1.The oldest death sentence in the world for which we have found evidence was in ancient Egypt. In 1500BC a teenage boy was sentenced to death for practising magic. He was ordered to kill himself either by taking poison or stabbing himself... at least he was given a choice!
2.One of the most astounding discoveries in the history of humankind was made in Turkey in the 1960s - and yet few people are aware of it. An ancient burial complex was discovered which featured huge ornate carved stone pillars in a circular arrangement. Archaeologists date the building to around 9000BC. This is particularly amazing because humans did not develop agriculture until after this date; as tribes had to constantly move to find new sources of food, one would not expect to find buildings of that age, as there were no permanent settlements. No-one has been able to explain how this permanent structure came about, although it has been speculated that it was most likely a religious site.
3.When people say that the Chinese invented fireworks, one often thinks of basic decorative rockets that one might set off in their own garden. Yet they were much more advanced than this. The Chinese even developed multistage rocket technology that could even be compared to a cruise missile! Called huo long chi shui, which translates to the amazing ‘fire-dragon issuing from the water’, these particular fireworks weighed an incredible ten kilograms. The initial booster stage could take one of these ‘dragons’ over a mile, before the rocket inside was automatically ignited, firing exploding projectiles right at the enemy.
4.If you’ve ever been told that Christians were fed to the lions for entertainment in the Roman Colosseum, you were lied to! There is not one single written account of this ever happening, and the Colosseum was built well after the earliest Christians were persecuted - in fact, at the time it was built, the government was quite enlightened about religion, with a policy that anyone could worship whatever god or religion they so wished. This myth was in fact put about by Christian writers aiming to entertain people (and gain more followers) with tales of brave martyrdom.
5.A favourite challenge conducted during Roman gladiatorial games was that of Venatio. Essentially this was a re-enactment of the much-hated Hannibal’s invasion. A team of gladiators were forced to face twenty elephants dubbed ‘The Beast of Carthage’. If you were chosen to take part in this ‘game’, you would almost certainly die, as the chances of survival were almost nonexistent. The crowds found this so entertaining that it became one of the most popular events - so popular in fact that it only ceased when the Romans couldn’t find any more beasts to use - they had in fact caused the extinction of the North African elephant.
6.The wife of Emperor Claudius once got into an argument with a local pros-titute as to who could get the most clients in a single night. She donned a wig and toga and went out to walk the streets. When the emperor found out he had her executed!
7.When the Mongols invaded India, one general built a pyramid in front of the walls of Delhi to terrify the remaining enemies into surrender. Pyramids aren’t scary though, surely? Well, this one was, being made from ninety thousand human heads.
8.Julius Caesar was once captured by pirates whilst travelling across the Aegean Sea. They held him ransom for twenty talents (a unit of currency at the time). Caesar laughed at them, saying they clearly didn’t know who he was if that is what they were asking for, and suggested them demand fifty talents instead. In the thirty-eight days they waited for the money to arrive, Caesar wrote poems and speeches which he read to the pirate crew. When they didn’t appreciate his work, he called them ‘illiterate barbarians’ and said that when he was released, he would come back, find them and kill them. They didn’t take him seriously. However, when he was set free, he commandeered a number of vessels, caught the pirates almost immediately, and then crucified every last one of them!
9.In 2013, builders constructing a highway in Belize decided to knock down the Nohmul Pyramid and use its stone in the construction of their wonderful new road. The pyramid was over 2000 years old, stood 100 feet high and was the central prayer location for 40,000 ancient Mayans. When the government found out, they demanded an explanation; the construction company said it was on private land and the owner had given them permission. Disgusted with the destruction of such an ancient treasure, they fined the builders the enormous sum of... $10,000. Yes, really.
10.One evening during 1999, Fox News reported during their 10pm broadcast that the Pyramids of Egypt may have been built by aliens. The network was severely criticised, as the announcement was made to get viewers interested in an upcoming documentary, but had effectively reported it as ‘actual’ news. Of course, nowadays it is highly unlikely news channels would report stories that aren’t 100% factual...
No comments:
Post a Comment