Historical

Le Pétomane
If you enjoy fart humor, I mean seriously enjoy all the hilarity of a good anal rip, then you have likely heard of Le Pétomane, the French “flatulist” (artistic farter) who was the most popular and highest paid performer at the Moulin Rouge in the early 1890’s.
By L J Purves5 years ago in FYI
The Diamond Ring: Eternal Love or Enduring Sexism?
1947: A boardroom, probably in New York “So, we have these diamonds. How do we sell them?” “Well, they are pretty. And they more or less last forever. Come to think of it, they’d make a great symbol of love. I mean, look how popular they are in Europe.”
By Lilia5 years ago in FYI
White Wedding Dresses Do NOT Signify Virginity
"She shouldn't be wearing white to her wedding" is something a rude person might say about a non-virgin bride. Some women even joke about how they themselves shouldn't being wearing white. However, while many women today wear the color merely out of tradition, it is a myth that the color white has always meant virginity. It was originally meant to showcase wealth, but has transformed into the misconception of a long tradition of "purity". In reality, the reason people wear white gowns began with a queen who lived almost two centuries ago.
By Shelby Brengle5 years ago in FYI
John Wayne vs Joseph Stalin
*Disclaimer, this is partly a work of parody, but is based on the true story of Joseph Stalin's order to have John Wayne killed. No part of this entry is meant as an endorsement of communism or any particular ideology. It just comes across as being one of the most absurd pieces of history I have ever heard. Please enjoy.*
By H. R. Nelson5 years ago in FYI
The Man who Saved the World!
Moscow, September 26, 1983 Shadows ebbed and flowed from the greenish light that reflected from the instrument panel to Lt. Colonel Petrov's face. The jade drop out light gave him the appearance of a headless ghoul suspended in space. He sipped steaming tea from his mug and wished he could accelerate the clock to 2400 hours, only twenty-three minutes away.
By J. S. Wade5 years ago in FYI
King Louis XIV, The Obstetrician And The Lithotomist
King Louis was born in France in 1638. His reign lasted 72 years and, to date, he is the longest ruling sovereign monarch in European history. He was the classic symbol of absolutism. He died at the age of 76 after fathering over 20 children.
By Charlie5 years ago in FYI
Bonfire Night
Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated every November 5, it commemorates the failure of the British conspirator. He was born in 1570 and was involved in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The scheme’s objective was to blow up Westminster during the opening of Parliament, with King James I and VI, and his chief ministers inside, for the revenge of the treatment and misery of Roman Catholics in England. Catholicism became extremely repressed after Queen Elizabeth I was excommunicated, in 1570, by the Pope. During her reign as monarch, numerous priests were put to death and it was not legal for Catholics to attend Mass or participate in the holy sacrament of marriage as a rite.
By Charlie5 years ago in FYI
Claus’ Valkyrie
This story, is rich in history. It’s rich in heroism, defiance and anti-racism. This was an act of multiple brave people who tried to change the course of history, for the better.
By Carl Uitterlinden5 years ago in FYI
Knock on Wood
It seems as though the “luck of the Irish” goes back farther than St. Patrick’s Day. Most of us have used the phrase “knock on wood” (typically after saying something that we immediately regret). If you are in the medical field or service industry, you most likely use it when someone comments on what a slow day it is. Others use it after gloating about how they have never been ticketed while driving. No matter how you use it, it always seems to bring some form of comfort.
By Micaela Quinn Arnott5 years ago in FYI
Thoroughbred Racing is Dead
The wonderful backstory on the lead up to the 20th-century thoroughbred progeny of "racing as it was meant to be" drifted under the thresholds of racing this past week in the form of a machine called a HHR. Smugly the business pigs of the management side led by Churchill Downs lit cigars and winked at each other knowing full well that they had just finalized the screwing of the last nail into the coffin of what once was referred to as the Sport of Kings but hereafter will be known as the Sport Fucking!
By Welby Cox5 years ago in FYI
AUSTRALIA AT WAR… with EMUS!
Australia has been in its fair share of wars; from the Boer War in South Africa (1899 – 1902), the Boxer Rebellion in China (1900 – 1901) to the First World War (1914 – 1918) and Second World War (1939 – 1945). Then they moved on to the Korean War (1950 – 1953), the Vietnam War (1962 – 1975), the Gulf War (1990 – 1991), Iraq War (2003 – 2009) and are still present in Afghanistan, since 2001.
By Travis Berketa5 years ago in FYI
Love & War: The Gay Army who Destroyed the Spartans!🏳️‍🌈. First place in (Un)Common Knowledge Challenge. Top Story - March 2021.
When Gerard Butler King Leonidas led his 300 warriors into one of the most notorious battles in history, The Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, his army became the ultimate symbol of strength, bravery and peak masculinity. This three-day bloody battle spawned countless iterations; paintings, statues, essays, novels, comic books, movies, memes and the fancy dress costume of choice for buff dudes.
By Kate Holderness5 years ago in FYI