‘Round the Square: History you didn’t learn in school, part 2 of 2
MORE: We hope you like weird history as much as we do. Here’s more from The Fact Site.
Iceland has the world’s oldest parliament, established in 930 and remaining active since.
This next fact sounds a bit like something out of a “Florida man” story. “100 million years ago, the Sahara Desert was inhabited by galloping crocodiles.” Fossils were found showing the terrifying creatures had large, land-going legs “that were capable of galloping across the land at breakneck speeds. They could easily snap up unlucky dinosaurs in their jaws!”
Here’s an interesting tidbit about some serious partying. Russia ran out of vodka when celebrating the end of World War II. Oh, and it only took 22 hours to deplete the reserves.
Captain Morgan was a real guy, and was really a captain. “The face of the much-loved rum brand was a Welsh privateer who fought against the Spanish alongside the English in the Caribbean.
“His full name was Sir Henry Morgan, and he was knighted by King Charles II. Captain Morgan died in 1688 in Jamaica as a very wealthy man.”
Continuing on the alcohol theme, Sir Winston Churchill came to the United States during Prohibition, but not without his beloved whisky. “In 1931, Churchill was involved in a traffic collision which left him with chest pain, as well as having bouts of depression to contend with.
“Because of this, he was granted a doctor’s note in 1932 for his time in the United States. This allowed him to drink an “indefinite” amount of alcohol for his duration of time in the Prohibition-era United States.”
This one is rather sad. It’s believed that over 97% of history has been lost over time. Our thanks to author Jack De Graaf for preserving these facts.