Sep 29, 2019
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Fourteen unbelievable facts that will probably turn your world upside down come to us from eternallysunny.com. After you read these astonishing facts about moments in history and when they occurred in relation to your own life, your mind will be blown!
From the dawn of the human race, we’ve been obsessed with time. It helps us to understand the sequence of events, after all—and to properly organize them. But, despite this obsession, our perception of those events in relation to other moments in history can be very inaccurate.
For instance, we like to think that we have a good idea of when certain events took place or how many years separate great historical occurrences, but in reality, we’re just plain wrong about a lot of them.
After you read these 14 astounding facts about moments in history—and when they occurred in relation to your own life—your mind will be blown!
1. The guillotine was a pretty antiquated way to execute a person. We like to think that it was only utilized in medieval times when punishments were far less humane than they are today. But did you know that France was still using the guillotine as a means of death when the first Star Wars movie came out back in 1977? Even Darth Vader was more civilized in his punishments.
2. When we think about dinosaurs, we imagine every kind of species roaming the planet at the same time (thanks, Jurassic Park). However, this couldn’t be further from the truth! In fact, more time elapsed between the existence of the Stegosaurus and the Tyrannosaurus rex (about 83 million years) than between the Tyrannosaurus rex and modern-day humans (about 67 million years). That means that the T-rex was closer to us in history than it was to the Stegosaurus.
3. In the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Hollywood superstar Will Smith played a teenager who was sent to live with his rich aunt and uncle. It’s hard to believe, but Will Smith is now currently older than the actor who played Uncle Phil on the show.
4. Woolly mammoths have long been extinct, but what you might not realize is that the last ones didn’t die out all that long ago. In fact, the first Egyptian pyramids were built while woolly mammoths were still alive! Most of them died about 10,000 years ago, but a small group managed to survive until 1650 B.C., which was a full 1,000 years after the construction of the Giza Pyramids.
5. Whenever we think of Cleopatra, who lived from 69 to 30 B.C., we usually associate her with Ancient Egypt and the pyramids. But did you know that she actually lived closer to the construction of the first Pizza Hut restaurant (1958) than the pyramids (2700 B.C.)? Crazy, huh?
6. You’ve probably heard the famous expression “the greatest thing since sliced bread,” which is often used to describe something that is the best or most innovative in a very long time. You might also consider Betty White to be a great actress. Since she was born in 1922—six years before sliced bread was invented—would that make sliced bread the greatest thing since Betty White?
7. When you think of Harvard University, the words “prestigious” and “selective” come to mind. You might also think “historic,” as the institution was established in 1636. In fact, Harvard is so old that it predates calculus, which was established in the mid-17th century.
8. After the Chicago Cubs baseball team won their second consecutive World Series in 1908, they never won it again (that is, until 2016). Not considering 2016, the last time they won, women didn’t have the right to vote in the United States yet.
9. Although fax machines seem outdated, they’re still in use throughout offices worldwide. How’s that for longevity, considering that the very first fax machine was created in 1843—a time when people were still traversing the Oregon Trail?
10. Tiffany & Co. is a high-end jewelry store that’s known for its stellar reputation. It was founded back in 1837, which doesn’t seem that long ago in the grand scheme of things… until you remember that the company is older than the entire country of Italy. (Italy became an official country in 1861.)
11. Many of us remember watching old Warner Bros. cartoons when we were growing up. It was a staple of Saturday mornings for kids everywhere since 1903. Do you know what else was still around in 1903? The Ottoman Empire, which was finally defeated in 1923 when Turkey became an independent nation.
12. We’ve all experienced poor television reception before. It’s incredibly frustrating when you want to watch a show and all you get is static. Most people have no clue that roughly one percent of the static they’re looking at is leftover radiation from the Big Bang! You’ll never look at poor reception the same way again…
13. Humans like to think that they own this planet, when in fact, people have been around for such a short period of time compared to everything else. If the history of our planet was compressed into one single year, modern humans wouldn’t make an appearance until December 31 at around 11 p.m.!
14. The United States has had 45 presidents in total. The tenth president was a man named John Tyler, who served his term from 1841 to 1845. Although that seems like forever ago, he actually still has two living grandchildren who are both in their eighties!
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