In Victorian times, estate gardeners never planted grape vines without first burying a dead donkey underneath the plot.
Dumb Facts » History
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In the 1800’s anyone in England who unsucessfully attempted suicide faced the death penalty.
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In England, in the 1880’s, “Pants” was considered a dirty word.
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“Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over 18. Must be excellent riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. Wages are $25.00 a week.” This is a mid 1800’s help wanted sign for the Pony Express.
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Amount American Airlines saved in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class: $40,000.
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In 1960, an estimated 4,000 people were over 100 years old in the U.S. By 1995 the number had jumped to 55,000.
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In 1921 76 inches of snow fell over Silver Lake, Colorodo, the heaviest snowfall ever recorded.
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The first minimum wage to be established in America was 25 cents an hour, it was in 1938.
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In 1980 the yellow pages listed a funeral Home under “frozen foods”.
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In 1962 an outbreak of contagious laughter in Tanganyika lasted for six months and caused schools to be closed.
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In 1980, a Las Vegas hospital suspended workers for betting on when patients would die.
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Sunglasses became popular in the 1920’s when movie stars began wearing them to cut the camera’s bright lights.
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Bubonic plague killed millions of people throughout Europe in the Dark Ages, and in 1996, five cases of plague were reported in the U.S.
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Talk is cheap compared to what it used to be; in 1915 a telephone call from New York to San Francisco cost $20.70 for the first three minutes.
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Ohio is listed as the 17th state in the U.S. but technically it’s number 47. Until August 7, 1953, congress forgot to vote on a resolution to admit Ohio to the union.