Sometimes, history is dark, weird, and funny.
Things have happened throughout history that genuinely sound like jokes. The U.S. tried to use cats to spy on the Soviets during the Cold War, ancient Egyptians used moldy bread as medicine, and Napoleon, one of the greatest military tacticians of all time, was once attacked by a pack of angry rabbits.
Here are some facts that were omitted from the history books for being too weird.
1
The U.S. considered dropping giant condoms on the USSR
As a psychological operation, they planned to label them “medium” to imply American men were vastly more endowed.
2
Egyptians used moldy bread on wounds
Without knowing it, they were applying naturally occurring penicillin long before antibiotics were discovered
3
Greek athletes competed naked in the Olympics
They believed it celebrated the human form and allowed for greater freedom of movement; spectators were also mostly male
4
The U.S. military planned to nuke the moon
During the Cold War, Project A119 proposed detonating a nuclear device on the moon to intimidate the Soviets and show American power
5
The U.S. poisoned alcohol during Prohibition
To stop illegal consumption, the government added toxins to industrial alcohol, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 10,000 people
6
Hitler was once nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize
In 1939, a Swedish legislator submitted the nomination as a sarcastic protest against the rise of nationalism, and it was quickly retracted.
7
King Tut’s parents were brother and sister
This royal inbreeding caused genetic deformities, including a cleft palate, club foot, and possibly contributed to his early death
8
Peter the Great of Russia taxed beards
To westernize Russia, he ordered men to shave, but those who refused had to carry a token showing they paid the beard tax
9
A man survived both atomic bombs
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on business, then traveled home to Nagasaki—where he survived the second bombing days later
10
Animals were put on trial in medieval Europe
Pigs were hanged, rats were exiled, and even insects were summoned to court for “crimes” like crop destruction.
11
Winston Churchill once got stuck in a White House bathtub
While staying with Roosevelt during WWII, he became wedged in the tub and needed help to get out.
12
Pope Gregory IX declared war on cats
In the 1230s, he associated black cats with Satan and ordered their extermination, which may have worsened Europe’s plague outbreaks by allowing rats to flourish.
13
The CIA tried to spy using a wired-up cat
“Acoustic Kitty” was a real Cold War project where a cat was surgically implanted with listening devices but it was hit by a car on its first mission.
14
Romans used urine to brush their teeth
It was collected in jars and valued for its ammonia, which acted as a natural bleaching agent for whitening teeth.
15
Napoleon was once attacked by bunnies
His men staged a rabbit hunt to celebrate a military victory, but the three-thousand rabbits charged Napoleon instead of fleeing, having been tame and expecting food.
16
The Eiffel Tower grows in the summer
Due to thermal expansion, the metal structure can stretch over 6 inches taller when exposed to intense heat.
