Interesting cases in the history of mankind. The most interesting historical facts

History is a fairly vast subject and it is impossible to study it completely, especially in great detail.
Sometimes these seemingly insignificant details can become the most interesting part of it.
Here are some interesting facts from history that won't be taught in class.

1. Albert Einstein could have become president. In 1952, he was offered the post of second president of Israel, but he refused.

2. Kim Jong Il was a good composer and the Korean leader composed 6 operas throughout his life.

3. The Leaning Tower of Pisa has always been inclined. In 1173, the team building the Leaning Tower of Pisa noticed that the base was curved. Construction stopped for almost 100 years, but the structure was never straight.

4. Arabic numerals were not invented by Arabs, but by Indian mathematicians.

5. Before alarm clocks were invented, there was a profession that involved waking up other people in the morning. For example, a person would shoot dried peas at other people's windows to wake them up for work.

6. Grigory Rasputin survived many assassination attempts in one day. They tried to poison him, shoot him and stab him, but he managed to survive. In the end, Rasputin died in the cold river.

7. The most short war lasted in history less than an hour. The Anglo-Zanzibar War lasted 38 minutes.

8. The longest war in history occurred between the Netherlands and the Scilly Archipelago. The war lasted 335 years from 1651 to 1989 and suffered no casualties.
People, stories and facts

9. This amazing species, known as the "Majestic Argentine Bird", whose wingspan reached 7 meters, is the largest flying bird in history. It lived about 6 million years ago in the open plains of Argentina and the Andes. The bird is a relative of modern vultures and storks, and its feathers reached the size of a samurai sword.

10. Using sonar, researchers discovered two strange pyramids at a depth of 1.8 km. Scientists have determined that they are made of a kind of thick glass and reach enormous sizes (larger than the Cheops pyramids in Egypt).

11. These two men with the same name were sentenced to the same prison and look very similar. However, they have never met, are not related, and are the reason why fingerprints began to be used in the judicial system.

12. Foot binding is an ancient Chinese tradition where girls' toes were tied to their feet. The idea was that the smaller the foot, the more beautiful and feminine the girl was considered.

13. The Guanajuato mummies are considered the strangest and most frightening mummies. Their distorted faces make you believe that they were buried alive.

14. Heroin was once used as a substitute for morphine and was used to relieve coughs in children.

15. Joseph Stalin may have been the inventor of Photoshop. After the death or disappearance of some people, photographs of him were edited.

16. Recent DNA tests have confirmed that the parents of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun were brother and sister. This explains many of his illnesses and defects.

17. The Parliament of Iceland is considered the oldest functioning parliament in the world. It was founded in 930.
Inexplicable and mysterious facts of history

18. For many years, miners in South Africa have been unearthing mysterious balls with a diameter of about 2.5 cm with three parallel grooves. The stone from which they are made belongs to the Precambrian period, that is, they are about 2.8 billion years old.

19. It is believed that Catholic saints do not decay. The oldest of the "undecayed" is Cecilia of Rome, who was betrayed martyrdom in 177 AD Her body remains virtually the same as it was 1,700 years ago when it was discovered.

20. Encryption from Shaboro in Great Britain is one of the still unsolved mysteries. If you look closely, you can see an inscription in the form of letters on the monument: DOUOSVAVVM. No one knows who carved this inscription, but many believe it is the key to finding the Holy Grail.

History is a sphere of guesses, hypotheses and assumptions. However, if you know some facts from the past, you can avoid mistakes in the future!

