Random Actual History Facts So Dumb They Sound Like Fiction - But Aren’t (15 items)

• (#3) Europeans Ate A Lot Of Mummies

  From Redditor u/FredrickTheWriter69:

  The reason there [aren't] a lot of mummies around anymore? It's because we ate them.

  Context: Egyptian mummies were a popular ingredient in all sorts of European medicines, particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries. As summarized by the University of Durham's Richard Sugg, “The question was not, ‘Should you eat human flesh?’ but, ‘What sort of flesh should you eat?’” The Smithsonian writes, "Thomas Willis, a 17th-century pioneer of brain science, brewed a drink for apoplexy, or bleeding, that mingled powdered human skull and chocolate."
• (#1) In 1184 AD, Some 60 Nobles Of The Holy Roman Empire Plummeted Into A Latrine - And Perished

  From Redditor u/FenrirIII:

  In 1184, a number of nobles from across the Holy Roman Empire were meeting in a room at the Church of St. Peter, when their combined weight caused the floor to collapse into the latrine beneath the cellar and led to dozens of nobles drowning in liquid excrement.

  It is referred to as the "Erfurt latrine disaster."

  Context: Between 60 and 100 people are believed to have perished in this incident, which took place in St. Peter's Church on July 1184. Unfortunately, during this era (and for many centuries to come), the only septic system that existed was building a giant pit under a structure - or allowing it to drain off into a moat.
• (#10) Two French Kings Were Taken Out By Doors

  From Redditor u/Ramtalok:

  Not one but two kings of France perished by smashing their heads on the top part of a door, or lintel.

  Charles VIII in 1498 (the shock probably caused something else but still).

  Louis III was pursuing a fair lady (who was actually trying to escape him) on his horse on August 5, 882, when she passed a door. The horse went through, but not the king, who broke his skull and died instantly.

  Context: Not much to add here. Some 616 years after Louis III's ignominious end, Charles VIII (known as "Charles the Affable") bumped his head on the way to a tennis match. He lost his life after falling into a coma.
• (#13) Pirate Captain Benjamin Hornigold Once Raided A Ship Just To Steal The Crew's Hats

  From Redditor u/JohnSmith2217:

  Benjamin Hornigold was a pirate in the late 1600s and early 1700s who once robbed a merchant vessel purely for the crew's hats - because he and his crew got so drunk the night before that they all threw their own hats overboard for no good reason.

  Context: This tale is related in Peter Earle's 2003 book The Pirate Wars. As the Vintage News explains, "After they took the merchants’ hats, Hornigold and his crew allowed them to continue with their journey. Some historians believe that this curious endeavor was nothing more than Hornigold’s and Thatch’s wish to display their power."
• (#2) During WWII, Soviet Anti-Tank Dogs Ran Under The Wrong Tanks

  From Redditor u/Archayvic:

  In WWII, the Russians trained dogs to run under tanks with time bombs on their backs - "anti-tank dogs." But, the Russians trained the dogs on Russian tanks, so when they set them free on the battlefield, the dogs turned around and started blowing up the Russian tanks instead of the German tanks.

  Context: This is sadly true! The dogs circled around to the diesel-fueled Soviet tanks because they were more familiar with the scent, whereas the German tanks used gasoline. The dogs were also scared of the gunfire, which made the ones that didn't turn back easy targets for the Germans. According to Russia Beyond, later attempts with anti-tank dogs were more successful, though at the cost of many dogs' lives.
• (#8) Early Critics Of Trains Claimed Their Speed Would Eject A Woman's Uterus From Her Body

  From Redditor u/uthglow:

  People used to think women's uteruses would go flying if they rode the train.

  Context: As cultural anthropologist Genevieve Bell explains, people have always been fearful of new and advancing technology. Early critics of locomotives thought “that women’s bodies were not designed to go at 50 miles an hour,” and claimed “[female passengers’] uteruses would fly out of [their] bodies as they were accelerated to that speed.” People also thought that women's uteruses would fall out if they ran marathons, too.

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