Untold History: 25 Historical Facts You Might Not Know

1Operation Fish

Operation Fish

The largest movement of physical wealth in history was during World War 2. Operation Fish had 186,332 gold bars and more than 8 million ounces of gold coins sent to Canada from the UK with not even one crate or treasury bill going missing.


2Charley Ross

Charley Ross

Charley Ross was a 4-year-old American child whose 1874 kidnapping for ransom (considered the first in US history) became a nationwide sensation. Charley, who was never found, was lured by two men offering candy and fireworks, giving rise to the warning "never take candy from strangers".


3Illustrated History 

Illustrated History 

In 1861, Japan had an illustrated history of America which depicted, among other things, John Adams stabbing a giant snake, and George Washington punching a Tiger.


4Wanggongchang Explosion

Wanggongchang Explosion

One of the deadliest explosions in history occurred in Beijing in 1626. An unexplained explosion at a gunpowder factory obliterated 4 square kilometers of the city and killed around 20,000 people. The blast itself was about as powerful as the nuclear explosion over Hiroshima.


5Most Fraudulent Election

Most Fraudulent Election

The Guinness Book of Records recognizes the presidential election of 1927 in Liberia as the most fraudulent election reported in history. Although there were only 15,000 registered voters in Liberia at the time, Charles D. B. King, received 234,000 votes and won.


6Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin

When Joseph Stalin was dying, his private physician was not available because he was already being tortured in the basement of the KGB headquarters for suggesting that the Soviet leader required more bed rest.


7Iroquois Theater Fire

Iroquois Theater Fire

The Iroquois Theater in Chicago was billed as "Absolutely Fireproof" in advertisements when it opened. It lasted 37 days before being destroyed in what is still the deadliest single-building fire in U.S. history, leaving 602 dead and 250 injured.


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8Flat Earth Theory

Flat Earth Theory

The idea that people used to think that the world was flat is actually a modern misconception and with extraordinary few exceptions, no educated person in the history of Western Civilization from the 3rd century B.C. onwards believed that the Earth was flat.


9Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. His most famous work was a six-volume memoir about WW2, but he also wrote a science fiction alternate history story about the US Civil War.


10Roman Law

Roman Law

Until 1870, the pope required all Jews living in Rome to attend compulsory sermons every Sabbath in front of the Church of San Gregorio. They all attended, but would often stuff wax in their ears in order not to hear a thing.

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