1. In Napoleon’s army, soldiers could address generals as “you.”
2. In Rus', grasshoppers were called dragonflies.
3. Punishment with rods was abolished in Russia only in 1903.
4. The “Hundred Years' War” lasted 116 years.
5. What we call the Caribbean crisis, Americans call the Cuban crisis, and the Cubans themselves call the October crisis.
6. The shortest war in history was the war between Great Britain and Zanzibar on August 27, 1896. It lasted exactly 38 minutes.
7. The first atomic bomb dropped on Japan was on a plane called the Enola Gay. The second is on a Bock’s Car plane
8. Under Peter I in Russia, a special department was created to receive petitions and complaints, which was called ... racketeering.
9. On June 4, 1888, the New York State Congress passed a bill to abolish hanging execution. The reason for this “humane” act was the introduction of a new method of death penalty - the electric chair.
10. According to an agreement concluded between engineer Gustave Eiffel and the city authorities of Paris, in 1909 the Eiffel Tower was to be dismantled (!) and sold for scrap (!)
11. The Spanish Inquisition persecuted many groups of the population, but most of all the Cathars, Marranos and Moriscos. The Cathars are followers of the Albigensian heresy, the Marranos are baptized Jews, and the Moriscos are baptized Muslims.
12. The first Japanese to come to Russia was Denbei, the son of a merchant from Osaka. His ship washed up on the shores of Kamchatka in 1695. In 1701 he reached Moscow. Peter I assigned him to teach Japanese to several teenagers.
13. Only in 1947 in England was the position of the person who was supposed to fire a cannon upon entering England was abolished.
14. Guy de Maupassant, Alexandre Dumas, Charles Gounod, Lecomte de Lisle and many other cultural figures signed the famous protest against ... “the deformation of Paris by the Eiffel Tower.”
15. When the famous German physicist Albert Einstein died, his last words went with him. The nurse next to him did not understand a word of German.
16. In the Middle Ages, students were forbidden to carry knives, swords and pistols and appear on the street after 21 o’clock, because ... this represented great danger for city residents.
17. On the gravestone of the monument to Suvorov it is written simply: “Here lies Suvorov.”
18. Between the two world wars, France underwent more than 40 different governments.
19. For the last 13 centuries, the imperial throne in Japan has been occupied by the same dynasty.
20. One of the American planes in Vietnam hit itself with a missile fired.
21. The mad Roman emperor Caligula once decided to declare war on the God of the Seas - Poseidon, after which he ordered his soldiers to randomly throw their spears into the water. By the way, from Roman “Caligula” means “little shoe.”
22. Abdul Kassim Ismail - the great vizier of Persia (10th century) was always near his library. If he went somewhere, the library “followed” him. 117 thousand book volumes were transported by four hundred camels. Moreover, the books (i.e. camels) were arranged in alphabetical order.
23. Nothing is impossible now. If you want to buy a car in Guryevsk, please, if you want, in another city. But the fact remains that it needs to be registered and license plates obtained. So, the very first license plate was attached to his car by the Berlin businessman Rudolf Herzog. This happened in 1901. There were only three characters on his license plate - IA1 (IA are the initials of his young wife Johanna Anker, and the one means that she is his first and only).
24. At the end of the evening prayer on the ships of the Russian Imperial Fleet, the commander of the watch commanded “Cover yourself!”, which meant putting on hats, and at the same time the all-clear signal for prayer was given. This prayer usually lasted 15 minutes.
25. In 1914, the German colonies were inhabited by 12 million people, and the British colonies - almost 400 million.
26. In the entire history of temperature recording in Russia, the coldest winter was the winter of 1740.
27. In the modern army, the rank of cornet corresponds to an ensign, and the rank of lieutenant corresponds to a lieutenant. 28. The Thai national anthem was written in 1902 by Russian (!) composer Pyotr Shchurovsky.
29. Until 1703, Chistye Prudy in Moscow was called... Nasty Ponds.
30. The first book published in England was dedicated to... chess.
31. World population in 5000 BC. was 5 million people.
32. In ancient China, people committed suicide by eating a pound of salt.
33. A list of gifts to Stalin in honor of his seventieth birthday was published in Soviet newspapers from December 1949 to March 1953.
34. Nicholas I gave his officers a choice between a guardhouse and listening to Glinka's operas as punishment.
35. Above the entrance to Aristotle’s Lyceum there was an inscription: “Entrance here is open to anyone who wishes to dispel Plato’s misconceptions.”
36. The third decree after the “Decree on Peace” and the “Decree on Land” issued by the Bolsheviks was the “Decree on Spelling”.
37. During the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79, in addition to the well-known city of Pompeii, the cities of Herculaneum and Stabiae also perished.
38. Fascist Germany - “third Reich”, Hohenzoller Empire (1870-1918) - “second Reich”, Holy Roman Empire - “first Reich”.
39. In the Roman army, soldiers lived in tents of 10 people. At the head of each tent was a senior person, who was called... the dean.
40. A tightly tightened corset and a large number of Bracelets on hands in England during the Tudor period were considered a sign of virginity.
41. FBI agents did not gain the right to bear arms until 1934, 26 years after the FBI was founded.
42. Until the Second World War, in Japan any touching of the emperor was considered blasphemy.
43. On February 16, 1568, the Spanish Inquisition imposed a death sentence on all (!) residents of the Netherlands. 44. In 1911, in China, braids were recognized as a sign of feudalism and therefore wearing them was prohibited.
45. The first party card of the CPSU belonged to Lenin, the second to Brezhnev (the third to Suslov, and the fourth to Kosygin).
46. The American Physical Education League, the first nudist organization in the United States, was founded on December 4, 1929.
47. In 213 BC. Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi gave the order to burn all the books in the country.
48. In Madagascar in 1610, King Ralambo created the state of Imerin, which means “as far as the eye can see.”
49. The first Russian saints were Boris and Gleb, canonized in 1072.
50. One of the punishments for criminals in Ancient India was... mutilation of the ears.
51. Of the 266 people who occupied the papal throne, 33 died a violent death.
52. In Rus', a stick was used to beat a witness to achieve the truth.
53. In normal weather, the Romans wore a tunic, and when cold weather set in, they wore several tunics.
54. B ancient Rome a group of slaves belonging to one person was called ... surname.
55. The Roman emperor Nero married a man - one of his slaves named Scorus.
56. Until 1361 in England, legal proceedings were carried out exclusively on French.
57. Having accepted the surrender, the Soviet Union did not sign peace with Germany, that is, it remained at war with Germany. The war with Germany ended on January 21, 1955 with the adoption of a corresponding decision by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. However, May 9 is considered Victory Day - the day the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany was signed.
58. The eruption of the Mexican volcano Paricutin lasted 9 years (from 1943 to 1952). During this time, the volcano's cone rose 2,774 meters.
59. To date, archaeologists have discovered traces of nine fortress settlements that existed in different eras in the territory associated with ancient Troy.

Story - most interesting science, it talks about distant eras and various events, forces you to analyze facts and baffles scientists. Historical finds are still not uncommon, and some refute generally accepted versions of the development of human civilization and force new hypotheses to be put forward. More than once history was rewritten, adjusted to fit templates, interpreted in a way convenient for ruling class form. It seems that the modern level of technology and knowledge allows us to explain the most incredible and strange events. But there is still room in the world for the unknown and inexplicable.

Ancient archaeological finds

The work of archaeologists has repeatedly presented the world with surprises: the artifacts and household items found have baffled historians. Their antiquity did not match official version development of humanity. How to explain the presence of iron weapons among wild tribes unfamiliar with metallurgy? Why were certain objects built? How could they be built, even if modern technologies are not able to reproduce similar ones or simply transport building materials of the same weight? Get acquainted with some architectural objects around which controversy still does not subside, despite the presence of many articles and scientific theories.

Pyramids

The pyramids of the Egyptian pharaohs, well known throughout the world, existed already 2600 thousand years BC. (this time is determined approximately, the exact age has not yet been established). A lot is known about the life of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs, but many questions still remain unanswered. Why is the angle of inclination along a line that can connect all the pyramids exactly the same as the angle of inclination of Orion's Belt in 10,500 BC? Are they completely the same?

