What could be better? The bizarre and history combined in one list
I love both subjects (and facts and factlets), so this list really has been a joy to put together. Once you are done reading be sure to mention any other oddities we may not know in the comments.
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
La Reverte
http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/la-reverte.jpg?w=550&h=352
In 1900, Maria Salome (20 years old) made her grand debut as the first female bullfighter. Over the years she became incredibly popular and gained great acclaim for her achievements. Because of her popularity, the Spanish government deemed it immoral for a woman to be a bullfighter so they outlawed it. This did not concern Maria (also known as La Reverte) – in public she pulled off her wig and announced to the world that she was, in fact, a man. Agustin Rodigriquez’s (Maria’s real name) announcement backfired – instead of continuing on as a popular bullfighter, the Spanish people hated him for having tricked them. Needless to say this ended his career.
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
Too hot to Handle
http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/hot-tub.jpg?w=550&h=412
Speaking of strange deaths, in 1979, a 58 year old man and his 53 year old wife died from spending too much time in their hot tub in California. Both had high blood pressure and had the hot tub set to 110f (43c). They fell asleep after drinking heavily and never woke up. The autopsy officially said that they died of a combination of heart disease and alcohol poisoning.
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
Shoot me Please
http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/acropolis_athens_greece_ert-1.jpg?w=550&h=366
In 1821, the Ottoman empire occupied Greece. In the middle of one battle the Turks ran out of bullets and proposed to destroy the Acropolis to use the lead cores of its columns to make ammunition. When the Greeks got wind of this they gathered up their bullets and sent them to the Turks to use against themselves. This amazing (and as far as I can tell unverifiable) act was solely to protect the monument, which is of great importance to Greek culture.
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
mard auraton ko to kia mardon ko bhi jeene nahin dete
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
The Last Witch
http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/helen-duncan-and-spirit.jpg?w=331&h=400
Jane Rebecca Yorke was an English medium who was the last person convicted under the Witchcraft Act of 1735. Believe it or not, in 1944, she was arrested and convicted of being a witch because of claims she was defrauding the public by exploiting wartime fears. During séances with Yorke, undercover police were told to ask about non-existent family members. Yorke provided elaborate details on them (which she claimed had been provided by her spirit guide) such as telling an officer that his non-existent brother had been burned alive on a bombing mission. Yorke’s alleged spirit guide was a Zulu and she also frequently claimed to summon Queen Victoria. She was arrested in July, 1944. At her trial in September at London’s Central Criminal Court she was found guilty on seven counts against the Witchcraft Act of 1735. Yorke was fined £5 and placed on good behavior for three years, promising she would hold no more séances. Another woman was also tried and convicted of witchcraft that year – Helen Duncan (pictured above) of Scotland – wrongly referred to as the last witch. The Witchcraft Act was repealed in the UK in 1951, but is still in force in Israel which retains much of its pre-independence law – the penalty in Israel is 2 years imprisonment.
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
The Dark Day
http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/dark-day-full-image.jpg?w=548&h=304
New England’s Dark Day refers to an event that occurred on May 19, 1780, when an unusual darkening of the day sky was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada. The primary cause of the event is believed to have been a combination of smoke from forest fires, a thick fog and cloud cover. The darkness was so complete that candles were required from noon on. It did not disperse until the middle of the next night. For several days before the Dark Day, the sun as viewed from New England appeared to be red, and the sky appeared yellow. While the darkness was present, soot was observed to be collected in rivers and in rain water, suggesting the presence of smoke. Also, when the night really came in, observers saw the moon colored red. Today, some people, especially those among Seventh-day Adventists citing extracts of Biblically sequential events, “…] the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light …]” (Matthew 24:29) are signs preceding the return of Christ and interpretations of the event as cited by Ellen G. White, believe that the Dark Day was a fulfillment of Biblical and end-times prophecy.
