20 Curiosities of History that will surprise you

History not only consists of tedious battles and numerous dates impossible to remember; it is also full of curious facts and singular characters that make its study become much more entertaining.

Do you want to know some historical curiosities? Keep reading.

20 interesting curiosities of History

Ephemeral kings, strange diseases, historical hoaxes... Below, we present a compilation of 20 of the most curious anecdotes in history.

1. The forerunner of sexology was... a jesuit

As you read it. Specifically, the Cordovan Tomás Sánchez who, at the beginning of the 16th century, wrote a voluminous treatise in which he detailed the relationships in marriage. And despite the fact that the religious limited the sexual descriptions to the sacrament, the explanations he offered were so detailed that his superiors tried to censor his work to make it a little less “spicy”.

• Related article: "The origins of religion

2. The publication of Werther of Goethe triggered a wave of suicides

This novel by the German writer revolves around the impossible love affairs of young Werther, in love with Charlotte, a married woman. The tragic end of the protagonist caused a mirror effect among European readers, where the novel had caused fury, and a veritable suicide fever was unleashed among the young, who wanted to imitate the suffering of their "hero". The situation became so alarming that the authorities of some countries prohibited the work.

3. The epidemic that inaugurated a new cemetery

Until the first edicts of urban health, the cemeteries had been located within the walls, preferably near the churches. At the end of the 18th century, the new ideas derived from the Enlightenment motivated the creation of cemeteries located far from the crowds, to avoid diseases.

In 1821, the fearsome yellow fever reached Barcelona through two ships that docked in its port. It is estimated that 10% of the population died., a true economic and humanitarian disaster. To deal with the burial of the multitude of corpses that accumulated in the streets, it was decided to raise the first cemetery outside the walls of Barcelona, ​​the famous Poblenou cemetery, where there is currently a monument in memory of the dreadful plague.

4. The "miraculous" begetting of Jaime I

Jaime I of Aragon himself records this anecdote in his chronicle. It is also collected, in turn, by the medieval chronicler Ramon Muntaner, so we can deduce that, broadly speaking (and ignoring the elements that could be added later) the story is true.

The hatred that King Pedro II of Aragon felt towards her wife was so great that he did not even sleep with her to produce an heir to the crown. The issue became a matter of state, and some of the nobles conspired with the queen to devise a plan that would allow the sovereign to have relations with her husband. Thus, they made the monarch believe that a lady to whom he felt a preference was waiting for him in her bed, but that she wanted to stay in the dark all night. The king had relations with her, and when the first light of day came, he discovered that the supposed lady was, in reality, his wife Maria de Montpellier. That night, both fathered what would later be Jaime I the Conqueror.

• You may be interested in: "The 5 ages of History (and their characteristics)"

5. The little French origin of Napoleon

He has gone down in history as one of the best-known Frenchmen, but the truth is that Napoleon Bonaparte was about to never be one. The island of Corsica belonged to Genoa, but the Treaty of Versailles, signed between the republic and the kingdom of France, annexed the island to French territory. This happened on May 15, 1768, exactly 15 months before the birth of Napoleon. Somewhat self-conscious about his non-Gallic origin, Napoleon changed his Italian surname good part by Bonaparte.

6. "Silence please"

In its beginnings, cinema was not the "seventh art" that is considered today. It was more of a mass entertainment, and people flocked to the rooms like someone going to a picnic. It was very common for the audience to eat loudly, whistle and talk constantly, which made it difficult to follow the film (even though it was silent).

To avoid all this revelry, in 1912 a series of advertisements began to be shown in New York before the movies. they invited the public to behave correctly and, the ladies, to remove their bulky hats so as not to impede visibility to the behind. Fun fact: in these recordings, it was also forbidden to yawn in the middle of the projection.

• Related article: "The 14 Types of Knowledge"

7. Parasites in the Nile

One of the most common diseases among the ancient Egyptians were parasites, which could trigger very serious health problems. In a society where the rise of the Nile was a crucial element for the development of its agriculture, it was normal for worm larvae to proliferate in the stagnant waters of the river banks. These worms could enter the body of whoever crossed those waters and cause bleeding that would end up leading to anemia, in what is known as schistosomiasis.

8. The mythical Egyptian slaves

And speaking of Egypt... I'm sure you've heard more than once that the pyramids were built on the blood of the slaves who built them. Fake. The people who worked on the construction of these monuments were free workers who received a salary for their activity. We cannot deny that some of them may have suffered an accident and even died, but in no case was it a work carried out by slaves.

9. Roman roads were not paved

…or, at least, not in all sections. This is another of the historical myths that American peplum movies have introduced us to: long perfectly paved roads, where the cars don't even wobble. As false as the "slaves of the pyramids." For much of their route, the Roman roads were covered by a simple and uncomfortable gravel.

10. "Nothing"

Famous is the historical anecdote that tells that, the same day the Bastille was taken, at night, King Louis XVI wrote in his diary: “Nothing”. Many have taken advantage of the concise word to demonstrate the absolute uselessness of the monarch when it comes to capturing the crucial events that were happening around him, but the truth is that this "nothing" refers to something else. The journal was a mere hunting journal, and with the word the king simply confirmed that he had returned empty-handed from the hunt.

11. The daughter of Marie Antoinette who was queen of France for a few hours

Of all the children Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI had, only one girl survived. Some died of illness at a very young age, and the Dolphin, little Luis, died in jail because of the mistreatment he received from his captors.