Another inexplicable fact: construction technologies during the reign of the pharaohs do not explain the appearance of such large and majestic buildings. Amazing stories the curse of the pharaohs raises many questions, but even now it is impossible to fully explain why punishment overtakes everyone who disturbed the peace of the ancient rulers of Egypt.

And one more important and unusual point: the pyramids found on different continents are surprisingly similar to each other. In addition to Egypt, the following can be proud of their huge monuments:

Latin America (Mayan and Aztec pyramids);
Andes (religious buildings of Norte Chico);
China (tombs of the rulers of the Zhou and Zhao, Ming, Tang, Qin, Han, Sui dynasties);
Rome (Pyramid of Cestius);
Nubia (city of Meroe);
Spain (Gumar pyramids);
Russia (pyramids of the Kola Peninsula, Aryan Temple in Rostov-on-Don).

All religious buildings date back to different centuries, but have a number of similar features. Interesting fact: the artificially created pyramids of the Kola Peninsula were built approximately 10 thousand years ago, which allows us to speak of them as the oldest in the world. And it makes you remember the mysterious Hyperborea, which is considered either a myth or the cradle of all humanity.

It is also worth mentioning underwater finds. It is possible that in Bermuda Triangle pyramidal structures have been found, which have already been called the legendary Atlantis that went under the water. True, there is very little information about the find and it is contradictory. But Japanese underwater pyramidal structures are being studied carefully.

Disputes about their age are still ongoing: some scientists talk about 5 thousand years, others - about 10. Apparently, there is a lot of truth in ancient myths; the history of human development can be changed by new data.

Mysterious finds

Historical places of worship, unusual monuments, strange ancient monuments, interesting archaeological finds Scientists have been baffled more than once. Sometimes it is very difficult to understand and explain how and why some objects and buildings appeared. A number of objects can be added to the list of the most inexplicable.

Easter Island idols. They are over 1000 years old, but who created them from pressed volcanic ash?

Stonehenge. There are many legends associated with this place: mentions of Druids, the wizard Merlin, and the legendary Holy Grail. But the question is that Stonehenge was created much earlier. This has been precisely established by scientists. Radiocarbon dating suggests an age of 3,500 BC. But this does not stop one from putting forward the most incredible theories about the origin of this mysterious structure. There are already about 200 of them.

Interestingly, in addition to the famous English Stonehenge, there are similar buildings:

Little Henge in England;
Karahunj in Armenia;
ancient stones found in the city of Gela (Italy);
basalt boulders in Australia (near Melbourne);
prehistoric earthen henge of Ireland;
cromlech in the Rostov region (Russia);
cromlech of Khortitsa island (Ukraine);
stone blocks of Salem (USA);
stone forest in Bulgaria.

They are all unique. They are often called ancient observatories, sundials, religious buildings, but their true purpose remains a mystery.

Nazco drawings in Peru. The Nazca Plateau is painted: there are images of birds, animals, geometric figures. What's unusual about this? Only the scale is amazing; you can see them entirely from a bird's eye view. But they were created about 900 years ago, at that time they seemed to only dream about flights...

Stainless steel column in Delhi. For 1,600 years it has stood in an open-air Indian city. The height of the column is 7 meters; it is not clear how it was smelted. But the most amazing fact is as follows: no rust forms on the iron, not even a speck.

Kailasanatha Temple. According to legend, seven thousand craftsmen carved a majestic Indian temple over a hundred years using a simple pick and a chisel, moving from top to bottom along a huge rock. How they managed to reproduce such precise forms and maintain all proportions is unclear.

These and other interesting historical finds baffle scientists. Will people ever be able to accurately determine their purpose or method of creation? There is no such confidence. For now we have to be content with more or less plausible theories.

Science is interesting

The history of the development of various sciences is filled interesting facts. It is no secret that many discoveries were accidental, and sometimes unrelated scientists who lived in different countries, came to the same conclusions almost simultaneously. Or they went down in history as inventors, although they only improved and disseminated other people’s ideas.

Some myths are still stubbornly perceived as real historical events:

Edison light bulb. He is still considered its inventor, although he only improved an already finished invention, and with the help of his employees after numerous experiments. But at the origins of the creation were the Russian inventors Yablochkov and Lodygin, the Englishman Joseph Swan, the British Frederick de Moleynes and the American John Starr.

Little-known, sometimes deliberately “forgotten” facts from the history of various sciences can significantly change the usual ideas about their development and formation.

Some historical events are associated with animals. Remember the legendary story of how geese saved Rome. It so happens that our smaller brothers become the cause of global upheavals and can change the fate of nations.

Check out the most interesting moments:

The mass extermination of sparrows in China caused the death of about 30 million people. The disappearance of natural enemies of locusts and caterpillars from the fields has led to their mass reproduction. As a result of the destruction of crops, famine began. And bugs have also multiplied, which also caused a lot of inconvenience and problems for the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom.

This negative examples, but there are also positive ones. Pets have saved their owners more than once during earthquakes. They sensed the approaching catastrophe and warned by their behavior of the impending disaster. Seismobiologists have learned to correctly interpret the signals of snakes, birds, fish and mammals.

Unusual medicine

The historical facts about what were sometimes used as medicines are amazing.

Here are some of the most unusual ways treatment:

Soothing syrup for children. Nurses and young mothers in England and America in the 19th century used a syrup based on ammonia and morphine. The medicine was considered universal.
Children were previously treated for cough with heroin, which was used as a morphine substitute.
Tobacco enema has been used in Western Europe for medicinal purposes. By the way, back in the middle of the last century, cigarettes were advertised as a healthy product.
In the Middle Ages, an iron stake heated over a fire was used to treat hemorrhoids.
Ancient doctors did trepanation with a hammer, this is how they treated mental disorders, it is not surprising that patients often died right on the operating table.
It was believed that venereal diseases can be cured with mercury or lead. After such rubbing, people died more often than from the disease itself.