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
How could you? :eek:
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
Bizarre Treaty
http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/800px-skull_of_mkwawa.jpg?w=550&h=412
’
Paramount Chief Mkwavinyika Munyigumba Mwamuyinga (1855–19 July 1898), more commonly known as Chief Mkwawa, was a Hehe tribal leader in German East Africa (now mostly the mainland part of Tanzania) who opposed German colonization. On 28 October, 1894, the Germans, under the new commissioner Colonel Freiherr Friedrich von Schele, attacked Mkwawa’s fortress at Kalenga. Although they took the fort, Mkwawa managed to escape. Subsequently, Mkwawa conducted a campaign of guerrilla warfare, harassing the Germans until 1898, when, on 19 July, he was surrounded and shot himself rather than be captured. The Germans removed his head as a trophy and sent his skull to a museum. In a bizarre twist, years later the British wanted the skull so they could give it as a gift to Tanganyika to thank them for their support in the First World War. In order to achieve this they added the following clause to the very famous Treaty of Versailles: “ARTICLE 246. Within six months from the coming into force of the present Treaty, … Germany will hand over to His Britannic Majesty’s Government the skull of the Sultan Mkwawa which was removed from the Protectorate of German East Africa and taken to Germany.” The skull was finally returned in 1954, and can now be seen in the Mkwawa Memorial Museum in Kalenga
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
Bizarre Beauty
Cleopatra bathed in donkey’s milk, Mary Queen of Scots bathed in wine, George Sands bathed in cows milk with honey, and Isabeau of France (12th century) bathed in asses’ milk and followed it up by rubbing her skin with crocodile glands and the brains of boars. For thousands of years women slowly poisoned themselves by wearing face makeup called ceruse, which was a lead powder which was deadly. To top it off they used rouge which contained mercury, leading to birth defects and miscarriages. But, before we criticize, it should be remembered that millions of people every year have their faces injected with botulism toxin to remove wrinkles. History may be bizarre, but sometimes we are too! Pictured above is the Queen Elizabeth I of England with her face painted with ceruse – the product that most likely lead to her complete loss of hair.
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
witchcraft :smack2: In our childhood, someone told us that a woman who lived for more than a century becomes Daayan (witch) :bummer:
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
what 
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
There are some videos on youtube which says that the date on which Hazrat Hussain was martyred in Karbala, there was a rain of blood in some European areas.
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
drinking wine and estimating hot tub water effects
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
:disgust: remind me tradition followed by Ummayads and then Abbasids to display heads of their enemies (after killing them)
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
:hmmm: Jaan jae per eeman na jae. They might have considered this Acropolis like their national identity.
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
Sadia Imam in history 
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
The story of the Accropolis seems very likely indeed.
The Turks were notorious for using up vast ammounts of ammunition, two decades later they would be the first power in Europe to use repeating rifles from America in a large scale and despite being outnumbered by Russia they inflicted 4 times the casualties on them. "Jonny" Turk was a tough fighter indeed and the greeks showed great spirit too. Co-Incidentally in World War 2 Mussolini thought Greece would be a pushover but the Greeks held up the Italians and Germans longer than any other European force despite being out dated and poorly equiped the Greeks fought bravely.
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
I find one of the most interesting characters from recent American History is the legendary Bank Robber Willie Sutton.
Those fammiliar with Medical School will note he is the man after whom Suttons Law, the ultimate statement of the obvious is sourced from. Story goes a reporter once asked him why he always robbed banks.
To which Sutton allegedly replied:
“Cos thats where the Money is”
Offcourse most Historians dispute he ever actually said that and Sutton himself denied it, but he escaped some of the most formidable high security Prisons in America 11 times!
Also he was said to have been a very noble character indeed, having never robbed a bank when a woman screamed or baby cried.
He also never carried a loaded gun… he himself stated the again very obvious reason “Somebody might get hurt”.
He represents perhaps the last noble bank Robbers and is the kind of rare character one just has to admire, in fact he has a rather kindred spirit and an impious mind many can relate to.
Restored attachments:
Re: Curious Tales and Oddities From History
Interesting, thnkx for sharing
