A picture of a giant robot helping Russia revolutionaries storm the winter palace in 1917, was accidentally used in an Australian history exam. Some students wasted time in trying to figure out what the giant robot was, thinking it was a statue of a Russian politician or a battleship.
history
The British developed a fondness…
The British developed a fondness for gin in their Indian Colony, where those posted there added a dollop of gin to the quinine they took as a preventative for malaria to make it more palatable. It apparently carried over when they returned home, and became the well-known Gin & Tonic.
In 1988 the final history exams…
In 1988 the final history exams for more than 53 million Soviet schoolchildren were cancelled because much of the history they had been taught were lies.
Drive-in Movie Theatres
Despite some claims to the contrary, drive-in movie theaters in the United States are not making a comeback. In 2017 there exist about 330 operating drive-in theaters in the United States, down from a peak of about 4,000 in the late 1950s. In 1980, there were over 2400.
Ancient Greek historian Polybius…
Ancient Greek historian Polybius came up with a cyclical theory of government (anacyclosis), where governments start off as monarchies, the final stage is ochlocracy, when a democracy degenerates into chaos and mob-rule. Then the cycle resets itself.
Over a hundred years ago, virtually…
Over a hundred years ago, virtually every American city had public streetcars that people took to work. That includes cities we don’t think of as hubs for mass transit today, like Atlanta, Raleigh, and Los Angeles. Today, just 5 percent of U.S. workers commute via via public transit.
A study about class differences…
A study about class differences in 18th & 19th century England, showed that on average, a wealthy 16-year old boy was 8.5 inches taller than a poor 16-year old boy, as a result of malnourishment and living standards.
In 1917 you could order…
In 1917 you could order a belt-fed machine gun from a Sears catalog: “Machine guns are used largely by police organizations, home guards and municipalities in case of riots.”
Humans nearly went extinct, reducing…
Humans nearly went extinct, reducing to a population of only 8,800 which would qualify today as “endangered” before bouncing back.
Millennials being scrutinized…
Millennials being scrutinized isn’t unique to this generation. Older generations have been doing it to younger generations for over 2,000 years. Similar criticisms include laziness, being self absorbed, spending too much money, expectations being too high, and the use of technology.