Historical Facts

[Nek Muhammad]

1. Approximately 40% of the U.S. paper currency in circulation was counterfeit by the end of the Civil War.

2. Because metal was scarce; the Oscars given out during World War II were made of plaster.

3. Canada's new flag, with its maple leaf design, was unfurled in 1965 in Ottawa!

4. Che Guevara suffered from asthma!
5. Cleopatra wasn't Egyptian; she was Greek.
5. Clocks made before 1660 had only one hand - an hour hand.
6. Contrary to popular belief, the first ironclad warships were built by Korea in the 16th century.

7. During the Gold Rush in 1849, some people paid as much as $100 for a glass of water!
8. During World War II, Uncle Ben's was the exclusive supplier of rice to the U.S. Armed Forces.
9. February 1865 is the only month in recorded history to not have a full moon.
10. Grenades were invented in China over 1,000 years ago.


11. Harry S. Truman was the last U.S. President with no college degree.
12. Henry Ford was Charles Lindbergh's first passenger in the Spirit of St. Louis.
13. If a surgeon in Ancient Egypt lost a patient while performing an operation, his hands were cut off.
14. In 1897, Bayer, who is the maker of Aspirin, marketed the drug heroin.

15. In 1980, the city of Detroit presented Saddam Hussein with a key to the city.

16. In 1987 American Airlines saved $40,000 by eliminating one olive from its First Class salads.
17. In 1999, Pepsi, Inc. paid $0.00 in income tax!
18. In Ancient Greece, if a woman watched even one Olympic event, she was executed.
19. In ancient Rome it was considered a sign of leadership to be born with a crooked nose!


20. In the great fire of London, in 1666, half of London was burnt down but only 6 people were injured.

21. India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

22. Jericho is the oldest walled city in the world at 9,000 yrs old!
23. Karate actually originated in India, but was developed further in China.
24. Leonardo da Vinci was dyslexic, and he often wrote backwards.
25. London's Pall Mall became the first street lit by gaslight in 1807!
26. Napoleon had conquered Italy by the time he was twenty-six.