FACTS OF HISTORY

Mayonnaise is said to be the invention of the French chef of the Duke de Richelieu in 1756.While the Duke was defeating the British at port Mahon, his chef was creating a victory feast that included a sauce made of cream and eggs. When the chef realized that there was no cream in the kitchen, he improvised, substituting olive oil for the cream. A new culinary masterpiece was born, and the chef named it “Mayonnaise” in honor of the Duke’s victory.

 

In ancient Egypt, onions were an object of worship. They symbolized eternity for those who grew them in their garden. The anatomy of the onion suggested a circle within another circle and this structure symbolized eternal life.

 

William Henry Harrison served the shortest term of any US president. He served only 32 days, from March 4 to April 4, 1841. He fell ill with pneumonia shortly after his inauguration and never recovered.

 

 David Modersbach and his four year old son drove from California to Argentina in a station wagon that ran on recycled vegetable oil. Did you know that the Japanese construction company, Kongro Gumi, has been owned and operated by members of only the Kongro family since it was founded in the year 578 AD?

 New Year’s Day was April 1. Later, when the church changed the calendar, they also changed the date. But some people continued using April 1 as the date of New Year. They were referred to as “April Fools”.

  Beethoven, who was a coffee lover, was extremely particular about his coffee. He always counted 60 beans i9n each cup when he prepared his brew.

 Goethe could only write if he had an apple rotting in the drawer of his desk.

 One time ruler of Egypt. Mohammed Ali once created two infantry regiments made up entirely of one-eyed soldiers.

 The ancient Egyptians recommended mixing half an onion with beer foam as a way of warding off death.

 Before air conditioning was invented, white cotton slipcovers were put on furniture to keep the air cool.

 The oldest individual to win a medal in the Olympic Games was Oscar Swahn. Oscar won a silver medal in shooting for Sweden in the year 1920. He was 72 years old at the time.

 After his death, Alexander the Great’s remains were preserved in a huge crock of honey. Among the ancient Egyptians, it was common practice to bury the dead in this manner.

 Ieonardo Da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503. He was still working on the painting when he came to France in 1516. He finished it three years later, just before he died. The painting has remained in France ever since.

 The earliest known appearance of the word “hello” in print is in a letter written by Thomas Edison dated August 15, 1877. He suggested that the word should be used to answer the telephone. “Hello” is an alternation of the much older word “Hollo”.

 Louis Pasteur, whose work on wine, vinegar and beer led to pasteurization, had an obsessive fear of dirt and infection. He refused to shake hands and carefully wiped plate and glass before dining.

 Victorian publications never dared show a bed in any of their advertisements. When illustrations of the bedroom were required, the bed itself was hidden by curtains.

 In the French court of Louis XI, the fine ladies lived mainly on soup because they believed that excessive premature facial wrinkles.

 Voltaire considered Shakespeare’s works so deplorable that he referred to the Bard as “that drunken fool”.

 The custom of saying “bless you” when someone sneezes was first used by the Greeks who believed that breath was the essence of life and when you sneeze, a part of your life is escaping. By saying this, the speaker is protecting the sneezer from evil spirits.

 The Ottoman Empire once had seven emperors in seven months. They died of (in order): burning, choking, drowning, stabbing, heart failure, poisoning and being thrown from a horse.

 The term “devil’s advocate” comes from the Roman Catholic Church. When deciding if someone should be sainted, a devil’s advocate is appointed to give an alternate view.

 In the late 19^th century, millions of human mummies were used as fuel for locomotives in Egypt where wood and coal were scarce, but mummies plentiful.

 In the 1700s, European women achieved a pale complexion by eating “Arsenic Complexion Wafers” actually made with the poison.

 Soap was considered a frivolous luxury of the British Aristocracy from the early 1700s until 1862, and there was a tax on those who used it in England.

 Tablecloths were originally meant to serve as towels with which guests could wipe their hands and faces after dinner.

 Bolivia holds the record for the country with the highest turnovers in governments. Since 1825, Bolivia has had almost 200 governments.

 Queen Lydia Liliuokalani was the last reigning monarch of the Hawaiian Islands. She was also the only queen the United States ever had.

 Adolf Hitler wanted to be an architect, but he failed to clear the entrance exam at the school of Architecture in Vienna.

 In the ancient Greece, tossing an apple to a girl was a tradition proposal for marriage. Catching it meant she accepted.

 Mata Hari’s real name was Margaretha Zelle. She took the stage name Mata Hari when she became an exotic dancer, prior to becoming a spy during World War 1.

 Thomas Edison’s first major invention was the quadruplex telegraph. Unlike other telegraphs at the time, it could send four messages at the same time over one wire.

 In 1945, Percy Spencer discovered that when popcorn was placed under microwave energy, it popped. This led to many experiments with other foods, and ultimately, the birth of the microwave oven.

 February 18, 1930 marks the first flight by a cow in an airplane. Elm Farm Ollie, while being watched by reporters, produced milk that was put into containers and parachuted over St Louis, Missouri, USA.

 St Bernard of Menthon, who built way stations for tired medieval travelers in the Alps, is the patron saint of mountain climbers. The dog breed was also named after St Bernard.

 Centuries ago, purchasing real estate often required having one or more limbs amputated in order to prevent the purchaser from running away to avoid repayment of the loan. Hence, an expensive purchase was said to cost “an arm and a leg.”

 Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them, used to burn their houses down – hence the expression “to get fired”.