Reincarnation: myth or truth

There are many references in history to the reincarnation of dead people. Should this be considered a myth or does reincarnation exist?

You will seriously think about this if you learn some facts from the lives of great people:

Napoleon and Hitler. Having studied their biography, it is not difficult to believe in reincarnation; many significant events in the lives of both dictators occurred with an interval of 129 years. 1760 and 1889 are the years of birth of Napoleon and Hitler. Further dates go accordingly: coming to power - 1804 and 1933, conquest of Vienna and attack on Russia - 1812 and 1841, defeat in the war - 1816 and 1945.
Lincoln and Kennedy. These American presidents are exactly 100 years apart: Lincoln was born in 1818, Kennedy in 1918. And further coincidences: they became presidents in 1860 and 1960, respectively. Both were killed on Friday, Lincoln at the Kennedy Theater, Kennedy in a Lincoln car. Their killers were also born 100 years apart. As were their successors as president: both Johnson Andrew and Lyndon assumed the presidency after the assassination, one born in 1808, the other in 1908.

By studying historical legends, myths and theories, you can learn many interesting facts about humanity, the lives of great people, their discoveries and inventions.

1. in Napoleon's army, soldiers could address the generals as "you".

2. In Rus', grasshoppers were called dragonflies.

3. punishment with rods was abolished in Russia only in 1903.

4. The "Hundred Years' War" lasted 116 years.

5. What we call the Caribbean crisis, the Americans call the Cuban crisis, and the Cubans themselves call the October crisis.

6. The shortest war in history was the war between Great Britain and Zanzibar on August 27, 1896. It lasted exactly 38 minutes.

7. The first atomic bomb dropped on Japan was on a plane called the Enola Gay. The second is on the Bock's Car plane.

8. Under Peter I in Russia, a special department was created to receive petitions and complaints, which was called ... racketeering.

9. On June 4, 1888, the New York State Congress passed a bill to abolish hanging execution. The reason for this “Humane” act was the introduction of a new method of death penalty - the electric chair. 10. According to the agreement concluded between the engineer Gustave Eiffel and the city authorities of Paris, in 1909 the Eiffel Tower was to be dismantled and sold for scrap.

11. The Spanish Inquisition persecuted many groups of the population, but most of all the Cathars, Marranos and Moriscos. The Cathars are followers of the Albigensian heresy, the Marranos are baptized Jews, and the Moriscos are baptized Muslims.

12. The first Japanese to come to Russia was Denbei, the son of a merchant from Osaka. His ship washed up on the shores of Kamchatka in 1695. In 1701 he reached Moscow. Peter I assigned him to teach Japanese to several teenagers. 13. Only in 1947 in England was the position of the person who was supposed to fire a cannon upon entering England abolished. 14. Guy de Maupassant, Alexandre Dumas, Charles Gounod, Lecomte de Lisle and many other cultural figures signed the famous protest against ... “The deformation of Paris by the Eiffel Tower.”

15. When the famous German physicist Albert Einstein died, his last words went with him. The nurse next to him did not understand a word of German. 16. In the Middle Ages, students were forbidden to carry knives, swords and pistols and to appear on the street after 21 o’clock, because ... this posed a great danger to the townspeople.

17. On the gravestone of the monument to Suvorov it is simply written: “Here Lies Suvorov.” 18. Between the two world wars, France underwent more than 40 different governments. 19. For the last 13 centuries, the imperial throne in Japan has been occupied by the same dynasty.

20. One of the American planes in Vietnam hit itself with a missile fired. 21. The mad Roman emperor Caligula once decided to declare war on the god of the seas - Poseidon, after which he ordered his soldiers to randomly throw their spears into the water. By the way, from the Roman "Caligula" means "little shoe." 22. Abdul Kassim Ismail - the great vizier of Persia (10th century) was always near his library. Only if he went somewhere did the library “Follow” him. 117 thousand book volumes were transported by four hundred camels. Moreover, the books (i.e. camels) were arranged in alphabetical order.

23. Now nothing is impossible. If you want to buy a car in Guryevsk, please, if you want, in another city. But the fact remains that it needs to be registered and license plates obtained. So, the very first license plate was attached to his car by the Berlin merchant Rudolf Duke. This happened in 1901. There were only three characters on his license plate - IA1 (IA are the initials of his young wife Johanna Anker, and the one means that she is his first and only.

24. at the end of the evening prayer on the ships of the Russian imperial fleet, the watch commander commanded “cover yourself!”, which meant putting on hats, and at the same time the all-clear signal for prayer was given. This prayer usually lasted 15 minutes. 25. In 1914, the German colonies were inhabited by 12 million people, and the British colonies - almost 400 million. 26. In the entire history of temperature recording in Russia, the coldest winter was the winter of 1740.

27. In the modern army, the rank of cornet corresponds to an ensign, and the rank of lieutenant corresponds to a lieutenant.

28. The Thai national anthem was written in 1902 by Russian composer Pyotr Shurovsky.

29. Until 1703, clean ponds in Moscow were called... filthy ponds.

30. The first book published in England was dedicated to... chess. 31. World population in 5000 BC. e. was 5 million people.

32. In ancient China, people committed suicide by eating a pound of salt. 33. A list of gifts to Stalin in honor of his seventieth birthday was published in Soviet newspapers from December 1949 to March 1953.

34. Nicholas I gave his officers a choice between a guardhouse and listening to Glinka's operas as punishment. 35. Above the entrance to Aristotle’s Lyceum there was an inscription: “Entrance Here Is Open To Anyone Who Wants To Dispel Plato’s Misconceptions.”

36. The third decree after the “Decree on Peace” and the “Decree on Land” issued by the Bolsheviks was the “decree on spelling”. 37. During the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79, in addition to the well-known city of Pompeii, the cities of Herculaneum and Stabiae also perished.

