old to me, so much so I believed they grew up like cave people as children, wearing giant leaves for clothes and what not."- Laleena_.
So that's how they're made!
"That smokestacks from the power plant created clouds."- Scaniarix.
An instant cure.
"The sun gives you sunburns, therefore, moonlight should heal them."- velocipeter.
Better safe than sorry.
"Don't drink and drive meant all drinks."
"My dad was super confused when I told him he wasn't allowed to have any soda until we got home."- hulagirlslovetoparty.
Don't believe everything you see on TV.
"There was an episode of Mickey Mouse where Mickey couldn’t reach something at first, so he tried again and somehow his arm was long enough to reach it."
"As a small kid I believed that if I couldn’t reach something, I should just try reaching for it again and my arm would then somehow be long enough to reach it."- That-Dutch-Person.
The miracle of childbirth.
"That babies are pooped out."
"When I was like 7 I was listening to my aunt as she explained that childbirth was pretty intense and painful for her, and I was all solemnly like, 'yeah, sometimes just my poops are painful, I don’t think I could get a baby out' and she went 'um, WHAT?' and her reaction made me realize real quick that I had f*cked up somewhere and I tried to change the subject while my mind was just reeling lol."- thesoundingfurrows.
Oh to be a child again.
And to believe literally everything you're told.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.