"What’s a NSFW detail about a historical figure that’s normally left out of the history books?"
Dubious Contributions To The War Effort...
"During WW1, sex workers in Britain were more expensive if they had STD's."
"This was because if a soldier hired them and got infected, the soldier could be honorably discharged, and not have to fight in war."- KaleBrew
Talk About A Huge Relief...
"Ancient Egyptians believed the god Atum created the universe by pleasuring himself to ejaculation, and that the ebb and flow of the Nile corresponded to how much."
"To honor this, the pharaohs ceremonially pleasured themselves into the river."- -weef
lets go luna fun GIF by PBS KIDSGiphyThe Downside Of Their Journey...
"Lewis and Clark described the screaming sh*ts that they got from eating unfamiliar food (camas) in detail in their journals."- ayriana
Shameful Thanks For A Hero
"After Alan Turing cracked the enigma code, essentially ending WW2 years earlier than expected and saving countless lives, he was thanked by the British government in the form of chemical castration."
"All because he was a gay man."- Dangerjayne
Talk About Man About Town...
"Probably said here elsewhere, but Victor Hugo, author of The Hunchback of Notre Dame among other tales, was a notorious philanderer who had affairs on top of affairs with sex workers throughout his life."
"When he died, ALL of the brothels in Paris had to close because so many attended his funeral."- JLWilco
classic film vintage GIF by FilmStruckGiphyNone Of Our Business What They Got Up To In Private...
"Pyotr Tchaikovsky was a submissive bottom."
"In one note, never before published in Russian or English, Tchaikovsky wrote of a young servant 'with whom I am more in love than ever', adding: 'My God, what an angelic creature and how I long to be his slave, his plaything, his property!'". Reddit
The Secret Lives Of The Founding Fathers
"Patrick Henry, the American founding father better known for his quote, 'give me liberty or give me death', kept his wife imprisoned in a cellar because of her frequent outbursts due to postpartum depression."
"His wife had eventually died in that cellar, and he had buried her in an unmarked grave."
"10/10 quote but the wife killing part always seems to get left out of history texts."- sortatoxic
"Ben Franklin was a notorious flirt, and hit on and/or ploughed just about every woman he ever met."
"Single women, married women, young women, old women, women of title, women of the royal line."
"Protestant women, Catholic women."
"All of them."- TheLastIronMan
GiphyTaken To Heaven... Just Not Back...
"French President Félix Faure died during oral sex"- Wiesterfeler
His Bubble Was Bound To Burst Eventually...
"It's said that Henry VIII 'exploded' in his coffin."
"Dogs then licked up the Henry juice."- B1LMAN
It's understandable why most of this information is left out of history books.
Particularly those used in schools.
Even if it might make students' attention might be a bit more attentive...
Redditor EpicEllis2004 wanted to hear more about the original intentions behind commonly used products.
“What products main purpose is ignored?"
Being the endless resource of random information that it is, the internet filled their demand.
“It was originally designed during WW2...”
“Slinky, the toy. It was originally designed during WW2 to help sensitive instruments remain steady on ships... to counter the effects of pitch, roll, and yaw. The engineer working on them knocked one off his desk accidentally, saw the way it moved from the table to the chair, to the floor, and a new purpose was born.”
“On a side note... during the Vietnam War, when the Slinkys were metal, radio operators would carry them through the deep jungles. If they couldn't get a good signal in the jungle mountains, they'd sling a Slinky high into the tree limbs while holding onto one end. It created an instant antenna extension that they would attach to the radio.” Single_Performance25
Aliens...
america guy GIFGiphy“History Channel... as far as I am concerned the secret relationships between aliens and the illuminati do not qualify as ‘history’.” Ezequiel-052
Cure for baldness?
“Minoxidil was originally developed to treat high blood pressure and people reported unusual hair growth all around the body, since it promotes blood flow to the skin pores. They came up with a topical version and voila, millions of people smear that sh*t on their scalps and beards everyday and its the one of the only clinically proven ways to cure baldness.” LeagueOfLucian
Teach me how to snuggie...