38. Nazi Germany - “Third Reich”, Hohenzoller Empire (1870-1918) - “Second Reich”, Holy Roman Empire - “First Reich”.

39. In the Roman army, soldiers lived in tents of 10 people. At the head of each tent was a senior person, who was called... the dean. 40. A tightly tightened corset and a large number of bracelets on the arms in England during the Tudor reign were considered a sign of virginity.

41. FBI agents received the right to carry weapons only in 1934, 26 years after the founding of the FBI.

42. Until the Second World War in Japan, any touch of the emperor was considered blasphemy.

43. On February 16, 1568, the Spanish Inquisition imposed a death sentence on all residents of the Netherlands. 44. In 1911, in China, braids were recognized as a sign of feudalism and therefore wearing them was prohibited.

45. The first party card of the CPSU belonged to Lenin, the second to Brezhnev (the third to Suslov, and the fourth to Kosygin.

46. American League physical culture, the first nudist organization in the United States, was founded on December 4, 1929. 47. In 213 BC. e. Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang gave the order to burn all the books in the country.

48. In Madagascar in 1610, King Ralambo created the state of Imerin, which means “As far as the eye can see.”

49. The first Russian saints were Boris and Gleb, canonized in 1072.

50. one of the punishments for criminals in ancient india there was... disfigurement of the ears.

51. Of the 266 people who occupied the papal throne, 33 died a violent death.

52. In Rus', a stick was used to beat a witness in order to achieve the truth. 53. In normal weather, the Romans wore a tunic, and when cold weather set in, they wore several tunics.

54. in ancient Rome, a group of slaves belonging to one person was called ... a surname. 55. The Roman Emperor Nero married a man - one of his slaves named Scorus.

56. Until 1361, legal proceedings in England were conducted exclusively in French. 57. Having accepted surrender, Soviet Union did not sign peace with Germany, that is, he remained at war with Germany. The war with Germany ended on January 21, 1955 with the adoption of a corresponding decision by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR. However, May 9 is considered victory day - the day the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed.

58. The eruption of the Mexican volcano Paricutin lasted 9 years (from 1943 to 1952. During this time, the volcano’s cone rose 2774 meters. 59. To date, archaeologists have discovered in the territory associated with ancient Troy, traces of nine fortresses - settlements that existed in different times era.

1. Albert Einstein could have become president. In 1952, he was offered the post of second president of Israel, but he refused.

2. Kim Jong Il was a good composer and the Korean leader composed 6 operas throughout his life.

4. Arabic numerals were not invented by Arabs, but by Indian mathematicians.

Read also: The biggest mistakes in history

6. Grigory Rasputin survived many assassination attempts in one day. They tried to poison him, shoot him and stab him, but he managed to survive. In the end, Rasputin died in the cold river.

7. The shortest war in history lasted less than an hour. The Anglo-Zanzibar War lasted 38 minutes.

8. The longest war in history occurred between the Netherlands and the Scilly Archipelago. The war lasted 335 years from 1651 to 1989, and both sides suffered no casualties.

By the 20th century, humanity had reached unprecedented heights: we discovered electricity, conquered the skies and the depths of the sea, learned to heal many diseases, quickly transmit messages over vast distances, we even conquered space and nuclear energy. However, along with these achievements, the 20th century can be called the peak of the madness of the human race, when with their reckless behavior people practically brought themselves to the brink of destruction in two world wars...
Almost 80% of Soviet men born in 1923 died in the Great Patriotic War Patriotic War.

Ivan Burylov, who wrote the word “comedy” on the ballot, received 8 years in the camps, 1949.

The husband is a Protestant, the wife is a Catholic. The community did not allow them to be buried in the same cemetery. Holland, 1888.

The creator of the popular cartoon "Shrek" William Steig based his character on professional wrestler Maurice Tillet

In 1859, 24 rabbits were released into the wild in Australia. Over 6 years, their number increased to 6,000,000 individuals...

A note from Yuri Gagarin, written after his flight around the Earth.

King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland George V and his brother - Emperor of All Russia Nicholas II.
The first photograph on Earth.

The diameter of Soviet cigarettes is 7.62 mm, the same as the caliber of the cartridge. There is a widespread myth that the entire production was set up so that in 2 hours it would be ready to produce cartridges.

Afghanistan 1973 and 2016.
"Give me 5 years and you won't recognize Germany." - A. Hitler

John Rockefeller dreamed of earning $100 thousand and living to be 100 years old. And he earned $192 billion and died at 97. Not all dreams come true.
Terry Savchuk - the face of a hockey goalie when a mask was not yet a mandatory attribute, 1966.
Mortgage - definition in the Soviet dictionary.
Women's Minister Angela Merkel and Chancellor Kohl. 1991 And then 10 years later she fired him.

Stalin's son Yakov Dzhugashvili in German captivity, 1941. Later he was killed in a prison camp - his father refused to exchange him for captured German generals.

Public execution by guillotine, France, 1939.

Australia in the mid-20th century. Very soon the USSR will send Gagarin into space.
A hotel manager pours acid into a pool full of blacks, 1964. USA.
Auschwitz concentration camp is the same oven in which people were burned.

In 1938, Stalin invited the pilot Valery Chkalov to head the NKVD. However, Chkalov refused.

In the 5th century BC. The Spartan commander Pausanias betrayed his homeland to the Persians. The betrayal was discovered, and the court decided to execute the traitor. Pausanias hid in the temple of the goddess Athena, knowing that murder on the temple grounds was considered sacrilege. However, the Spartans still found a way out: they walled up Pausanias in the temple.

The entire theater is in pre-Aeschylus Ancient Greece was a “one-man theater”: one person played all the roles. Aeschylus introduced a second actor, and Sophocles a third.

Alexander the Great was very handsome, but two things spoiled the matter: his short height - only one and a half meters and the habit of tilting his head to the right and looking as if into the distance.

