Oxford University is older than the Aztec Empire
Teaching at Oxford was under way by 1096. The Aztec capital Tenochtitlan was founded in 1325 — more than two centuries later.
Read the fact →History facts
Every fun fact in this category.
Cleopatra lived closer to the Moon landing than to the Great Pyramid
The Great Pyramid of Giza was finished around 2560 BC. Cleopatra died in 30 BC — about 2,500 years later. The Moon landing in 1969 was only about 2,000 years after her.
Read the fact →The shortest war in history lasted about 38 minutes
The Anglo-Zanzibar War of 27 August 1896 began at 9:02 am and was over by around 9:40 am, after British ships bombarded the sultan’s palace.
Read the fact →Ketchup was sold as medicine in the 1830s
An Ohio physician, John Cook Bennett, promoted tomato ketchup as a cure for indigestion and even sold it in pill form.
Read the fact →The Eiffel Tower grows in summer
Its iron expands in the heat, so the tower can be up to 15 cm taller on a hot day than on a cold one.
Read the fact →Chess was invented in India
The game began as chaturanga in India around the 6th century, spread to Persia as shatranj, and reached Europe through the Arab world.
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