So Excited Dancing GIFGiphy“Snuggy was originally designed for wheelchair users. Outerwear designed for walkers is cumbersome to take on and off for wheelchair users so snuggies were designed to help with this." TooMuchHotSauce5
Another user added some interesting points.
“It is still intended for wheelchair users. Snuggies, and many other disability devices, are advertised and sold to able bodied people so the manufacturer can actually make a profit. It's not accidental they became popular and used by everyone, it was done on purpose."
“A lot of those 'lazy' helping products on the tv channels are specifically on there because the disabled and elderly community often doesn't bring enough revenue, even if they are the intended audience." darthvadercake
Its in the fine print...
“Q-tips. The only thing are used for is the one thing you are explicitly told not to use them for." bloblehead
“Yes, a really small and often easily overlooked disclaimer, usually in a spot where almost nobody will ever read. You know, so they keep selling them as ear cleaners and cover their a**es in case of someone injuring themselves enough to then actually try to sue the cotton swab maker."
“Example, the box of Q-Tip brand cotton swabs I have next to me has the disclaimer on the side label and underneath customer service info like the company's address and legal info." AmiiboPuff
Yeah, for “shoulder aches”...
“Hitachi market a massaging wand that works absolutely great on muscle knots. It works by using powerful vibrations and it's mostly used for something that Hitachi refuse to acknowledge entirely.” Dydey
We remember too...
Mtv Vintage GIFGiphy“Remember when MTV was a music television?” galactic-frog
“TLC used to be The Learning Channel, now it's trash reality TV.” dapper-doberman
“Remember when Discovery was educational channel and not just trucks and auctions?” Alien-Fox-4
Stroke prevention...
“Viagra. It's a heart medicine originally." VegetableWishbone
Baggies...
“Sandwich bags. Pretty sure I use them for everything but sandwiches.” jolemast
“And on that note, the little mini baggies that are designed for buttons, pins, etc.” grindlevvald
Excel takeover...
“As a corporate finance person, Excel has permeated every facet of my job in every company I've been at, including fortune 500. It's literally the bandaid that keeps these companies running." DrunkRespondant
Some unexpected origins for common things we still use today, although, does anyone still watch MTV without the music?
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When the only times you see someone, they're busy being the hero in your favorite movie or belting out your favorite tune, etc. it can be easy to forget that they are pretty normal people the rest of the time.
Being a normal person means getting into the same kinds of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad stuff that the rest of us do. Celebs typically get the benefit of dealing with very little in the way of consequences for their actions - which is why so many of their controversies just disappear like all evidence of that one Sinbad genie movie.
Reddit user Alvinschwartz asked:
What's your favorite forgotten celebrity controversy?
You guys ready for a tour through a glamorous Hollywood a hellscape? Let's be honest - you think you're ready but you're not. We kept the more violent and horrific things off of this list and we still ended up talking about some seriously disturbing stuff.
Let's get this party started the way we imagine all Hollywood parties do - with naked bongos!
Close The Windows
GiphyMatthew McConaughey was arrested in 1999 for getting really high and playing the bongos while naked at 3 AM.
I freaking love his quote about the results of that arrest:
"But what's the lesson?" he ponders. "Shut the window that has the beautiful scent of jasmine blowing in because it's two in the morning and you might wake a neighbor."
Mark Whoa-berg
Mark Wahlberg chasing and throwing rocks at black children while yelling "kill the n*gger" in 1986, then in 1988 assaulting 2 different Vietnamese men in one day (ultimately knocking one unconscious with a piece of wood), while making "numerous unsolicited racial statements about "g**ks" and "slant-eyed g**ks" to the arresting officers, after telling them "That's the motherf*cker whose head I split open!" regarding the victim he rendered unconscious.
Got charged with attempted murder, plead guilty to felony assault, got sentenced to 2 years in jail of which he served 45 days.
He started recording with Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch in 1990.
Then, in 1992 he fractured his neighbors jaw for no reason at all, by "viciously and repeatedly kicking him in the face while another man held him down".
Read his wiki, it's a wild ride.
Came here for this one. Had to tell a coworker this one when he said "oh Mark Wahlberg seems like a good guy".