Modern ophthalmologists are inclined to believe that the king suffered from a rare vision pathology called “Brown syndrome.” In Pompeii, where there were barely 20 thousand inhabitants, seven brothels were discovered during excavations, some of them also served as taverns, others as barbers.

In the Middle Ages, beds in noble houses were necessarily equipped with a canopy on four posts. The fact is that the windows of that time did not have glass, and therefore there were severe drafts in the bedrooms.

Railroad tracks in Europe were laid on cart tracks left over from the times of the ancient Romans. The distance between the wheels of Roman carts was standard: two horse rears.

The Danish king Niels, who reigned in the 12th century (1104-1134), had the smallest army ever to exist in the world. It consisted of... 7 people - him personal assistants. With this army, Nils ruled Denmark for 30 years, during which time Denmark also included parts of Sweden and Norway, as well as some parts of Northern Germany.

Nicholas II only had military rank Colonel. Napoleon slept through the Battle of Waterloo. He was tormented by hemorrhoids, which were treated with enemas with an anesthetic that caused severe drowsiness. Bonaparte fell asleep before the battle, and no one dared to wake him up until the very critical moment.

The place and role of historical facts in the process of cognition is determined by the fact that only on the basis of these “building blocks” can hypotheses be put forward and theories built. There is no single definition of a historical fact. The most common interpretations of the term “historical fact” are:

it is an objective event or phenomenon of the past;
these are traces of the past, i.e. images that are captured in historical documents.

Many scientists (A.P. Pronshtein, I.N. Danilevsky, M.A. Varshavchik) identified three categories of historical facts: objective existing facts realities that are located within a certain space-time framework and have materiality (historical events, phenomena and processes as such); facts reflected in sources, information about the event; " scientific facts", obtained and described by the historian.

In the interpretation of M.A. Barga, the concept of “historical fact” has several meanings. Firstly, a historical fact as a fragment of historical reality, which has “chronological completeness and ontological inexhaustibility.” Secondly, “source message”; thirdly, a “scientific-historical fact” - in its “cognitive incompleteness, in content variability, cumulativeness, ability for endless enrichment and development” together with the development of “historical science” itself.

A scientific-historical fact is a historical fact that has become the object of activity of a scientist historian; the result of inference based on traces left by the past. These facts are always subjective and reflect the position of the scientist, his level of qualifications and education. The academic subject most often presents scientific historical facts, which are described, systematized and explained. Any historical fact can contain the general, the universal, the individual. Taking into account this specificity, in the methodology of teaching history, three groups of facts are conventionally distinguished: fact - event - characterizing the unique, inimitable; fact - phenomenon - reflecting the typical, general; fact - processes - determining the universal. These facts have undergone logical processing and are presented in logical forms: representations (images) contain characteristics outside in the form of a description; concepts, ideas, theories that characterize the essence and provide an explanation of the historical past. Facts-processes are presented by description, explanation, evaluation.

Every year in May, Mother's Day is celebrated all over the world. On this day, mothers and pregnant women are congratulated and given gifts. Motherhood is an amazing condition, but even women themselves do not know some facts about it:

The word “mother” sounds approximately the same in all languages: Russian, Chinese and Spanish children call their mother “mama”, English and German children call their mother “mom”. And the secret is simple: the children themselves came up with this word. One of the first syllables that a child utters is “ma”, and it determined the name of the most important person in the life of each of us.
A woman carries a child for nine months, he is born, the umbilical cord is cut, but his connection with his mother does not end there. During pregnancy, mother and baby exchange cells through the placenta, and these cells sometimes remain in the woman’s body for a very long time.
Pregnancy causes changes in a woman's brain.
Successful personal life the child depends on how close his relationship with his mother was. Scientists believe that it is the mother who instills in the child the ability to love and feel, which helps him build happy relationship with the opposite sex.
Mothers feel if something happened to the child, even if the latter is already an adult, accomplished person.
Children know their mother's voice even before they are born. Scientists have conducted a number of studies, which have revealed that the child in the womb reacts to the mother’s voice and does not react at all to outside voices.

We offer a fascinating selection of historical facts about Russia and Russian people. Educational and interesting:

The origin of the name of our country is unknown

Since ancient times, our country was called Rus', but where this name came from is not known for certain. But it is known how “Rus” turned into “Russia” - this happened thanks to the Byzantines, who pronounced the word “Rus” in their own way.

After the collapse of Rus', its individual regions began to be called Little Rus', White Rus' and Great Rus', or Little Russia, Belarus and Great Russia. It was believed that only all these parts together constitute Russia. But after the revolution of 1917 and the Bolsheviks coming to power, Little Russia began to be called Ukraine, and Great Russia - Russia.

In Rus', grasshoppers were called dragonflies.

A long time ago, in the times of Rus', grasshoppers were indeed called dragonflies, but this name in no way directly refers to the flying insect dragonfly; the grasshopper received the name “dragonfly” because of the sounds it made, which sounded like chirping or clicking.

Foreign invaders were able to conquer Russia only once

Many tried to conquer Russia, and these attempts repeatedly failed. Only the Mongols were able to conquer Rus', and this happened in the 13th century. The reason for this was that Rus' at that time was divided into many principalities, and the Russian princes were unable to unite and jointly repel the conquerors. From then to this day, it was the stupidity and greed of the rulers that internal conflicts have been and remain the main source of problems for our country.

Corporal punishment in Russia

On August 11, old style (24 new style), 1904, corporal punishment for peasants and young artisans was abolished in the Russian Empire. This was the last one social group, for which they were also used different kinds physical impact. A little earlier, in June of the same year, corporal punishment was abolished in the navy and army.

