The psychology behind manipulating peoples' behavior
Chicago suffered from numerous sewage and draining problems during the 19th century. So it was decided that the city level should be raised.
We often associate these animals with the Ice Age, but the last ones died as late as 1650 BCE.
Chicago streets and buildings were actually physically raised by over four feet (1.2 meter) on jackscrews during the 1850s and ’60s.
In fact, the company specifically advertised its use for children up until 1912.
Which means that they were still around when the Egyptians were building the pyramids. Presumably, when the last mammoth died ,the Great Pyramid of Giza had already existed for a millennium.
Sources: (Reader's Digest) (History of Yesterday)
See also: The 30 best historical destinations to visit in the US
In the 1890s, heroin was commercialized by the German pharmaceutical company Bayer as a cough remedy.
The idea came from then-Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. Einstein eventually refused, but it makes us wonder what would have happened if he had accepted the role.
Spanish spy Juan Pujol García worked as a double agent for both the British and the Nazis during World War II.
García went on to be awarded the highest honor of service from both sides: the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by the Nazis, and the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
When Israeli president Chaim Weizmann died in 1952, Albert Einstein was offered the position.
He had a telephone installed in the White House bathroom so he could work while sitting on the toilet.
Though there is some method to the madness. Urine is rich in ammonia, which has stain-removing properties. Maybe the Romans were onto something after all...
US President Lyndon B. Johnson was said to have conducted meetings on the toilet.
Peter the Great's wife, Catherine, cheated on him with Willem Mons. So Peter the Great not only killed him, but found a creepy way to remind his wife of her adultery.
A young man named John Roulstone witnessed Mary sneaking the lamb into school and wrote a poem about it. He then gave it to Mary.
The real person was called Mary Sawyer, and indeed she took a little lamb to school in 1816.
The English novelist, best known for writing the Gothic novel 'Frankenstein,' actually kept the heart of her dead husband in a box in her desk.
But the reported cat killings may have contributed to the proliferation of rats, which consequently helped spread the plague!
Mass killings of cats reportedly followed. Really, cats (black ones in particular) have been demonized ever since.
In 1232, Pope Gregory IX wrote a letter called Vox in Rama (“A Voice in Rama”) to the king of Germany expressing his concerns about witches in Germany, whose rituals included cats.
But why were forks offensive to God? Well, God created humans with fingers, which they used to eat, so they wouldn't need such a tool, right?
President Andrew Jackson famously owned a pet parrot. When the president died, the animal attended his funeral in 1845.
However, the parrot started to swear, and mourners were obviously disturbed by it. The bird ended up having to be removed from the funeral.
Back in 11th-century Italy, forks were actually considered sacrilegious.
Alternatively, they used pea shooters. Sounds like a fun job, right?
Shelley’s husband, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, drowned in a boating accident when he was 29.
Before alarm clocks, people would pay "knocker uppers" to wake them up. They would do so by using long poles and knocking on people's windows.
Sure, the Romans had some dubious practices, but using urine for dental hygiene is pretty out there even for them!
Peter the Great decapitated his wife's lover, put his head in a jar, and placed it in Catherine's bedroom as a reminder of her affair.
It is true that there are many historical 'facts' that are anything but factual, but the opposite is also true. There are some very bizarre facts that indeed sound like they are made up. Except, they're not! Did you know, for instance, that forks were once considered sacrilegious? Or that Albert Einstein was actually offered the position of president of Israel?
Click through the following gallery and discover fascinating historical facts you won't believe are real.
Strange historical facts that are actually true
The truth is sometimes stranger than fiction
LIFESTYLE Curiosities
It is true that there are many historical 'facts' that are anything but factual, but the opposite is also true. There are some very bizarre facts that indeed sound like they are made up. Except, they're not! Did you know, for instance, that forks were once considered sacrilegious? Or that Albert Einstein was actually offered the position of president of Israel?
Click through the following gallery and discover fascinating historical facts you won't believe are real.