10 Incredible Historical Facts School Never Taught You
By: Jayden Yugie
Tags: History, Facts, Education, Stories, Life

10. The paintings of Adolf Hitler

Vienna State Opera House, Adolf Hitler, 1912 (Wikipedia)

Not everyone knows that, in addition to being the greatest dictator in history, Hitler had a hobby of drawing and painting and was active in this sense from 1904 to 1914. Unfortunately, his artistic aspirations were short-lived, as he was rejected two times at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. After the Second World War, the paintings sold for tens of thousands of dollars.

9. Women before the Islamic revolution

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It looks like a seaside scene from any Western country. Instead, it is a photo of Iranian men and women before the Islamic Republic with a strict Koranic law supplanted the monarchy.

8. Heroin as a cure for colds

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The stereotypical image of the cowboy at the bar drinking whiskey after a long and tiring ride on dusty trails is only part of the history of the Old West. In fact, in the mid-1800s, opium dens were scattered throughout the territory and the interesting thing is that narcotics like this were considered a cure for all kinds of physical and mental illnesses, from alcohol withdrawal to cancer, depression, colds, tuberculosis, and even old age.

7. Nuclear spectra in Hiroshima

Image Source: Wikipedia

How can we forget August 6, 1945, when an American bomber dropped a uranium bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, killing over 70,000 people. Of the little that is left, one thing is particularly disturbing and macabre. Of the people who unfortunately were in that place, only the shadows (the effect of the bomb’s radiation) that were imprinted on the road remain. This is certainly a warning to posterity.

6. Argentavis, the biggest bird ever

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The ancestor of condors and vultures had a wingspan of about 7 meters, like a two-level house! Argentavis is the largest flyer ever discovered. This extinct bird, whose name means “magnificent Argentine bird”, lived at the end of the Miocene (6 million years ago) in Central and South America: several fossils have been found in this very country.

5. The Romans also went to the dentist

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Several centuries ago, the smile was important … or at least, chewing was. The ancient Romans were able to build rudimentary bridges that allowed them to recover dental functions with a rather painful technique. The false teeth were made of bone or ivory and held together by gold threads.

4. The Nazi uniforms of Hugo Boss

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It cannot be said that elegance was not thought of among the German ranks. It seems that the Nazi uniforms bore the Hugo Boss brand, 1934 collection.

3. The swastika symbol of good luck

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It is not the copyright of the Third Reich: the swastika has been used by some populations since ancient times with a message that is certainly very different. The Japanese have come to the point of wanting to change this symbol, which in their culture is an indicator of peace and well-being.

2. The Vikings and the rings “for Allah”

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Did the Scandinavians already have commercial relations with Islamic countries between the 9th and 10th centuries AD? Practically an impossible hypothesis for the time, but it would explain the discovery of this ancient jewel. According to archaeologists, it could mean that the Vikings actually went much further than we believe.

1. The Trojan horse was a ship

Image Source: Wikipedia

Do you remember everything you read in the books, the Aeneid most of all? Well, forget it. The Trojan horse was not a horse whose belly hid Ulysses and the Greek soldiers. The naval archaeologist Francesco Tiboni, Ph.D. at the University of Marseille, after careful studies, has ascertained that it was much more likely a Phoenician boat, precisely with an equine head, called for this characteristic “hippos”, actually the same term used in Greek for real horses. Hence the misunderstanding that from century to century has created a real legend: Virgil himself would have translated the texts into Greek, falling into the “gross” error.