Corporal punishment was divided into three large groups:

1) self-mutilating (mutilating) – deprivation of a person of any part of the body or its damage (blinding, cutting out the tongue, cutting off an arm, leg or fingers, cutting off ears, nose or lips, castration);

2) painful - causing physical suffering by beating with various instruments (whips, whips, batogs (sticks), spitzrutens, rods, cats, molts);

3) disgraceful (disgraceful) - the most important is the disgrace of the punished (for example, being put in a pillory, branding, imposing shackles, shaving the head).

The upper strata of the population were sensitive to the ban on corporal punishment. In July 1877, the St. Petersburg mayor Trepov, in violation of the law of 1863, ordered the political prisoner Bogolyubov to be flogged with rods. The educated Bogolyubov went crazy and died from such an insult, and the famous Vera Zasulich avenged him by seriously wounding Trepov. The court acquitted Zasulich.

Since 1917, official Soviet pedagogy has considered corporal punishment of children unacceptable. They were banned in all types educational institutions, but remained a frequent occurrence in the family. In 1988, journalist Filippov conducted an anonymous survey of 7,500 children aged 9 to 15 years in 15 cities of the USSR, 60% admitted that their parents used corporal punishment against them.

Cuban Missile Crisis and Black Saturday

What we call the Cuban Missile Crisis, Americans call the Cuban Crisis, and the Cubans themselves call the October Crisis. But the whole world calls the most important day in the Cuban Missile Crisis with one name - “Black Saturday” (October 27, 1962) - the day when the world was closest to a global nuclear war.

Russia has repeatedly helped the United States in its formation and strengthening

If it were not for Russia, the United States would not have arisen at all, much less become a superpower. During the war of independence with England, the English king repeatedly turned to Russia for help in suppressing the uprising. Russia, however, not only did not help, but also founded a league of armed neutrality, which was soon joined by other countries that traded with the United States despite the protests of England. During civil war in the USA, Russia actively supported the northerners, sending squadrons to New York and San Francisco, while England and France wanted the collapse of the USA and took the side of the southerners. Finally, Russia ceded California and the Hawaiian Islands, where it had colonies, to the United States, and then sold the United States and Alaska for a ridiculous price. However, in the 20th century, the United States, having become a world power, responded to Russia with black ingratitude.

The USSR could have easily won the Cold War

After the end of World War II, there were two superpowers left in the world, facing a global confrontation - the USA and the USSR. Despite the worst starting conditions, the USSR in the 60s took the lead in many respects, and many believed that it would win the fight against the capitalists. In the 70s, the capitalist world was struck by a severe crisis provoked by rising oil prices, and the US economy was on the verge of collapse. However, the Soviet leadership not only did not take advantage of the situation, but, on the contrary, actually saved its enemy by concluding disarmament agreements and agreeing to sell oil for dollars. The United States, on the contrary, relied on the collapse of the USSR and victory in the Cold War, which, in the end, they were able to achieve 20 years later, with the complicity of traitors among the Soviet leadership.

The first Japanese in Russia

The first Japanese to come to Russia was Denbei, the son of a merchant from Osaka. His ship washed up on the shores of Kamchatka in 1695. In 1701 he reached Moscow.

In the winter of 1702, after an audience on January 8 with Peter I in the village of Preobrazhenskoye, Denbey was ordered to become a translator and teacher. Japanese language in the Artillery Order. Denbey personally told Peter I what he could about Japan and thereby gave impetus to Russian efforts to explore Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands and attempts to open trade with Japan.

Since 1707, Denbey lived at the palace of the prince and at one time the governor of the Siberian province Matvey Gagarin. It is known that at the insistence of Peter I's associate Jacob Bruce, Denbey was baptized and took the name Gabriel Bogdanov (which blocked his return to Japan, where Christianity was prohibited). The school of Japanese translators he founded operated in Moscow until 1739, after which it was transferred to Irkutsk, where it existed until 1816.

Before Denbey, only one Japanese person in Russia is known. During the reign of Boris Godunov, a Japanese Christian visited Russia. He was a young Catholic from Manila who, together with his spiritual mentor Nicholas Melo of the Order of St. Augustine, traveled to Rome along the route Manila - India - Persia - Russia. But Time of Troubles It turned out to be tragic for them: they were captured as Catholic foreigners, and Tsar Boris Godunov exiled them to the Solovetsky Monastery. After six years of exile, he was executed as a supporter of False Dmitry I in 1611. Nizhny Novgorod. In Russia he was considered Indian, not Japanese.

Favorite commander of Catherine II

Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov was the favorite of Empress Catherine. She celebrated and showered the Russian Macedonian with awards, and he sometimes allowed himself to do things that were not permissible to others, knowing in advance that Catherine would always forgive any trick or eccentricities of the great commander. Here are some interesting cases:

Once at a court ball, Catherine decided to show Suvorov attention and asked him:
- What should I treat my dear guest with? - Bless, queen, with vodka! - But what will my ladies-in-waiting say when they talk to you? - They will feel that the soldier is talking to them!

Once in a conversation, the Empress said that she planned to send Suvorov to serve in Finland in the future. Suvorov bowed to the empress, kissed her hand and returned home. Then he got into the postal carriage and left for Vyborg, from where he sent Catherine a message: “I am waiting, mother, for your further commands.”

It is known that Suvorov dressed very lightly even in severe frosts. Catherine II gave Suvorov a fur coat and ordered him to wear it. What to do? Suvorov began to take the donated fur coat with him everywhere, but kept it on his lap.

After the Poles were pacified in 1794, Suvorov sent a messenger with a message. The “message” is as follows: “Hurray! Warsaw is ours! Catherine’s response: “Hurray! Field Marshal Suvorov! And this was at a time of lengthy reports about the capture of cities. How I sent the text message. But, nevertheless, he failed to outdo Field Marshal Saltykov in lapidarism, who, after the battle with the Prussians at Kunersdorf during the Seven Years' War, simply sent to St. Petersburg the hat of the Prussian king, found on the battlefield.

