Obscure Historical Facts You Need to Know

History is full of fun, terrifying, and mysterious tales that could leave us pondering for hours, but the most intriguing historical facts are the obscure ones. Hence, in this slogging thread, our community shares the coolest obscure historical facts they know, from a particular president impersonating a woman to mysteries about Russian princesses.

This Slogging thread by Mónica Freitas, petar.btc, Sara Pinto, Jack Boreham and Abeer occurred in slogging's official #random channel, and has been edited for readability.

Mónica FreitasDec 22, 2021, 3:15 PM

A bit out of context, but what is the coolest obscure historical fact you know?

petar.btcDec 22, 2021, 3:32 PM

Oh, that's an interesting question. I have to think about it...

Sara PintoDec 22, 2021, 4:00 PM

Mónica Freitas, I'm not sure if it's really obscure, but I recently found out about the enigma around Anastasia, the royal princess of Russia, and the death of her family. I thought it was pretty awesome all the mystery if she really escaped the massacre of her family, as well as the fact that, through the years, many girls came forward saying they were Anastasia.

Mónica FreitasDec 23, 2021, 3:10 PM

petar.btc, give us the facts!

Mónica FreitasDec 23, 2021, 3:12 PM

Sara Pinto, can you share the enigma? Anastasia's story always intrigued me, ever since I watched the Disney movie.

petar.btcDec 23, 2021, 4:32 PM

Mónica Freitas, TIL about the https://inht.org/first-bank-of-the-united-states-of-america/ - the building was constructed from 1795-1797 and is the oldest purpose-built federal building in the United States.

Sara PintoDec 23, 2021, 5:50 PM

Mónica Freitas, I'll do you one better, I'll leave the video I saw. This Youtube channel is a way better storyteller than I am, I'm saving you from a dreadful text haha. I want to hear what you have to say about this after! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dLBDyxueY8&ab_channel=TheInfographicsShow

Mónica FreitasDec 27, 2021, 2:57 PM

petar.btc, oh that's a fun fact. I found out that Alexander the Great was accidentally buried alive. "Scientists believe Alexander suffered from a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré Syndrome. They believe that when he died he was actually just paralyzed and mentally aware!"

Mónica FreitasDec 27, 2021, 3:13 PM

Sara Pinto, so she never actually made it out alive. This is new information. I thought that she had run and lived in hiding after her family's attack. I love this video btw. It was really fun to watch.

Mónica FreitasDec 27, 2021, 3:18 PM

Sara Pinto, as we're discussing cunning women, did you know that the world’s most successful pirate in history was a lady named Ching Shih? "She was a prostitute in China until the Commander of the Red Flag Fleet bought and married her. But, her husband considered her his equal and she became an active pirate commander in the fleet."

Sara PintoDec 27, 2021, 4:20 PM

Mónica Freitas,so did I! Quite the plot twist!

Sara PintoDec 27, 2021, 4:21 PM

Mónica Freitas, oh, I never heard of that lady. You spiked my interest. Where did you hear about that?

Mónica FreitasDec 28, 2021, 12:09 PM

Sara Pinto, you had me at the edge of my seat till the end of the video, waiting to know if she'd made it.

Mónica FreitasDec 28, 2021, 12:11 PM

Sara Pinto, here! Check it out:https://historyofyesterday.com/ching-shih-a-prostitute-who-became-historys-deadliest-pirate-f596f7fcff23

Sara PintoDec 28, 2021, 7:13 PM

Mónica Freitas, yes!! I discovered this channel a few weeks ago and have just been enjoying some curious facts in an entertaining way! You should check their other videos.

Sara PintoDec 28, 2021, 7:18 PM

Mónica Freitas, a powerful pirate lady came from a poor family and said she would marry him the pirate only if “she was granted fifty percent share over his monetary gains and a partial control over his pirate fleet.”

It met my expectations.

Mónica FreitasDec 29, 2021, 12:22 PM

Sara Pinto, is there any other video from the channel that you found mind-blowing?

Mónica FreitasDec 29, 2021, 12:23 PM

Sara Pinto, I stand a feminist queen. Or pirate! Speaking of it, I just read something about Cleopatra not being Egyptian, but greek.

Jack BorehamJan 1, 2022, 10:55 AM

Most cats are allergic to humans.

Sara PintoJan 3, 2022, 12:15 PM

Mónica Freitas, in the theme of curious historical facts, I don't think so. But they have a wide range of themes in their channel. Another one that I enjoyed was this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25oP-vpEHQw&ab_channel=TheInfographicsShow

Mónica FreitasJan 3, 2022, 2:13 PM

Jack Boreham, you're going to have to elaborate on that 😂

Mónica FreitasJan 3, 2022, 2:19 PM

Sara Pinto, fun video!
122 years old? Damn, I didn't know there had been someone who had lived that long.

Sara PintoJan 3, 2022, 4:00 PM

Mónica Freitas, I advise you to subscribe haha. They cover many subjects! I'm a sucker for criminal stuff, and they actually have quite a few videos about it. You should check it out if you like that as wel.

Mónica FreitasJan 4, 2022, 11:18 AM

Sara Pinto, speaking about criminal history, Charles Manson's story always weirded/intrigued me. How could that guy get so many to do his bidding? It makes you look into how cults are made.

Sara PintoJan 4, 2022, 1:39 PM

Mónica Freitas, I never got it either. I guess it has to do with charisma and persuasion, but it must be something more. I've seen some things based on his story, but I still don't think I get it. On the other hand, a crime story that always intrigued me was the Zodiac Killer. Did you see the claims that were made about him this year? It's so bizarre.

Mónica FreitasJan 5, 2022, 2:31 PM

Sara Pinto, that and choosing people in vulnerable positions. Remind me: what were the claims?

Sara PintoJan 6, 2022, 10:36 AM

Mónica Freitas, they claimed that they figured out who he was!!! Pretty big deal, but as far as I read, there are still people who think otherwise. Supposedly, they discovered it last year, I think (correct me if I'm wrong), but the person had already died in 2018. It's a weird feeling to know that someone who did such evil, got away with it and might have died without facing any consequences.

Mónica FreitasJan 6, 2022, 2:44 PM

Sara Pinto, ah, I remember it now. It's one of those cases that never got solved, and it is a bit scary to have these kinds of people able to perform the "perfect crimes". But, I guess that without actual proof linking the murders to the man, there's no way to know for sure if he was the one doing it. Guess this is why true crime documentaries are so popular: the mystery makes the legend.

Mónica FreitasJan 6, 2022, 2:45 PM

Abeer, do you know any cool obscure historical facts?

AbeerJan 10, 2022, 2:09 PM

Mónica Freitas, Benjamin Franklin pretended to be a widow and used the pen name, Silence Dogood, to publish letters in his brother’s newspaper. There were actually men that read the letters and asked for “her” hand in marriage only to find out later that it was silly ol’ Ben.

Mónica FreitasJan 10, 2022, 6:01 PM

Abeer, WHAT? Where did you find this out? That's awesome! Is there somewhere I can read the letters?

AbeerJan 18, 2022, 2:14 PM

Mónica Freitas A friend of mine is a history nut and brought it up a long time ago. The actual letters can be read here: https://www.masshist.org/online/silence_dogood/essay.php?entry_id=203

Mónica FreitasJan 19, 2022, 9:50 PM

Abeer Thank you! I'll be checking them out! I'm hoping they have the marriage proposals online too 😂