Top Stories

People Share The Most Disturbing Historical Facts They Know

People Share The Most Disturbing Historical Facts They Know
Photo by Giammarco on Unsplash

History is not all hunky dory. In fact, history is often stressful and disturbing.

The thing about that is that humans control which bits of history get passed on. So things that are recorded are often not the whole story. The disturbing bits get left behind.

But then, sometimes the disturbing bits make it through.


Reddit user Nitroottet asked:

What is the most disturbing history fact you know?

Here were some of those answers.

Warning: NSFW.

Prison For Poor Judgment

"There was a woman in the 1700s who, after a miscarriage, went into labor and delivered a dead cat and several live baby rabbits."

"After a lengthy investigation, English royals discovered that this woman put the animals inside her cervix, which was still open from the miscarriage, when no one was looking to give the appearance that she was giving birth to them."

"She served 5 months in jail for being 'an impetus liar and cheat'."- nataliesandwich

Blowing Up

"Heart monitors worn on the Challenger space shuttle show that the crew wasn't killed instantly, but actually survived for a while."

"I like to think they weren't conscious for any of it, but they probably suffered horribly for some time."- GaijinDaimyo

Unknown Soldier(s)

"There is a neolithic massgrave in Germany of 26 young children and men with a high number of injuries on their legs."

"They were intentionally crippled before they were killed by arrows and blunt force."

"The systematic and deliberate way the victims lower bones were broken indicate torture."

"The group missing girls and women also means they were most likely abducted."

"Warfare 7000 years ago."- srikos

Nothing Will Stop Us

"Great War, year 1915."

"In polish fortress in Osowiec, at that time under control of Russian Tsar, took place a living-dead counterstrike."

"This was Germany's third assault on the Fortress, this time they used gas that was a mix of chlorine and bromine, as they knew the Russians did not have proper protection."

"After the gas attack Germans marched towards the fortress, but but they did not expect the bayonet charge of burned, spitting blood and parts of their lungs Russians."

"The view surely was terrifying as 7000 German soldiers fell back driven away by 100 Russian survivors, as expected the damage caused by gas was lethal."- BionicUndead

The Worst Kind Of Person

"Kellogg created corn flakes so people would be too bored to masturbate."

"Seriously."

"He thought anything with flavor would cause 'excitement' and make you masturbate."

"The corn flakes you eat now are sweeter than what they used to be."

"He also advised people to put carbolic acid on little girl's nether regions so they could never derive pleasure from masturbation/sex, among other crazy things."

"He was nuts."- michonne_impossible

The Crap-Jobs

"That Herny Viii employed a 'Groom of the Stool' to help him go to the toilet."

"It was a highly coveted position by his courtiers as it got you alone time with the king to bend his ear as well as wipe his a**."

"Anyway there was one instance where after the by now, extremely overweight king had been constipated for weeks."

"The Groom of the Stool was happy to report to the King's physician that the 'King has had a mighty fair siege'.- RaedwaldRex

Scapegoats

"After a major rebellion against the British Company Rule in India, the Brits retaliated by strapping Indians to the front end of cannons and firing."

"A couple years later the Raj was founded."

"I can't think of a more punishment that blends cruelty and visibility any further."- YungSpade2001

What A Time To Be Alive

"As some of you might know, king Louis XIV of France moved the aristocracy to the castle of Versailles to be able to control them better."

"There were daily banquets, which lasted for hours."

"The only problem was that Louis XIV had severe diarrhea, so he needed to wear huge diapers to be able to sit for hours."

"The other attendants were forbidden to leave before the king, so they all sat in a brewing cloud of fecals."- Schobeer

Said She, "Make Me Amused"

"Queen Victoria instituted a system of Certifying prostitute as Syphilis free."

"They were called the Queen's ladies of the night."

"Many Prostitutes hung the certificate above their beds as a point of pride."- pygmypuffonacid

Religious Persecution At It's Worst

"Early religious discrimination in the United States against Mormons, particularly Missouri Executive Order 44 which was literally an EXTERMINATION ORDER that may have directly led to the Haun's Hill Massacre, and wasn't repealed until 1975."

"Many people connect Governor Boggs' order directly to the Haun's Mill massacre."

"At least one firsthand account asserts local Guardsmen referred to an order issued by the governor that sounds similar to Order 44 as justification for the Haun's Mill massacre."

"The Haun's Mill massacre was launched by Missouri State Guardsmen from Livingston County on the settlement of Haun's Mill, located in eastern Caldwell County near the Livingston County line, which resulted in the deaths of 18 men and boys, some of whom were murdered after surrendering."

"The firsthand account explains soldiers stated the governor had ordered their expulsion or extermination if they did not leave at once."