Kutuzov is not a pirate, he doesn’t need an eyepatch!

In recent years, images of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army in 1812, Field Marshal General, His Serene Highness Prince M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, with a bandage on his right eye, have begun to be widely circulated. “One-eyed” Kutuzov can be seen on the covers of books and magazines, in paintings contemporary artists and on various souvenir items, as well as on busts and monuments.

Such images do not correspond to historical accuracy, since Kutuzov never wore an eye patch. There is not a single memoir or epistolary evidence from Kutuzov’s contemporaries describing the field marshal with a bandage on his right eye. Moreover, Kutuzov had no need to hide his eye under a bandage, since he saw with this eye, although not as well as with his left.

“Fate appoints Kutuzov to something great,” said the chief surgeon of the Russian army, Massot, with amazement, who examined Kutuzov’s “fatal wound” in the head in 1788 near Ochakov. The bullet went straight from temple to temple behind both eyes. The doctors' verdict was clear - death, but Kutuzov not only did not die, but did not even lose his sight, although his right eye was slightly distorted. The surprise of the doctors and the whole world that Kutuzov survived and after 6 months was back in service was boundless, just like 14 years before, when he was first “mortally wounded.” In 1774, near Alushta, as well as near Ochakov, Kutuzov was wounded in the head, and the bullet passed in almost the same place. At that time, doctors throughout Europe considered Kutuzov’s recovery a miracle, and many believed that the news of the general’s injury and recovery was a fairy tale, because it was impossible to survive after such a wound.

Actually, in early XIX V. It was not customary to wear an eye patch after the wound had healed (even if the eye was completely missing). The “one-eyed” Kutuzov first appeared in 1944 in feature film"Kutuzov". Then the bandage was put on Kutuzov’s right eye by the directors of the musical comedy film “The Hussar Ballad” (1962) and the play of the same name (1964) and ballet (1979).

The image of Kutuzov, brilliantly played by Igor Ilyinsky, gave rise to a persistent legend that Kutuzov wore a bandage on his injured eye. The replication of this legend has become so widespread in recent years that it has begun to lead to a distortion of historical reality.

Jesters of Empress Anna Ioannovna

Niece of Peter I reigned Russian Empire 10 years. The harsh disposition of the Russian landowner did not prevent her from having fun.

It is known that Empress Anna Ioannovna was very fond of jesters and dwarfs. There were six of them at her court. Three of them were demoted aristocrats. So, she forced princes Mikhail Golitsyn and Nikita Volkonsky, as well as Count Alexei Apraksin, to play the role of a jester. The illustrious clowns had to make faces in the presence of the empress, sit astride each other and punch each other until they bled, or imitate hens and cluck. IN Last year During her reign, the empress arranged a wedding for her jesters - 50-year-old Prince Golitsyn and the ugly Kalmyk Anna Buzheninova, who received her surname in honor of the empress's favorite dish. Representatives of different nationalities of both sexes were recruited from all over the country to participate in wedding celebrations: Russians, Tatars, Mordvins, Chuvashs, etc. They were supposed to dress up in their national clothes and have musical instruments. It was winter. By order of Anna Ioannovna, an Ice House was built on the Neva, in which everything - walls, doors, windows, furniture, dishes - was made of ice. The wedding celebration took place here. Many candles were burning in ice candlesticks, and even the wedding bed for the “young” was arranged on an ice bed.

Peter I and the guards

In winter, slingshots were placed on the Neva to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the city after dark. One day, Emperor Peter I decided to check the guards himself. He drove up to one of the sentries, pretended to be a merchant who had been on a spree and asked to let him through, offering money for the passage. The sentry refused to let him through, although Peter had already reached 10 rubles, a very significant amount at that time. The sentry, seeing such stubbornness, threatened that he would be forced to shoot him.

Peter left and went to another guard. The same one let Peter through for 2 rubles.

The next day, an order was announced for the regiment: to hang the corrupt sentry, and drill the rubles he received and hang them around his neck.

Promote a conscientious sentry to corporal and reward him with ten rubles.

Thai national anthem

The Thai national anthem was written in 1902 by Russian composer Pyotr Shchurovsky.

Nicholas I gave his officers a choice between a guardhouse and listening to Glinka's operas as punishment.

On November 27, 1842, the first performance of M. I. Glinka’s opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila” took place, which brought the author a number of sensitive griefs. The public and high society did not like the opera; Emperor Nicholas I, after Act IV, defiantly left without waiting for the end. He didn’t like the music of the opera so much that he ordered, as punishment, the capital’s officers who had committed a fine to choose between the guardhouse and listening to Glinka’s music. Thus, the emperor additionally expressed his dissatisfaction with the composer’s work. Such were the customs, alas. Thank God that Nikolai did not send the composer himself to the guardhouse.

“Thank God that you are Russian”

In 1826, a “Russian contemporary” described the appearance of the sovereign - Emperor Nicholas I: “Tall, lean, had a wide chest... a quick look, a clear voice, suitable for a tenor, but he spoke somewhat patter... Some kind of genuine severity was visible in his movements.” .

“Genuine severity”... When he commanded troops, he never shouted. There was no need for this - the king’s voice could be heard a mile away; the tall grenadiers looked like children next to him. Nicholas led an ascetic lifestyle, but if we talk about the luxury of the court, the magnificent receptions - they stunned everyone, especially foreigners. This was done in order to emphasize the status of Russia, which the sovereign cared about incessantly.

General Pyotr Daragan recalled how, in the presence of Nikolai Pavlovich, he spoke French, grazing. Nikolai, suddenly putting on an exaggeratedly serious expression, began repeating every word after him, which brought his wife into a fit of laughter. Daragan, crimson with shame, jumped out into the reception room, where Nikolai caught up with him and, kissing him, explained: “Why are you burring? No one will mistake you for a Frenchman; Thank God that you are Russian, and being an ape is no good.”