I was like, nope, not a good guy.
Said 9/11 wouldn't have happened if he were on the plane, as an example. The worst part is he said it in 2006. This wasn't an emotional response during emotional time...that was his true belief FOR YEARS.
"I would have beat terrorists, landed it safely"
I'm disgusted by his profiteering off the Boston marathon bombing too.
Truly, honestly just trash.
Stallone The Stallion
Sylvester Stallone's first real movie role was in a porno.
Gotta credit the man for not shying away from it. He was in a low place, did what he had to do to survive without turning to crime, and when basically bribed/blackmailed to keep the company quiet about it, he gave 'em the finger and owned what he did.
"Stallone had his first starring role in the softcore pornography feature film The Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970). He was paid US$200 for two days' work. Stallone later explained that he had done the film out of desperation after being evicted from his apartment and finding himself homeless for several days. He has also said that he slept three weeks in the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City prior to seeing a casting notice for the film. In the actor's words, "it was either do that movie or rob someone, because I was at the end – the very end – of my rope".The film was released several years later as Italian Stallion, in order to cash in on Stallone's newfound fame (the new title was taken from Stallone's nickname since Rocky)."
Likewise,
He has stated that after Rocky became a hit, the owners of The Party at Kitty and Stud's offered to sell him the rights to the film for about US $100,000 in order to prevent its re-release, but the actor "wouldn't buy it for two bucks."
Alf
GiphyMax Wright, dad from Alf TV series was an alcoholic and a crack addict who participated in gay orgies with homeless men. There were even photos and videos circulating.
Wesley Snipes V. Everyone
Wesley Snipes VS the rest of the cast of Blade Trinity. That scandal was so funny!
- Mr-Dicey
He was on a lot if drugs during Blade Trinity. He wouldn't show up or wouldn't do the script. Watch it again. There's a bunch of scenes that cut between Ryan Reynolds and Wesley Snipes. They basically gave Ryan Reynolds more lines and filmed scenes with him when Snipes didn't show up. Later they filmed Snipes' scenes with him saying one word lines, then edited it together.
- He hated the director and threatened to beat him up on multiple occasions. This may or may not have happened.
- He refused to film a sex scene with Jessica Biel because of her ethnicity.
- In one scene, he didn't even open his eyes, he just CGI'd them in.
- He only communicated in post-it notes and made everyone reference him to as "Blade."
There's probably more, but this is what I can think of.
What A Rush
Rush Limbaugh went on an all-male trip to the Dominican, and was caught on his way back with a bottle of viagra in his doctor's name.
- saltfish
Under The Rug
In 1995, when singer Ty Herndon was first gaining popularity on the country music charts, he was arrested in a public park in Fort Worth for showing his penis to an undercover police officer and trying to get the guy to have sex. Because country music was so homophobic at the time, it was much better for his reputation to get the public indecency charge dropped in exchange for pleading guilty to meth possession since he was also high and in possession at the time of arrest.
Country radio quickly swept the whole "oh wow, Ty Herndon is gay" stuff under the rug. He went on to have a bigger career, and only finally came out as gay 19 years later.
The Couch Incident
Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch, confessing his love for Katie Holmes, only to find out it was a possibly contracted marriage and she escaped Scientology.
Doggy Road Trip
When Mitt Romney and his family were accused of driving 12 hours to Ontario with their dog tied to the top of their car. When they got to their destination, the dog was so terrified it had literally soiled itself - they noted that it was everywhere.
Roxanne
GiphyIt's undoubtedly the Roxanne Pallett controversy. If you're not in the UK, she was on Celebrity Big Brother UK and acted like another male contestant had beat her when, in fact, he did not. Thankfully, the incident happened in view of the camera and she was caught lying.
It seems she has a history of being untruthful and colleagues knew it too well as she has accused a few them of being violent also.
Jenny's Body Count
Jenny Mccarthy's direct responsibility for the rise of antivaxx (financed by Jim Carrey). See JennyMccarthyBodyCount.com
Apparently her son was never diagnosed as autistic in the first place.
- qpgmr