"'Halt!' commanded the leader of a band of well-mounted and well-armed mobocrats, who charged down upon them as they journeyed on their way."

"'If you proceed any farther west', said the captain, 'you will be instantly shot'."

"'Wherefore?' inquired the pilgrims."

"'You are d__d Mormons!'"

"'We are law-abiding Americans, and have given no cause of offence'."

"'You are d__d Mormons'."

"'That's offence enough'."


"'Within ten days every Mormon must be out of Missouri, or men, women, and children will be shot down indiscriminately'."

"'No mercy will be shown'."

"'It is the order of the Governor that you should all be exterminated; and by God you will be'."

"Others state there is no evidence that the militiamen knew of the Executive Order, and participants in this massacre who spoke of it later never used Governor Boggs' decree to justify their actions."

"They instead indicate that unnamed Mormon dissenters had told them that the people of Haun's Mill were planning to invade Livingston County."

"The question of whether the militiamen knew in advance of Boggs' order is still hotly debated today."

"A little less debatable is the question of the murder of defenseless, unarmed men and boys."

"'We arrived in Caldwell county, near Haun's Mill, nine wagons of us in company'."

"Two days before we arrived we were taken prisoners by an armed mob that had demanded every bit of ammunition and every weapon we had'."

"'We surrendered all'."

"'They knew it, for they searched our wagons'."

"'A few miles more brought us to Haun's Mill, where that awful scene of murder was enacted'."

"'Our husband pitched his tent by a blacksmith's shop'."

"'Brother David Evans made a treaty with the mob that they would not molest us'."

"'He came just before the massacre and called the company together and they knelt in prayer'."

"'I sat in my tent'."

"'Looking up I suddenly saw the mob coming, the same that took away our weapons'."

"Aligning with the firsthand statements regarding having been stripped of all weapons prior to the attack is the lack of casualties or injuries inflicted upon the attackers."

"In addition, orders explicitly stated the Mormons were to have their weapons removed."

"The massacre and Governor Boggs' Executive Order are examples of anti-Mormon sentiment in the area."

"American textbooks love to leave out just how bad discrimination against Mormons was, and act like the government nevvvverrrrrr discriminated against religions."

"Many historians still look for excuses to downplay what happened."

"Never believe anyone who says, 'The government can't discriminate against religions because of the constitution'."

"It has happened, and people died because it happened."- TheRealPyroGothNerd

Doctors Playing God

"Josef Mengele was a Nazi-Doctor/Scientist, who did his twin research in Auschwitz."

"When new people arrived, he would sort out all twins and took them to a separate building, where he experimented without anaesthetic with them."

"At one point he tried creating fake Siamese twins:"

"'One pair of twins called Guido and Nina was barely older than four'."

"Mengele picked them up and brought them back mutilated in a perverse way."

"They had been sewn together at the back like Siamese twins."

"Mengele had also connected their veins."

"Their wounds were suppurating, they cried day and night."

"Their mother, I remember that she was called Stella, had somehow been able to get gold of some morphine and used it to put an end to the suffering of her children." - Heisenhuth

Bannanas!

"All this united fruit company stuff in the first half of the XX century."

"They made overthrow a government just to plant bananas in their territory."- SonicYodo

Unconventional Lubricant...

"Woman in Egypt use to shove crocodile crap up their vaginas before sex."

"Sometimes they died from it because of infections and sometimes they didn't."- Froggywoggy69

City Of Bones!

"In the 17th or 18th century, the Parisian catacombs spilled into someone's house because they were too full and were next to the drinking water source."

"It included the recently deceased to the skeletal and every disgusting stage between."- AggressiveMennonite

There Are Literally Not Enough Words

"Anything re: unit 731."

"Literally anything."- Mackowatosc

Looks Can Be Deceiving

"German red cross nurses working in mental and physical disabilities hospitals during ww2 were the ones who injected children with lethal poisons."

"Not evil nazi doctors or soldiers, actual nurses."

"When children started figuring out that their friends died after getting an injections, the nurses got creative and put it into juice, soups and candy."- just_breadd

Heroism Unfairly Washed Away

"It’s quite commonly known but I’m still deeply upset and moved by the story of Alan Turing, a British mathematician who cracked the ‘Enigma’ code in World War II, ultimately saving millions of lives from German forces."

"He was later charged with ‘gross indecency’ after he was found to be in a sexual relationship with a man, which was illegal in Great Britain at the time."

"He was then forced to be chemically castrated and undergo homosexual therapy, until he killed himself at the age 41."- lovysa

We certainly didn't learn many of these in school. Did you? Let us know in the comments.

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.