Page 9 - History Facts

As a reward for winning the Nobel Prize, Niels Bohr got a house filled with unlimited beer!

In 1922, Niels Bohr - a renowned scientist at the time, and perhaps one of the greatest scientific minds that ever lived, received The Nobel Prize for his investigations into the structures of atoms and his early work in Quantum Mechanics. Bohr essentially advanced chemistry to the point where his studies had changed chemistry forever.

After receiving this prestigious award, Bohr became a national treasure, and was famed throughout Denmark. In fact, people respected him so much, Bohr found himself receiving gifts left right and center. One such gift was from the Carlsberg Brewery, which gave him a house in a plot of land beside the brewery.

Why was this gift so special? Well, the house came with a pipeline that went directly to the brewery, and supplied Bohr with FREE beer - for the rest of his life.

Everyone, focus on your education and become a scientist - you may just get free beer out of it.

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Until the 1970s, many places in the US had 'Ugly Laws' which banned disabled people from appearing in public

From the late 1860s until the 1970s, several American cities had ugly laws making it illegal for persons with "unsightly or disgusting" disabilities to appear in public. Some of these laws were called unsightly beggar ordinances.

The goal of these laws was seemingly to preserve the quality of life for the community, similar in spirit to current homeowners association regulations and by-laws. The first appearance of the ordinance seems to date to 1867 in San Francisco, California. The ordinance seems to have been welcomed particularly from the 1880s on in Western and particularly Midwestern cities with strong, networked cultures of reform, towns bound to each other and the rest of the nation by railroad ties. Its zone extended eastward, too.

The state of Pennsylvania passed a state version of the law in the early 1890s. Some New Yorkers, inspired by Pennsylvania, made an unsuccessful attempt to get a city ordinance passed in 1895. Many states' ugly laws were not repealed until the mid-1970s. Omaha repealed it's ugly law in 1967. Columbus withdrew it's in 1972. Chicago was the last to repeal it's ugly law as late as 1974.

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Blackbeard tied and lit slow-burning fuses to his hair when he boarded a ship. It made him look like the devil!

Blackbeard was the most famous pirate to ever sail the seas. There are many myths mixed in with facts concerning him. First fact is that his real name was Edward Thatch or Edward Teach. Blackbeard wasn't always known as Blackbeard. At one time he was just a lowly man on the pirate totem pole under Benjamin Hornigold.

Old Hornigold saw potential in Edward and promoted him to the point of giving him his own ship. Eventually he pardoned Edward who'd become Blackbeard and he was free to do as he pleased. Blackbeard knew the importance of image in his line of work. Before battle, he would dress all in black, strap several pistols to his chest and put on a large black captain’s hat.

Then, he would put slow burning fuses in his hair and beard. The fuses constantly sputtered and gave off smoke, which wreathed him in a perpetual greasy fog. He looked like a devil who had stepped right out of hell and onto a pirate ship and most of his victims simply surrendered their cargo rather than fight him.

Blackbeard intimidated his opponents this way because it was good business: If they gave up without a fight, he could keep their ship and he lost fewer men. In 1718, Blackbeard went to North Carolina and accepted a pardon from Governor Charles Eden. He may have wanted to leave piracy behind, but his retirement didn’t last long. Before long, Blackbeard had struck a deal with the crooked Governor: Loot for protection. Eden helped Blackbeard appear legit, and Blackbeard shared his takings. It was an arrangement that benefited both men until Blackbeard’s death.

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Despite their savage reputation, the Vikings were huge fans of poetry!

When you think of the word 'poetry', you probably don't think of a Viking - someone who is typically pictured with a long beard, helmet with horns on it, and looks like he could tear you in half with his bare hands. Well, a discovery by historians is going to change Vikings from looking like savage plunderers, to violent men who also write poetry.

Poetry was such a crucial part of the Viking way of life, that it is said that in order to earn a name for yourself as a Viking, you must be able to write good poetry. Although, some of the Viking poets didn't exactly have the best names - such as Kormak Ogmundarson.

Kormak, along with his Viking comrades, have now been credited with creating romantic poetry, something that was previously credited to medieval civilizations around 200 years later.

The Vikings believed poetry was a gift directly from Odin, but what did Viking poetry look like? Click the source to find out!

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There is a fairytale that ends 'And then everyone was dead'!

The story in which the title is referring to is called "The Death of the Little Hen" which is an incredibly depressing story, even though it is less than 250 words.

The story revolves around a little hen, who is trying to get water from a well in order to save it's beloved friend. After completing a series of brief tasks, the hen finds her friend and realizes she is already dead. The hen tries to bury her friend, which causes many animals to feel sorry for her and they try to help - and they only end up dying in the process. The hen then dies of sadness, 'And then everyone was dead'.

But the question remains, who wrote the story? Well, you can credit this series of unfortunate events to none other than The Brothers' Grimm - two brothers who are known for their depressing fables.

Read the full story by clicking the source! It will only take a minute to read!

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