The daughter, María Teresa, known as Madame Royaleshe, she survived the tragedy of her family and married a cousin of hers, Luis Antonio de Angoulême. Louis's father came to reign as Charles IX, and after his abdication, the crown legally passed to his son, making Maria Theresa the full Queen of France. However, the reign of Angoulême only lasted a few minutes, since immediately after the abdication of his father, his son abdicated. Thus, the one who was the daughter of the guillotined kings managed to be queen of the French... for twenty minutes.

12. The last Tsar of Russia was not Nicholas II

There are other monarchs who have reigned only for the space of hours or minutes. For example, the case of Miguel, the brother of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Following Nicholas's abdication, in his name and his son's name, the imperial throne technically passed to his brother, Grand Duke Michael. However, he did not take long to abdicate in turn, fearful of the turn events were taking and, probably, under pressure from everyone. Thus, the true last Tsar of Russia was Michael II, who remained on the throne for almost a full day.

13. The empress of China whose name is unknown

Another of the cases of sovereigns "by the hour" is that of a Chinese empress from the 6th century. On this occasion, her passage through the throne was so fast that her name has not even been collected. She is only known to have been the daughter of Emperor Xiaoming, who was assassinated by his own mother. It was precisely this, Empress Hu, who designed a plan so that her little granddaughter could access the throne: made the girl pass for a boy. The deception lasted only a few hours. Finally, everything was discovered, and the imperial throne passed into the hands of a distant relative.

14. The true pioneer of vaccination in Europe

We don't want to downplay Edward Jenner, of course; It was thanks to him that vaccination against smallpox was perfected until it completely prevented the development of the disease. Much is owed by history to the great physician, but we must not forget that it was Lady Mary Montagu who introduced the idea to Europe.

Intrepid and passionate about the journey, Lady Mary was in Constantinople in the company of her husband, who was an ambassador. She there she realized that the natives used inoculation to treat the fearsome smallpox. Upon her return to England, Lady Mary did the same with her children, which earned her harsh criticism. Years later, Jenner demonstrated the validity of his theory.

15. The first traffic light worked with gas

It was the year 1868. London had become the busiest metropolis in Europe; The traffic was chaotic, so it was decided to install a device that would help control the traffic of vehicles and people. Thus, the first traffic light was placed on Westminster Bridge; its mechanical color signals moved by gas propulsion. Unfortunately, He was only active for a month, because after a serious gas explosion he withdrew from public roads.

16. When being king is a bad omen

Of the thirty-five Visigothic monarchs, twelve were assassinated. Almost nothing. The cases were so evident that Gregory of Tours, a bishop and historian of the sixth century, coined a term to refer to this "epidemic": the morbus gothorum or evil of the goths.

Among the most prominent murders is that of King Agila, stabbed to death in the year 554, and Turismundo, strangled in his bed by his own brothers. Among so much blood and conspiracy, the case of Eurico, one of the best kings of the Visigothic kingdom of Tolosa, who died of natural causes at the age of seventy-four, is striking. Or at least that's what they say.

17. The controversial sexual orientation of Ricardo Corazón de León

This is how many of the studies that began in the 20th century on the subject have wanted to see it. And despite the fact that, as always, there may be a lot of legend, the statement is built on concrete historical testimonies. The historian Iris Rodríguez, in an interview offered to ABC Historia, highlights the chronicle of Roger de Hoveden, contemporary to the king, in which it is commented that Ricardo and Felipe Augusto of France loved each other so much that they were not even separated the bed. Did the two monarchs sleep together?

Another issue that seems to support an alleged homosexuality of Ricardo I is the scant attention that he lavished on his wife, Berenguela de Navarra, with whom he barely lived and with whom he had no children. However, it is known that Corazón de León had illegitimate children with some mistresses, which gives rise to the theory that, instead of homosexual, she could have been bisexual.

18. an eccentric queen

Luisa Isabel de Orleans is one of the most forgotten queens in the history of Spain; probably because her husband, the short-lived Luis I, only reigned eleven months. However, during her short stay at the Madrid court, she captured everyone's eyes, and not exactly for something good.

Luisa Isabel came from the court of Versailles and was the granddaughter of Louis XIV himself, but during her childhood she grew up completely neglected. This unleashed a series of emotional problems that reached their zenith when the young woman landed in Spain. The testimonies of the time tell how the queen walked almost naked through the palace, burped and vented in public and she alternated between depressive episodes (during which she did not speak or eat) with states of authentic euphoria. A misunderstood character who has gone down in history as one of the most eccentric queens of Spain.

19. Sissy's gym

Another sovereign who suffered from severe anxiety disorders was the Empress Elizabeth of Austria, better known as Sissi. She is well known anorexy of which she was a victimWell, with his 172 cm height, he never exceeded 50 kg. of weight. It seems that her anorexia alternated with bulimic episodes, since it is known that she could sometimes eat an entire box of chocolates in a few minutes.

Sissi's obsession with staying slim led her to eat only milk and broth, and to train daily in the gym that she had installed in her room.

20. The “king” of pornographic cinema

Alfonso XIII was a great fan of cinema… and of scantily clad ladies. In fact, It has always been rumored that it was the monarch's money that financed the first pornographic film production company in Spain., the famous Royal Films. At least, the name of the company is suspicious enough…

Of the films that the Royal filmed, only three are preserved: The confessor, ladies' office and the minister. The argument seems to be obvious. By the way, the three original tapes were found in a convent.