10 Amazing Facts That Will Change Your Perceptions of History (11 photos)

The world is full of things we take for granted, sometimes without even considering their origins.





However, everything, even the most mundane, has its own history, and some of them are quite fascinating. We've compiled ten fascinating historical facts that will give you new knowledge and reveal the unexpected origins of everyday things.

1. Domestication of Chickens



Red Junglefowl

Chickens are believed to have been first domesticated around seven thousand years ago somewhere in Southeast Asia. Genetic evidence indicates that the ancestors of modern domestic chickens were the Red Junglefowl and Green Junglefowl. From there, they spread to China and India, although researchers believe the first domesticated birds were used for cockfighting and rituals, not for food.

2. The Ancient Maya Wrote Thousands of Books





We will likely never know the full extent of the Mayan civilization's knowledge and history, despite the thousands of books they produced. Only four manuscripts, known as Mayan codices, have survived to this day: the Dresden, Paris, Madrid, and fragments of the Grolier Codex.

3. Anna Haining Swan and Martin Van Buren Bates – the tallest married couple



Anna Haining Swan stood 2.41 meters tall, while Martin Van Buren Bates was slightly shorter at 2.36 meters. They married in London in 1871. Their son was the largest newborn ever recorded. At birth, the baby weighed 10.4 kilograms and was 76 centimeters long.

4. Victorian men drank tea from special cups that protected their moustaches.



These cups, known as moustache cups, were invented in the 1860s by British potter Harvey Adams. These elegant cups protected gentlemen's moustaches from getting soaked in tea or hot chocolate.

5. Roman Gladiators – The First Celebrities



The legendary fighters of Ancient Rome were revered as stars. Their images were sold to fans, and dolls were even made for children in the likeness of popular gladiators. It's no surprise that gladiators were especially popular among wealthy and noble women.

6. The ancient Babylonians began the tradition of New Year's resolutions



Assyrian communities celebrate Akitu to this day.

About 4,000 years ago, during the religious festival of Akitu, the ancient Babylonians made promises to repay debts and borrowed goods within the first 12 days of the new year. They believed that if they kept their vows, the gods would favor them and grant them good luck.

7. Egyptian Queen Cleopatra spoke eight languages



Cleopatra was the first Egyptian ruler to speak Greek. Plutarch's writings indicate that she also spoke the following languages: Egyptian, Hebrew (or Aramaic), Arabic, Median, Parthian, Syriac, and early Amharic.

8. Sacred Bird



The Mayans did not eat turkeys; they revered them as deities. These birds were domesticated by these people, and their images are ubiquitous in Mayan art. However, turkeys were not used as food. Instead, they were represented as godlike creatures, and only the most noble and powerful people could afford to keep a turkey as a pet. These birds were so highly prized that at least one Mayan ruler, the 8th-century ruler of Copan (Shukuupa), was called the "Fire Bird-Turkey" (Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat).

9. The Crooked Error



The famous Leaning Tower of Pisa was never straight. Shortly after construction began in 1173, the foundation began settling unevenly. Construction was halted for a century. And when the tower was finally completed in 1372, it became clear that it had tilted considerably. South.

10. A Striking Juxtaposition of Eras



At the time the first pyramids were built, woolly mammoths still roamed the Earth. The main population of these giants died out around 10,000 years ago, but a small colony of approximately 1,000 individuals survived on a small Arctic island known as Wrangel Island. Archaeologists have determined that these mammoths inhabited the area until approximately 1650 BC—almost a millennium after the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza.